Cuban lawmakers meet for first session since Castro fell ill

Cuban lawmakers meet for first session since Castro fell ill
By ANITA SNOW
The Associated Press
Posted December 22 2006, 12:32 PM EST

HAVANA -- Parliament opened Friday with Fidel Castro's chair empty, in
the first meeting of the Communist nation's legislature since Cuba's
80-year-old leader fell ill.

National Assembly of Popular Power sessions traditionally features dry
speeches crammed with economic figures, but Cubans and foreign analysts
watched Friday's meeting closely for clues about Castro's health after
his July 31 intestinal surgery.

As the session began, lawmakers sang the national anthem and observed a
minute of silence for a deceased colleague. Raul Castro, who temporarily
assumed power after his brother's surgery, sat in his customary seat
just to the left of the one normally used by Fidel. National Assembly
President Ricardo Alarcon, as usual, presided.

Fidel Castro typically attends the meetings, where he questions speakers
giving their annual economic reports and sometimes delivers speeches of
his own.

Castro loyalists were disappointed early this month when he failed to
show up for a major military parade marking the 50th anniversary of
Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces _ which doubled as a belated
celebration of his Aug. 13 birthday. Castro has not been seen in public
since July 26 _ five days before he stepped aside _ and his current
medical condition is a state secret. He has appeared thin and pale in
photographs and videos released by the government in recent months.

U.S. intelligence officials have speculated that Castro suffers from
cancer or some other terminal ailment. Cuban officials deny this, and
insist that Castro will recover and return to public life.

But many acknowledge privately that it seems increasingly unlikely he
will resume his role as Cuba's supreme leader. Some U.S. doctors have
said that Castro might have diverticular disease, which can cause
bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over 60. In severe
cases, emergency surgery may be required.

Raul Castro, the 75-year-old defense minister, has adopted a more
collaborative leadership style since assuming provisional power,
delegating more responsibilities and calling for more public debate than
his brother.

In Friday's session, Raul Castro was surrounded by other members of the
leadership, including vice presidents Carlos Lage and Esteban Lazo and
Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

The nearly 500 members of Cuba's National Assembly are directly elected
every five years in district balloting across the island. Although
Communist Party membership is not required to run, no other political
parties are recognized in Cuba and deputies often run unopposed.

The National Assembly elects Cuba's governing body, the Council of
State, including its president.

Castro was elected by National Assembly deputies to his sixth
presidential term in March 2003. At the same time, the deputies
re-elected Raul Castro as the council's first vice president, ratifying
his role as his brother's constitutionally designated successor.

Following that vote, the elder Castro made what was then a rare
reference to his mortality.

``I promise that I will be with you, if you so wish, for as long as I
feel that I can be useful -- and if it is not decided by nature
before,'' he said. ``Not a minute less and not a second more.''

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