Communism Not in Decline, Castro Says

Cuban President Fidel Castro has said communism is not in decline and scathingly attacked capitalism.

Capitalism “is a society of beasts, a zoo where the lions run free and the powerful devour the weak,” he said.

In the hourlong speech, televised on Thursday night and published in Friday’s official newspaper Granma, Castro spoke in glowing terms of Cuba’s free medical care, educational system, child care centers and schools for the handicapped.

“Which of those dehumanized (capitalist) cities have those services?” he asked. “Imperialism thinks socialism is in decline, but what is declining is imperialism and captitalism.”