It's often said, this sort of thing:
Fidel seized power in January 1959; he went on to become the longest-serving political leader in the world, outlasting... nine American presidents...As a way of marking the passage of time, nine American presidents adds up, for sure; but otherwise it isn't so startling that they should have been outlasted by him. Think about it: I was a member of the Government Department at the University of Manchester during the terms of eight presidents; WotN and I have been married for the same length of time. But, but, but, you might say, those are different things - a job, a marriage. Well yes, precisely: US presidents serve for fixed terms and for a maximum of two terms each. It's a different thing. Outlasting them isn't in itself a great achievement for an irremoveable head of state.
Oh, and here's universal literacy with add-ons:
In the early 90s, when I was living in Havana with my family, my eldest daughter, Bella, who was then about six years old, came home from school one afternoon in a state of excitement. She asked me, in Spanish: "Daddy, do you know what 'amor' means?" I feigned ignorance. Taking a deep breath, Bella recited: "Amor es lo que Fidel siente para el pueblo" - "Love is what Fidel feels for the people."Careful not to show my dismay, I congratulated Bella on her feat of memorisation, and she beamed with pride. She was, understandably, very pleased with her educational achievement.
.....
Inevitably, during the three years we lived in Cuba, Fidel became both a familiar figure and a totemic one to my children - half grandfather, half God. With his deeds and aphorisms the stuff of daily fare, and his face and voice omnipresent on nightly television, they came to understand that El Jefe Maximo was the ultimate guiding hand that controlled their lives and those of everyone around them. He represented the past and the present, and the future too. Fidel, somehow, was Cuba.