Published on Tuesday, May 22, 2007
By Anthony Boadle
HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): Cuban leader Fidel Castro has written a string
of editorial columns to reassert himself after surgery forced him to
step aside last year but, with no word on his health, some Cubans are
now worried about a power vacuum.
Although he has not appeared in public for 10 months, the 16,000 words
published by Communist Party newspapers and repeatedly read out on state
media in recent weeks have raised speculation that Castro could lead the
country again.
His partial return has many wondering whether he or his brother Raul
Castro -- who was named interim president when Castro fell sick -- is in
charge.
"Fidel is writing articles to show that he is still alive. But Raul is
silent and nobody is speaking to the Cuban people," said a caretaker
watering plants at an apartment building in Havana.
"I love Fidel but it is time he showed up, told Cuba 'Mission
Accomplished' and handed power to his aides," he said, asking not to be
named.
Castro, 80, gave his last speech on July 26, days before emergency bowel
surgery forced him to hand over power to Raul, his low-profile brother
and defense minister.
Eight articles signed by Castro have appeared since March blasting his
ideological nemesis, the U.S. government, for threatening the world's
food supply with its biofuels plans, promoting free trade and
encouraging defections from Cuba.
But not a word on his illness, which is a closely guarded state secret,
nor on whether he plans to resume leadership of Cuba or retire.
"He has not appeared physically, so we don't know how he is," said
Miriam Leiva, a dissident and former diplomat. "The articles maintain
his apparent presence, but they do not deal with the real issues Cubans
are facing."
"Cuba needs change and economic revival. The country is in political
limbo," she said.
COMEBACK
Video images of Castro released in October showed a gaunt and shuffling
old man. Last month, however, images of him meeting with a Chinese
Communist Party delegation showed him looking heavier, although still in
hospital.
Some Cuba watchers believe Castro is once again very much in control of
the island nation of 11 million and will reappear in public in the near
future.
Cuban officials say Castro has regained 40 pounds (18 kg) of the weight
he lost after complicated surgery on his intestines, and that his health
crisis is over. But they are not saying when he will reappear, or in
what role.
"Fidel continues to be the leader of this revolution ... contributing to
it in a different manner," National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcon
recently told the U.S. radio news program Democracy Now. "He is less
present, but you can read him ... you can see how he is thinking about
certain important issues of today's world."
Most experts on Cuba agree that the communist government has remained
firmly in control during Castro's absence and that the one-party state
has a succession plan for when he dies.
With the help of Venezuela and China, Cuba's economy is in better shape
than a decade ago in the wake of the collapse of Soviet communism.
Dissent has been contained since a crackdown four years ago.
Some believe a transfer of power has already taken place with Castro
adopting a role of elder statesman like Mao Zedong did in China. Others
say Castro is still in the driving seat.
"The Comandante is very much in control over the key policy decisions,"
said Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence officer who broke
with Castro and left Cuba for Miami in 1994.
Amuchastegui believes Castro is delaying his public comeback so he can
make a triumphant return as the "heroic guerrilla ... not as a living
corpse."
He said Castro will have to reappear at some point to hand over some of
his formal positions of power, although he could hold on to the post of
Communist Party first secretary.
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