Castro's Stinging Endorsement
By The New York Times
Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro stepped aside as president of Cuba in February and has not
been seen much since undergoing surgery in July 2006, but he is still
very much a presence in the island nation he has turned over to his
brother Raúl.
He also is full of opinions, and on Monday he gave Senator Barack Obama
an endorsement of sorts, calling him "the most progressive candidate to
the U.S. presidency" while also berating him for his plan to continue
the trade embargo against Cuba. "Were I to defend him, I would do his
adversaries an enormous favor," Mr. Castro said. "I have therefore no
reservations about criticizing him."
Mr. Castro, 81, was reacting to Mr. Obama's pledge last week to the
Cuban American National Foundation in Miami to maintain the trade
sanctions against Cuba as leverage to press for democratic change there.
But Mr. Obama also promised to ease restrictions on travel to the island
and sending money to relatives there.
"Presidential candidate Obama's speech may be formulated as follows:
hunger for the nation, remittances as charitable handouts and visits to
Cuba as propaganda for consumerism and the unsustainable way of life
behind it," Mr. Castro wrote in a column for Cuban newspapers, which was
translated to English for a newspaper Web site, Granma Internacional.
"I am not questioning Obama's great intelligence, his debating skills or
his work ethic," Mr. Castro wrote.
But, he added, "I am obliged to raise a number of delicate questions."
The Obama campaign declined to comment.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/castros-stinging-endorsement/
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