Whatever the reactions to the death of the longtime leader of Cuba Fidel Castro, who died on Friday at the age of 90, he was undoubtedly a political figure of extraordinary influence.

Whatever the evaluations about what he has done for his own country and people, and whatever conclusions people of different political standings have reached or will reach about this man's political legacy, it is beyond doubt that he left a deep political mark in a time characterized by ideological confrontation and the Cold War.

At the mention of this famous name, we cannot help but think about the political turmoil and chaos that the ideological confrontation between the two political camps brought to many parts of the world in the last century. Yet despite the isolation and economic embargo imposed on the island by its powerful neighbor the United States for more than 50 years, this man called the world's most developed country's bluff and led his people on a path of their own. One that they stuck to despite the suffering for want of the development opportunities they would have had without the political divide.