Frei Betto: Fidel the Last Great Leader of the 20th Century.

Brasilia, (Prensa Latina) With Fidel Castro, dies the last great leader of the 20th century; the only one who survived the success of his own work: the Cuban Revolution, liberation theologian Frei Betto assured here today.

Author of the book ‘Fidel and religión’, among more than 50 volumes published, the Dominican friar stressed that the leader who led the destinies of his nation for almost half a century leaves an invaluable legacy.

Cuba is the only country in the world that has received four visits by Popes. And it is not predominantly Catholic, said Frei Betto and recalled that the Supreme Pontiff Francis chose Cuba as a meeting point for his rapprochement with the Orthodox Church and the rapprochement with the United States.

‘I think Fidel died happy because of the coherence of his life’, he stressed.

Fidel Castro, he added, was a man who, whether we agree with his ideas or his positions, turned Cuba into a sovereign nation, which occupies a small territory, but where anything that happens attracts the attention of the whole world.

Questioned for the Brazilian edition of the newspaper El País on the links of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution with Brazil, Betto said that these were always close. All Brazilian governments had good relations with Cuba: political, diplomatic, he indicated.

He also remembered that Fidel maintained a great respect for the former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, of whom he was always a friend.

In another part of his declarations, Frei Betto recalled his last meeting with the Commander on August 13th, on the occasion of his 90th birthday, and revealed that during the meeting he was observing with caution the rapprochement with the Americans.

He told me: Obama is changing his methods, but also his objectives should change, he said before emphasizing that the Cuban leader did not want the future of his country to be that of Panama or Guatemala.

Cuba has no drug mafias or families living under a bridge. It is, on the contrary, a nation where people have much education and health, noted the liberation theologian and noted that the epidemic of Ebola was controlled thanks to the fundamental role of Cuban doctors.

Wherever there is a catastrophe, the Cubans are present, always supportive, he said.