Castro seems aged, slower on TV show
Fidel Castro appeared in a television interview, looking haggard but
sounding fairly lucid.
Posted on Sat, Sep. 22, 2007
BY FRANCES ROBLES
frobles@MiamiHerald.com
More than three months after his last public showing, ailing Cuban
leader Fidel Castro made a surprise appearance on Cuban television
Friday night, speaking slowly and clearly but looking visibly aged.
The hourlong interview with Cuban TV journalist Randy Alonso that aired
on the state network Cubavisión also was the first since a recent
outbreak of speculation that the Cuban leader had died.
Castro wore his signature red, white and blue track suit and spoke of
international economic issues, such as the fall of the dollar and
$84-a-barrel oil prices -- illustrating that the interview was taped
Friday. He sat upright in a chair, a far cry from pictures a year ago
showing him rail-thin and laying flat on his back on a hospital-type bed.
In a conversation that was at times difficult to follow, Castro often
trailed off mid-sentence and needed prodding by Alonso to remind him of
words or bring him back on track.
Alonso fawned over Castro, telling him how his voice sounded strong and
that Miami exiles were going to ''fall on their backs'' when they see
the latest video.
Asked what message he had for the Cuban people, Castro said, simply, ``a
strong embrace.''
During the interview, he criticized former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, talked about the war in Iraq and read from former
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's new book. He touched on
a variety of topics, including the Bay of Pigs and Americans who lack
health insurance, but not his health or Cuban affairs.
Castro was last seen in another Alonso interview that aired June 5.
The summer that followed was marked by regular and widespread
speculation assuring that Castro had died. The stories often came on
Fridays, and were usually accompanied with details about when the death
announcement was expected.
''They have to put him out there on TV, because in Cuba, people
generally think he's very, very ill or even dead,'' former political
prisoner Héctor Palacios said by telephone from Havana. ``I did not see
the interview, but I can tell you they are generally taped. They may air
a half-hour of it, but they probably spent an entire day taping it.''
Castro, 81, gave up the power he had held for 47 years on July 31, 2006,
when his personal secretary read a letter written by Castro saying that
a heavy travel schedule had worn him down. He suffered intestinal
bleeding and needed surgery, the statement said.
Castro ''temporarily'' turned over power to his brother Raúl, who has
been defense minister since the 1959 revolution victory.
In recent months, Castro has taken to writing regular editorials that
largely tackle global issues.
''Fidel continues to recuperate. It's a productive recuperation, as we
can see in the press,'' The Associated Press on Friday quoted Vice
President Carlos Lage as saying.
Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque added that ``Fidel is recovering
with discipline, and I think that he's having a productive work period
-- reading, studying, writing and keeping up with and participating in
the country's principal decisions.''
Miami Herald translator Renato Pérez contributed to this report.
No comments:
Post a Comment