Castro on legislative slate

CUBA
Castro on legislative slate
Fidel Castro was nominated to serve again in Cuba's National Assembly,
which would enable him to continue as head of state.
Posted on Mon, Dec. 03, 2007
BY FRANCES ROBLES
frobles@MiamiHerald.com

Cuba's ailing Fidel Castro was nominated for a seat in the country's
national legislature Sunday, the first step required for him to continue
as the nation's head of state despite the illness that has sidelined him
for the past 16 months.

The decision to include him on the slate of candidates for the January
legislative election raises new questions about whether Castro ever
plans to give full decision-making power to his brother, interim
president and defense minister Raúl Castro.

Cuba's 169 municipal assemblies met throughout the island Sunday to
nominate candidates for the National Assembly election. The assembly
will later choose which of its members will serve on the Council of
State, which in turn selects the country's president.

If the municipal assemblies had left Fidel Castro's name off the
National Assembly slate, in effect it would have meant that Castro could
not be reelected president and that Cuba had officially begun a
transition of power.

''What this tells me is Fidel is not going to abdicate any power while
he is still alive,'' said Andy Gomez, a senior fellow at the University
of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies. ``There is
very much a presence of Fidel Castro in the running of Cuba; there is no
question about it. No one like him and others in history have given up
power until they are dead, period.''

The Cuban government media announced Sunday that Castro was nominated by
unanimous vote shortly before noon in Santiago de Cuba, the eastern city
he has represented in the legislature for more than 30 years. municipal
assembly members cried Viva Fidel! as they approved his candidacy, news
reports said.

Last summer, after 47 years at the nation's helm, Castro handed power to
his brother Raúl. He cited intestinal bleeding and later acknowledged
that he had lost more than 40 pounds and endured several surgeries.

Castro has not made any public appearance since, although he sometimes
offers videotaped interviews to the official state media. His health has
appeared to bounce back in recent months, although photos released by
the government still show him in casual athletic attire in a hospital room.

He turned 81 in August.

With Sunday's move, Castro's name will now appear on the Jan. 20 ballot
to fill one of the National Assembly's 614 seats. All candidates
nominated will run unopposed.

Santiago's municipal assembly also nominated Raúl Castro to the region's
provincial assembly, according to news reports. Other leaders, including
the vice president of the Council of State, Juan Almeida, Health
Minister José Ramón Balaguer and former Minister of Culture Armando Hart
were also nominated. In Havana, Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón and
Vice President Carlos Lage were nominated.

The new legislators will meet in March to select members of the Council
of State, which Castro officially heads.

''The key thing is, what does that slate of Council of State candidates
look like and is Fidel on that list?'' said Cuba expert William
LeoGrande of American University in Washington. ``It's conceivable they
might have him stand down and have Raúl be elected president in a formal
way. That would really finalize the succession. But if Fidel wants to
resume running the country, I would think he would keep formal hold of
the position.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/329651.html