Leftist allies to pay tribute to Castro

Leaders of Cuba´s leftist allies and other developing countries descend on Havana on Tuesday for a mass rally commemorating Fidel Castro, the rebel who seized power in a 1959 revolution and ruled the island for half a century.

Castro, who ceded control to his younger brother Raul Castro a decade ago due to poor health, died on Friday at the age of 90, leaving behind a mixed legacy.

For many, especially in Latin America and Africa, he was a symbol of resistance to imperialism, having ousted a US-backed dictator, and a champion of the poor.

Others condemned him as a tyrant whose socialism ran the economy to ruin.

Cuba announced nine days of mourning after his death, including the mass rally on Tuesday evening in Revolution Square - the same massive space where Castro once held fiery, marathon speeches.

Many leaders of Latin America´s left, including Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Bolivian President Evo Morales, were to attend the ceremony.

Shortly after landing in Havana on Monday night, Maduro paid tribute to Fidels "immortal force".

Also expected are several African leaders such as Zimbabwe´s Robert Mugabe and South Africa´s Jacob Zuma.

Nelson Mandela, while he was still alive, repeatedly thanked Castro for his efforts in helping to weaken apartheid in South Africa.

China is sending Vice President Li Yuanchao, and on Tuesday in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Cuban embassy to pay his condolences, saying China had lost a "close comrade and real friend", China´s foreign ministry said.

Yet few leaders from the world´s major powers are heading to the Caribbean island, with many sending second tier officials instead to pay their respects to a man who built a Communist state on the doorstep of the United States.

All schools and government offices will be closed on Tuesday so that Cubans can more easily join the rally and other activities to pay homage to Castro, authorities said.

On Tuesday morning, they will have their last chance to pass by a portrait of the late leader, dressed in military fatigues and carrying a rifle, erected in a memorial to Cuban independence hero Jose Marti in Revolution Square.