Associated Press
11:10 AM EST, January 16, 2008
HAVANA - Fidel Castro said Wednesday he is not yet healthy enough to
speak to Cuba's people in person and can't campaign for Sunday's
parliamentary elections.
``I am not physically able to speak directly to the citizens of the
municipality where I was nominated for our elections next Sunday,'' the
ailing 81-year-old wrote in an essay published Wednesday by state news
media.
Castro's latest essay focused on blasting U.S. President George W. Bush,
but included references to the Cuban leader's health.
It was published on the front pages of state-run newspapers a day after
Castro met for more than two hours with Brazilian President Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who said Castro appeared healthy
enough to return to politics.
``I think Fidel is ready to take over his historic political role in
this globalized world, in humanity,'' Silva told reporters as he left
Cuba late Tuesday. He did not suggest what role that might be.
Castro, however, expressed frustration in his essay: ``I do what I can:
I write. For me, this is a new experience: writing is not the same as
speaking.''
Castro has not been seen in public since July 2006, when emergency
intestinal surgery forced him to cede power to a provisional government
headed by his younger brother Raul, five years his junior.
Raul Castro addressed a crowd of voters on Dec. 24 in the brothers' home
district in the eastern city of of Santiago, saying he was filling in
for his brother. But Wednesday's essay was the first time the older
Castro has acknowledged he is not well enough to campaign for himself.
Though he stepped aside as Cuba's active president, Castro remains head
of the Council of State. Re-election to the legislature, or National
Assembly, is a necessary step if he is to continue to run the council.
Castro looked frail but upbeat and even playful in official photos of
his meeting with Silva. Wearing a track suit and tennis shoes _ which
have replaced olive-green fatigues as his standard uniform _ Castro is
seen seated and grinning, his beard well-trimmed and his hair combed as
he talks with Brazil's president At one point, he even pretends to snap
pictures with a small camera.
``My feeling is that Fidel is in very good health, that he's as lucid as
he's ever been,'' Silva said.
The Brazilian president said politicians were like athletes who need to
stay active.
Cuba's government has not given details about Castro's illness or where
he is being treated. Tuesday's were the first photos released of Castro
since October, during one of his many meetings with his socialist ally,
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Castro suggested in a letter last month he would not cling to power
forever or stand in the way of a younger generation of leaders. But he
also mentioned the example of a Brazilian architect who is still working
at 100 and has not said when _ or even if _ he will permanently step aside.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-116castro,0,4921052.story
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