The state portal Cubadebate launched a contest this week on its social media titled "What values distinguish Fidel?", inviting Cubans and foreigners to list the virtues of the late dictator. The response was immediate, massive, and completely contrary to what the regime expected.
In less than 24 hours, the post garnered over a thousand comments. Instead of being filled with praise, many users responded with sarcasm, dark humor, and outrage, turning the official call into a thermometer of the accumulated anger towards Castro's legacy.
The initiative is part of the official campaign for the "Year of the Centennial of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz," proclaimed by the National Assembly at the end of 2025, looking forward to August 13, 2026, the date marking the hundredth anniversary of Castro's birth in Birán, Holguín.
The best responses from the contest would be published that day on Cubadebate and featured in a special Mesa Redonda program. However, most of the comments on the post are unlikely to be read on national television.
«The great con artist. Although you might not believe it, it is quite a significant value, as having the power to deceive the world like he did is to possess a special talent for lying,» wrote one of the users.
Another was more succinct: "The king Midas, but reversed."
Several comments directly linked Castro's legacy to the crisis Cuba is experiencing in 2026, recalling daily blackouts of up to 20 hours, collapsed buildings, food shortages, and a lack of freedoms.
"It is important to highlight its values for its great legacy, which is now present in every truncated Cuban life, in every collapsed building, in every institution or service that does not exist or does not function, in the great lack of freedom and hope that it left behind," summarized an internet user.
The irony was also evident in the contest. "What's the prize? More blackouts?" asked one user. Another added, "Will the prize be a bottle of oil?"
Some comments were more elaborate in their critique: "A man who cared deeply for his family, to the point that he made sure to leave them enough money so they would never have to work." Another added: "For his family, the best; for the Cuban people, a tragedy."
The image of Castro as a destructive force appeared in multiple variations. "Fidel was the category 59 hurricane that destroyed an entire nation that was beginning to be prosperous," wrote a participant.
A person highlighted another aspect: «The power of destruction was so great that even after death, it continues to wreak havoc.»
This episode is not the first of its kind: every time official media publish content praising Fidel Castro on social networks, the comments section turns into a space for collective venting.
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