Name: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz

Age: 79

Occupation: President of Cuba

Place of Residence: La Habana, Cuba

Bio: From Wikipedia: “Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on a sugar plantation in Birán, near Mayarí, in the modern-day province of Holguín – then a part of the now-defunct Oriente province. He was the third child born to Ángel Castro y Argiz, a Spanish immigrant who became relatively prosperous through hard work in the sugar industry and shrewd investments.”

As we all know, the rest is history. From these seemingly modest beginnings, Castro rose to power in the island of Cuba. Depending on whom you ask, this marks either a very bad or a very glorious moment in history. Enough said.

Why he’s loved: Like we said, the topic of Castro drums up a great deal of emotions. Those who love him credit him with liberating his island from the chains of colonialism and foreign influence, and proving that the small nation could exist without any sort of aid from the United States. Others that love him say he’s proven that communism can be successful.

Why he’s hated: Turn all of the prior reasons for why he’s loved on their heads and you’ll pretty much have it. His detractors blame him for destroying Cuban culture, oppressing the Cuban people, isolating the rest of the world to the island’s detriment, and leading a revolution which has fallen into what they consider a decadent example of the failure of communism.

Why he’s influential: He can piss off the U.S. in a heartbeat. His personality has gained him valuable alliances in the world, managing to keep Washington at bay, and has leaders like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez commending the example he has set for Latin America. When rumors of his death fly, Wall St. goes nuts.

VOTE for Fidel Castro as VL’s Most Influential Latino 2006.