Cuban Recounts Being "Astonished" When Fidel Castro Touched His Shoulder

Ernesto Pérez, an employee at the Palace of the Revolution, shared that he was consistently "astonished" whenever the late dictator Fidel Castro placed a hand on his shoulder in the corridors of the facility.

The story, shared by the official Cuban government account on X as a "human and personal" experience, serves as state propaganda aimed at keeping alive the cult of Castro, despite the severe decline the nation is facing.

Pérez explained that he began his employment at the Palace of the Revolution after several years in the workforce and was later assigned to the areas associated with the "Commander."

From this proximity, he described Castro as "very humble, very simple" and able to engage with "any individual from any background," whether they had a ninth-grade education or were a university graduate.

His influence, according to Pérez, was so profound that just feeling his hand on one's shoulder was enough to identify him.

"If you were, for example, in a hallway and he placed his hand on your shoulder... you knew it was the Commander's hand," he explained, emphasizing how that simple gesture left a lasting impression.

"He did it to me several times, and it always astonished me," Pérez revealed.

While this narrative attempts to project an image of closeness and reverence, the current state of the country starkly contrasts with this idealized portrayal of the Cuban leader, who passed away nine years ago.

Today, the population faces the worst economic, health, and social collapse in decades, with severe shortages of food and medicine, dilapidated hospitals, prolonged power outages, inadequate wages, and a growing epidemic of viral diseases spreading unchecked.

The Government's Relentless Invocation of Fidel Castro

The video featuring Pérez's testimony aligns with another tweet by leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, who claimed that Fidel Castro continues "communicating with the nation" through his supposed "legacy" and "immortality."

"Whoever doubts it should read, watch, listen to how the Commander in Chief continues speaking to us," Díaz-Canel wrote on X.

However, this message, as noted by critical voices both within and outside the Island, comes at a time of extreme urgency for Cubans, forced to endure a reality marked by scarcity, epidemic, poverty, and despair.

The official insistence on symbolically reviving Castro has been interpreted by analysts as a desperate attempt to sustain a system unable to provide concrete solutions.

A Nation Stuck in the Past

Instead of offering solutions, the government perpetuates tributes, phrases, and videos centered on a man who died nearly a decade ago, while the country sinks into a structural crisis stemming from the model imposed by Fidel Castro during his rule.

The massive protests on July 11, 2021, the historical exodus emptying entire households, the thousands of political prisoners, and the decay of basic services represent the real legacy Cubans endure today, far removed from the epic narrative the regime tries to revive with stories like the one shared by the Palace worker.

Thus, while the State spreads tales of the "Commander's hand," millions of Cubans carry on their shoulders a nation with hospitals lacking supplies, sick children without medicine, entire sectors without electricity, and an exhausted population that sees the power looking backward to avoid confronting the present.