Raul Castro must still heed Fidel, Chinese analyst says

Politics

Raul Castro must still heed Fidel, Chinese analyst says
Published April 20, 2011
EFE

Beijing – Fidel Castro hasn't retired yet and his brother Raul and
other Cuban leaders must still listen to his opinions, according to a
Chinese analyst of the online publication China Business News.

"We can't say that he has retired just because he left the post of
secretary of Cuba's Communist Party to his brother, who told the
recently concluded congress that Fidel is the leader even without an
official position in the government," Prof. Xu Shicheng of China's
Institute of Latin American Studies said.

The expert said that Fidel Castro continues to write articles every day
for Granma, the official mouthpiece of the Cuban Communist Party.

"While that doesn't mean that Raul Castro doesn't exercise power or that
he has to ask Fidel's permission to do anything, Fidel generally
comments on international affairs and leaves internal matters to Raul,"
Xu said.

On Tuesday the Chinese government expressed its support for the plan of
economic reforms approved by the 6th Congress of the Cuban Communist
Party, saying that they "will be very important for the development" of
the island, which will successfully "construct a socialism with (Cuban)
characteristics."

Cuba's economic reforms, like the ones China launched more than 30 years
under the direction of Deng Xiaoping, seek "to guarantee the continuity
and irreversibility of socialism," according to the resolution of the
6th Congress.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/04/20/raul-castro-heed-fidel-chinese-analyst-says/