Castro marks first year on sidelines

Castro marks first year on sidelines
Posted on Tue, Jul. 31, 2007
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press Writer

HAVANA --
Cuba passed the one-year anniversary of Fidel Castro's withdrawal from
power without official mention of the fact on Tuesday - but Castro
published an essay proclaiming Cuba's victories at the Pan American
games were a triumph for the revolution.

"On 59 occasions we heard the spirited notes of the Cuban National
Anthem playing - in spite of everything!" Castro wrote in the latest of
a series of columns, referring to the 59 gold medals the country won
during the hemispheric competition in Rio de Janeiro - second only to
the United States.

Castro, who turns 81 on Aug. 13, has not been seen in public since he
underwent emergency intestinal surgery and withdrew from day-to-day
government on July 31, 2006.

But Cuba's communist leadership has defied predictions it would weaken
without the man who had led it since 1959, functioning smoothly under
his brother Raul, the defense minister.

"The most important success of the revolution is the capacity to resist
nearly half a century of blockade and privations of all sorts," Castro
wrote Tuesday, referring to the U.S. embargo of his country.

In recent months he has made his opinions known through newspaper
columns entitled "Reflections of the Commander in Chief," weighing in on
Cuba's economy, the U.S. government and proposals to use food crops to
produce ethanol.

The last five columns focused on the Pan American games. Earlier in the
month he had said he was so engrossed watching Cuba's performance on
television that he sometimes forgot to eat and take his medicine.

The bearded leader is a lifelong sports fan and played basketball and
baseball in his youth.

Officials have not said if Castro will resume his duties as president.
Raul Castro, 76, appears to have consolidated his rule.

Official news media made no mention of the anniversary, but published
fragments of a speech by the younger Castro commemorating the 50th
anniversary of the death of revolutionary activist Frank Pais.

On July 26, Raul Castro gave a Revolution Day speech recognizing that
government salaries did not cover basic needs and saying the country
needed "structural changes" he did not detail.

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