The Democratic Socialist of America Love Fidel Castro

by Rod Williams, August 17, 2026 - The Democratic Socialists of America has been in the news a lot lately. They have been growing and winning primaries within the Democratic Party. The DSA is the largest socialist organization in United States history, officially surpassing the Socialist Party of America under Eugene V. Debs, which reached its peak of dues-paying membership in 1912. As of July 12, DSA had 120,000 members. That is huge. And that is not just self-identified socialists; that is card-carrying members.

There is a tug of war going on in the Democratic Party between the sane center-left Democrats (or normie Dems or establishment Dems) and the extremists of the DSA. It is the topic of conversation on news panels, and almost every prominent Democratic politician being interviewed is asked his views on the DSA.  Dems are trying to walk a fine line and have a party big enough to welcome Marxist radicals and yet not be tarred as a party that endorses radical policies such as defunding the police. 

If you think the DSA is just a bunch of nice, naive, starry-eyed people concerned about income inequality and would like for the US to be more like Finland, you are wrong. You can tell a lot about a person by the type of people they admire and look up to. This is what the DSA said about Fidel Castro in a statement issued August 13, 2026: 

Today is the centenary of Fidel Castro, and the Democratic Socialists of America recognize the historic significance of both this day and the man. Fidel was an organizer, a fighter, and endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South. DSA has a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination. (link)

Castro is in the pantheon of the world's worst dictators. Maybe not quite in the same league as Hitler or Stalin, or Pol Pot, but close. After Castro's revolution, he turned Cuba into a totalitarian Communist state. He controlled the press, suspended free and fair elections, and banned protests. He abolished private property, and people could not even own their own homes. If you owned a home, the ownership transferred to the government. The island was cut off from the outside world, and thousands were imprisoned, beaten, and executed. Over a million people fled the socialist paradise, most on flimsy rafts through shark-infested waters.  If anyone thinks of Fidel Castro as an admirable role model, and someone to admire, they, at a minimum, should not be trusted with political power. All of their opinions should be suspect. 

While I want to derail Trumpian authoritarianism, I will not throw my lot in with socialists who admire Fidel Castro. When it comes to the lesser of two evils, between socialism and Trumpism, I think Trumpism is the lesser evil. Thankfully we are not to the point to where those are the only choices. 

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