Raul Castro

It’s not unusual for politicians to keep it in the family: currently there are two Milibands running for Labour leader; the past two decades of American politics has been dominated by two families: Bush and Clinton; and in Argentina, president Cristina Fernandez is the wife of her predecessor. But nowhere is political nepotism so thriving as in Cuba.
 
When Fidel Castro a few yeas back began taking longer and longer breaks from his presidential duties, it soon became evident that the man who, together with Che Guevara, started the social revolution in the 1950s was too old and fragile to lead the nation. There was no election; the people had no say in who was to take over. It was obvious. Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel, was crowned leader.
 
And that’s a shame, at least from The Spin’s point of view. With his distinctive style – khaki fatigues, beard, cigars and army cap – Fidel not only created his own timeless image, but also influenced worldwide fashion. Later on, when he was semi-retired from dictatorship, he went for the ultimate casual look: multi-coloured tracksuits, often Adidas or Fila. Anyone else would have looked ridiculous, but Castro pulled it off. Whether or not you agreed with his quasi-totalitarian take on revolutionary ideas, you have to acknowledge his style and charisma.

Raul has continued Fidel’s military theme, but he’s added a few gold stars onto his uniform – a clear sign of a chip on the shoulder regarding his life spent in the shadow of his brother. He also favours a more American-style baseball cap – but in khaki, of course – which is ironic considering the frosty relationship between the countries. Instead of a beard, which is his brother’s trademark, Raul has gone all out on the glasses. Plus points to Raul finding his own sartorial niche (even if the spectacles are reminiscent of of Kim Jong-il’s), but there is no way that he’ll ever be cool enough to successfully rock trackie bottoms like his bro…