Latin America moved on from Castro-style rule

Cuba's President Fidel Castro (C) sits in between Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (L) and Bolivia's President Evo Morales during an event on Havana's Revolution Square in this April 29, 2006 file photo. For decades one of Latin America's most dominant figures, Cuban leader Fidel Castro was admired for defying the United States but his authoritarian rule is no longer a model for the region.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - For decades one of Latin America's most dominant figures, Cuban leader Fidel Castro was admired for defying the United States but his authoritarian rule is no longer a model for the region.

Castro, who announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, inspired and funded guerrilla movements throughout Latin America and was a hero for millions of young leftists.

Yet Latin America has moved on from Cold War-style confrontation and embraced democracy from the Mexican-U.S. border to the southern tip of Patagonia while Castro, 81, refused to allow opposition to his Communist rule.

"People thought he was out of tune ... and just unwilling to move forward on any type of progressive agenda and I think that's a feeling that's held throughout Latin America," said Andres Rosenthal, a former senior Mexican diplomat.

Latin American giants Mexico, Brazil and Argentina have left behind dictatorship and one-party rule in the last quarter century, although deep poverty and inequality linger.

Cuba's allies in government in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia all came to power through the ballot box. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Castro's best friend in the region, even lost a referendum last year on expanding his powers.

Many regional leaders have called for Cuba to open up.

"As Fidel Castro's political role comes to an end, we wish first of all for a peaceful and orderly transfer of power toward a democratic path," Peruvian Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo said.

The long-time Cuban leader's brother and expected successor, Raul Castro, has raised hopes of economic reforms but is seen as unlikely to make bold political changes.

President Evo Morales of Bolivia, a close Castro ally, lauded Castro.

"The revolutionary family will feel the absence of a commander, president and anti-imperialist who gave his life to free his people," said Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president.

STOOD UP TO WASHINGTON

Castro reduced illiteracy and established free health care, while many Latin American governments failed to care for their poor and sick. Cuba has 25,000 doctors serving in 66 developing countries, many in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Castro's defiance of the United States won him widespread support in a region that often feels unfairly dominated by Washington, which tightened its decades-old embargo on Cuba under President George W. Bush.

"The thing that is most admired about him is having stood up to the U.S. for all these years," said Rosenthal, a one-time Mexican ambassador to London.

During the Cold War, Soviet-ally Castro funded guerrilla wars against pro-U.S. governments in Nicaragua, Bolivia and El Salvador.

"Cuba radiated its example for all of Latin America because what it meant was that you could take on the Americans successfully," said Cesar Montes, a Guatemalan ex-rebel leader who also fought in campaigns in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Salvadoran President Tony Saca, a close Bush ally who has sent troops to Iraq, called for democracy. "It's not enough for the dictator to say, 'I'm going, I can't do the job any more.' He has to also allow free elections," Saca said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a moderate leftist, described Castro on Tuesday as "a legend" and predicted a smooth transition under Raul Castro.

"Changes will take place in a more orderly fashion with the initiative coming from Fidel himself," Lula said.

(Additional reporting by Carmen Munari in Sao Paulo, Carlos Quiroga in La Paz, Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City, Alberto Barrera in San Salvador and Marco Aquino in Lima, editing by Patricia Zengerle)

(For special coverage from Reuters on Castro's retirement, see: here)