ABSTRACT
One of the singular moments in a dictatorship is its end point. And for Fidel Castro and Francisco Franco those points converge revealingly–indicating a possible future for Cuba after its caudillos demise. Castro followed the trail blazed by Franco in the consolidation of power–the elimination of political opposition, the institutionalization of single-party rule, a repressive police system that created a groundswell of exile life when possible and prison life when unavoidable, and a cult of personality for maximum leadership. The Franco regime maintained manifest neutrality even as the Nazi-Fascist Axis appeared to be winning. And later, as the Allied victories mounted, the ideological tone of the regime was muted. Despite economic stagnation, relative isolation from many Western European, as well as Latin American, nations and the emergence of scattered but real opposition, Cuba remained relatively stable in July 2006.
