havana, cuba<u+2014>leaders from around the world convened here tuesday night for a rousing rally in revolution square to honor fidel castro, the polarizing revolutionary whose death has triggered days of carefully orchestrated memorials in this island nation. with thousands gathered in the iconic plaza, presidents and representatives of governments across several continents eulogized mr. castro, who ruled here for 49 years and then remained an influential presence until his death friday at age 90. <u+201c>he led a socialist revolution for the poor, by the poor,<u+201d> mr. castro<u+2019>s younger brother, ra<u+00fa>l, who succeeded him as president, said after a night of speeches. he called fidel<u+2014>as all devotees of cuba<u+2019>s revolution call him<u+2014><u+201c>a symbol of the anti-colonial, anti-apartheid and anti-imperialist struggle.<u+201d> bolivian president evo morales, one of the late mr. castro<u+2019>s most ardent prot<u+00e9>g<u+00e9>s, said the elder castro<u+2019>s ideas will live on. <u+201c>fidel is more alive than ever, more necessary than ever.<u+201d> mr. castro was to many a symbol of world-wide revolution and, for 58 years, a loud and determined opponent of 11 u.s. presidents.<u+00a0>the rally brought leading detractors of american foreign policy, from venezuela<u+2019>s populist president, nicol<u+00e1>s maduro, to president robert mugabe of zimbabwe and nicaraguan president daniel ortega. human-rights groups accuse them and others who were here of consolidating power at the expense of democratic norms. <u+201c>fidel wasn<u+2019>t just your leader, fidel was the leader of all revolutionaries,<u+201c> mr. mugabe told state television here upon arriving at havana<u+2019>s international airport. <u+201c>farewell, dear brother. farewell, revolutionary.<u+201d> the absence of heads of state from much of the world was notable. there were no leaders of major european countries or senior u.s. officials. the white house announced it wouldn<u+2019>t send a delegation, instead dispatching jeffrey delaurentis, the top diplomat at the american embassy here, and ben rhodes, president barack obama <u+2019>s deputy national security adviser. canadian prime minister justin trudeau, who was criticized in his country for eulogizing mr. castro upon his death, didn<u+2019>t attend. nor did the presidents of argentina, brazil or colombia. russian president vladimir putin, whose country was mr. castro<u+2019>s longtime benefactor in his decadeslong struggle with the u.s., sent condolences. the atmosphere, though, was celebratory<u+2014>and fiery. president rafael correa of ecuador blasted the u.s. <u+201c>blockade<u+201d> of cuba, in a reference to washington<u+2019>s longtime trade embargo of the caribbean island. leaders from south africa to el salvador celebrated mr. castro as a hero for the downtrodden. it was riveting for cubans who attended, among them diana garcia, 17. <u+201c>we know what fidel signifies<u+2014>a man like this will never be repeated,<u+201d> she said. there was no talk of mr. castro<u+2019>s iron rule, in which adversaries were executed by firing squad and dissidents jailed by the thousands, or cuba<u+2019>s support of ill-fated guerrilla uprisings across latin america that killed thousands. instead, presidents and government representatives celebrated mr. castro for defying imperialism. mr. correa said mr. castro had made cuba independent from the u.s. <u+201c>they haven<u+2019>t invaded cuba because they know they cannot defeat the people,<u+201d> he said. there were even veiled references to president-elect donald trump, who has suggested he would roll back president obama<u+2019>s detente with cuba unless ra<u+00fa>l castro makes unspecified political changes. a crowd of thousands, flooding a huge open ground under havana<u+2019>s towering obelisk in a square where mr. castro once gave hourslong speeches, shouted, <u+201c>long live the revolution.<u+201d> gildo cabrera, 62 and dressed in red, said he had been fighting a bad cold this week but that, <u+201c>like all cubans, i<u+2019>d felt the loss<u+201d> of mr. castro. <u+201c>i<u+2019>m really sick, and i have a fever, but i am here,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>i couldn<u+2019>t miss it.<u+201d> another cuban, grecia lopez, a 33-year-old psychologist, called mr. castro <u+201c>a man of history who made his mark on the 20th and 21st century and will transcend beyond, without a doubt.<u+201d> <u+201c>everyone who has come to the square has come out of conviction,<u+201d> she said. from wednesday, mr. castro<u+2019>s ashes will be slowly taken east, tracing in reverse the route he and his bearded guerrillas took in late 1958 as they closed in on havana and the seizure of power. on sunday, his remains will be laid to rest in santiago de cuba, where mr. castro<u+2019>s revolution began. <u+201c>that he<u+2019>s going to santiago is something that fills all of us cubans with pride,<u+201d> said jose raul viera, a former deputy-foreign minister. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s perfectly logical.<u+201d> write to juan forero at juan.forero@wsj.com
cuba<u+2019>s fidel castro eulogized at rally in havana - wsj
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