Latin America moved on from Castro-style rule

By Alistair Bell

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.