Argentines swoon over visiting Castro--Rushing crowd delays speech by two hours
The Miami Herald Posted on Tue, May. 27, 2003 BY DANIEL A. GRECH AND KEVIN G. HALL dgrech@herald.com
BUENOS AIRES - Thousands of Argentines, desperate to catch a glimpse of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, broke through security Monday evening at the University of Buenos Aires law school, forcing organizers to postpone Castro's speech by two hours and finally move it to the steps of the law school steps.
People fainted and were trampled in the chaotic confusion. There were no reports of deaths or serious injuries, but authorities decided to evacuate the 3,200-seat hall where the speech was scheduled for security reasons.
DENOUNCED U.S.
In the end, an estimated 15,000 Argentines braved a crisp night breeze to hear Castro, the world's oldest living Communist dictator and archenemy of the United States, deliver a trademark rambling diatribe against his ``neighbor to the north.''
It was Castro's third visit to Argentina, homeland of fellow revolutionary Ernesto ''Che'' Guevara, and the first to the capital since 1959.
Castro, wearing a dark suit, was clearly impressed by the crowd spread below him waving Che banners and Cuban flags. As he took the podium at 9 p.m., Castro referred to the earlier chaos as ``an earthquake, a tidal wave, a hurricane.''
''This seems like the Plaza of the Revolution,'' Castro remarked, referring to the central square for political demonstrations in Havana. ``The organizers are guilty of underestimating the Argentine people.''
In a massive show of anti-American sentiment, the crowd chanted Bush es terrorista,'' along with the traditional Viva Cuba'' and ``Olé Castro.''
Castro arrived in Buenos Aires Saturday for the inauguration of Argentine President Néstor Kirchner. Kirchner, a center-left politician, has called for greater ties among nations in Latin America, and he has vowed to defend jobs and industry in Argentina, which has suffered through five years of recession. Half of Argentina's 36.2 million population is at or below the poverty line.
Castro has been cheered throughout his visit, including during a meeting Monday with the new president at the Casa Rosada (Pink House), the executive office of the Argentine president.
''This is a historic moment,'' exulted Martin Tavaut, a 27-year-old lawyer, as he tried to push into the conference hall for Castro's speech. ``He is our response to the disdain we feel for the United States as a force in Latin America.''
''You want to know what we think of Fidel here?'' asked schoolteacher Graciela Dominguez, 53. ``Just take a look at this crowd.''
Castro stayed at the Four Seasons hotel with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. The two were greeted at the hotel by a large group of supporters.
GOOD TIMING
Castro has been a constant critic of U.S.-backed free market policies that were heartily adopted by Argentina in the 1990s. But with election of a center-left Argentine president emphasizing social justice, Castro felt the time was right to address Argentina. Although the United States has tried to isolate Cuba in Latin America, elections of left-leaning presidents in Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Argentina have won Castro political support he has not enjoyed for a decade.
RECENT CRACKDOWN
Last month, Argentina abstained on a United Nations resolution condemning the Castro government for its recent execution of three hijackers and imprisonment of 75 dissidents.
The move was a reversal of previous Argentine votes against Cuba's human rights record, which prompted Castro to once taunt that Argentina was ``licking Yankee boots.''
Monday's chaos began more than an hour before Castro's speech, originally set for 7 p.m. in the school's main conference hall, when hundreds of Argentines pressed through the room's main entrances.
Students waving Cuban flags climbed onto rafters and grandmothers wearing revolutionary colors climbed onto the hall's red plush chairs before Cuban exterior minister Felipe Pérez Roque thanked the crowd for its ''militant solidarity with revolutionary Cuba'' and asked people to move outside.
''Fidel will not leave Argentina without making his speech,'' Pérez Roque promised.