CRC Reactions to Death of Fidel Castro

“Cuba sí, Fidel no!”

That seems to be the general jubilant cry in Miami, Fla., after the passing of Cuban leader Fidel Castro last week.

“Their jubilance reflects the sentiment of thousands of people and families that had to go into exile after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution that started in 1959,” said Rev. Guillermo Serrano, Spanish ministry leader for Back to God Ministries International.

But on the island of Cuba itself the sentiment might be different.

“There are a couple of generations that knew him as the only leader who incarnated dreams and hopes for a country that did not have good memories of dictator Fulgencio Batista,” said Serrano.

Nine days of mourning have begun in Cuba to honor the memory of the revolutionary leader who died at age 90 last week, almost a decade after illness forced him to transfer power to his brother Raúl in 2008.

Several Christian Reformed Church congregations in North America have ties to Cuba and especially to the small CRC denomination that has been worshiping there for many years.

One CRC member who is familiar with the situation in Cuba said there have been struggles for the Cuban CRC congregations with the government over various issues through the years, but the Cuban government has also been willing to work with churches. The CRC member hopes that these positive relationships will continue after Castro’s death.

“I do not see any polítical unrest that might occur in the next few months being a direct problem for our churches. My concern would be for the Cuban people in general,” said the CRC member who did not want to be identified.

The Cuban CRC began in 1941 with the arrival of Jesse Vander Valk, from Bethel CRC in Paterson, N.J. She married a Cuban preacher, Vicente Izquierdo, and they established the first CRC congregation in Cuba in 1951.

Today there are more than a dozen congregations and several Bible-study groups that meet in different areas, said Jim Dekker, a CRC minister who has traveled to Cuba many times to teach and preach.

Dekker agrees that Castro’s death will not likely change the situation for the Cuban CRC. Similarly, he said, his sense is that this won’t affect the course the government has taken, which is to slowly lift some restrictions on life and activity in the country over the past few years.

As for Castro himself, Dekker said. “Some people are happy that he is dead, but other people sincerely honor the man. There are a lot of people who still remember what life was like before he took over.”

Certainly Castro ruled with an iron hand, and yet he did institute universal health care and education programs for the people of Cuba, said Dekker.

“Fidel Castro did have a world-class mind. I’m not sure anyone else could have done what he did—for good or for ill,” he said.

Hector Gonzalez, a CRC pastor in Florida, said, “In general, Cubans in this country think that Fidel’s death will not produce any changes (pro or con) because it is no longer an issue of an individual but of a system.

“They are hopeful that Raul Castro will continue making slow changes that in the long run will benefit everyone and open Cuba to a democratic future.”

Serrano was in Cuba last year and said he didn’t see any anxiety in the general population for a political change.

“But the youth, many of whom are very well educated, perhaps are waiting for a better system in which they would have participation. We’ll see.”