Castro: Endeared Political Figure

Fidel Castro is a name that has never been heard with a positive connotation. Especially here in Miami, anything or anyone tied to the name Fidel Castro is, for lack of a better word, garbage. But after watching a movie like Fidel, I came to see that Castro, is as much of a respectful political leader as any other. According to the movie, which seems to be based on authentic situations and concrete facts, Fidel Castro is a very well-educated man who acquired a law degree at the Universidad de la Habana. He became a political activist and protested against the social injustices in Cuba while practicing law. He married Mirta Diaz Balart and had a child, and then joined the Partido Ortodoxo which was led by Eduardo Chibas. Chibas then runs for president and Castro, being very supportive and involved, spoke out in his favor and helps him during his campaign. When Chibas shoots himself in the stomach during a radio broadcast, and Batista is then appointed president, Castro finds himself alone, and with no money to support his family since he abandoned his law practice to become politically active and speak out against the current government. The corruption of the government was so extensive that Castro must also abandon his family and hide from government officials who seek to kill those who don't support them. Castro is reluctant to accept Batista's rule and believes that a revolution is the only way to change the corruption and barbaric situation in Cuba regardless of the dangers associated which may affect him or his family. He gathers up supporters and speaks to them about having to let go of all their hopes and dreams and goals for the future. Their one and only goal is to free Cuba. They then, in an act of bravery and courage, plan an attack on the Moncada Barracks for July 26, 1953. Unfortunately for them, the attack was a failure, and only served to kill over half of his crew. You see, at one point in time, Fidel Castro was a desirable leader. The people in Cuba were desperate for a change, a change for the better. Cuba was overflowing with corruption and deception. At the time of his uprising, Castro was the best way out. Little did they, the people of Cuba, know that Castro would become such a despotic dictator who would abuse his power and supremacy over the country and would create a society who knows only of constraint and oppression. Indeed, Castro is a man who deserves respect. He is a man who has been able to get away with undermining our intelligence and creating the perfect dominion for a tyrannical leader.

My First College Football Game

Saturday, September 16th, 2007 was the date I attended my first college football game as an FIU student. I drove around in circles around the Orange Bowl for at least 20 minutes trying to figure out which side to enter through. It was a sea of orange and green with a barely visible speck of navy blue and gold at the far right hand corner. It was, I must say, very disappointing. Once I finally figured out which gate I should go through, I went up four floors to meet up with the only one of my friends who actually showed up [Danielle =)]. As I sit there, in what feels like a cage, a square of seats donated and fenced in by the mass of UM fans, I realized the lack of school spirit and enthusiasm in our school. I was so excited about going to my first game that I called in sick from work, and passed up selling myself to the other team. As strange as that sounds, I was offered twenty bucks by my sister, who happens to be a UM student, to sit on "her" side. I was extremely reluctant to do so. I told her that I would support my school all the way, even though I knew that the likelihood of them winning over a team like UM was very low. Little did I know that in the Orange Bowl there was no such thing as a UM nor FIU side. The space was so unevenly distributed, that the bleachers were overflowing with UM fans and anywhere you sat, you sat in the UM side. I can't say that I had a terrible time though. I enjoyed cheering every time my team scored or made a good play. I wasn't at all disappointed with their performance, I honestly was quite impressed. Although their score ended up being FIU 9, Miami 23, our FIU team's defense did a praise worthy job. Surprisingly, more disappointed were the UM fans, who were expecting their team to slaughter FIU, and ended up almost slaughtering their own quarterback who I must say did a poor performance. Overall, it was a great experience, and if I had a chance to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

The Social Gap

Looking at the region of South America, one can’t help but recognize its beauty. There is the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires amongst many others. Who would ever think that behind such beautiful places and cities lie poverty stricken populations who strive to survive every day while we only dream of indulging in the beauty they have no opportunity of enjoying? Such is the case of most of South America with few exceptions, since most countries within the continent are developing. Only in Chile have they been successful in expanding their democracy, economy, and middle class. For most other countries, there lies the same old problem of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. There is no set and expanding middle class, and so there is a great gap between the rich and poor that hinders the decision making process as a result of conflicting interests.

Brazil is especially affected by this social issue, and despite their new economic advances, their high poverty levels have prevented them from becoming a developed country. A big problem in the country involves the poor who live in the favelas, or the slums that exist outside the major cities. These people commute to the cities to take on low level, low wage jobs that usually include such things as cleaning the houses and waiting on the upper level class. Many of them are not even entitled to vote on major issues that may directly or indirectly affect them. This also has brought about the issue of race and discrimination that persists within the country, especially against those of African decent. This is because most of the Afro-Brazilian population belongs to the lower level class, and this one, in turn, encompasses most of the Brazilian population. So it is safe to say that the majority of the Brazilian population, then, suffers from poverty and discrimination. It is as if they have fallen into a bubble that disables them from advancing enough socially, and therefore from finally becoming developed.

With enough effort, Brazil has the ability of getting out of their developing state, but they will certainly need more people such as Benedita da Silva to create more social fairness and equality amongst the people. Da Silva is an Afro-Brazilian woman who has successfully escaped the “bubble” that most people born in the favelas are in, to become an influential voice in government. She speaks for the people of the favela, the majority in Brazil, and indeed continued to live there as she practiced her political power. She overcame the difficulties of the favela, the prejudice, and the difficulty of learning to read and write as a poverty stricken class. With her efforts and those of others like her, Brazil may soon be able to rise to their glory.

Benedita da Silva

This issue was brought to my attention thanks to my sister who had to research this for a Spanish class. Looking at this.. it was very hard for me not to take interest in this subject.. it is a very sad thing..