Fidel Castro says he's not in charge of the Communist Party
Fidel Castro announced that he gave up his party leadership post years
ago, but some question the timing of the announcement.
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@elnuevoherald.com
Cuba's Fidel Castro has claimed that he resigned the leadership of the
Communist Party after he nearly died five years ago — raising questions
about why the change in the nation's second-most important title was
never announced until now.
The declaration appears to signal that Castro's brother and successor,
Raúl, will enter a crucial Communist Party Congress next month with a
total grip on power, though Raúl has repeatedly said that he consults
Castro on major decisions.
"Without vacillating I renounced all my state and political jobs,
including that of first secretary of the party, when I got sick ...
although everyone continued to use those titles affectionately," he
wrote in a column published Tuesday.
The 84-year-old revolutionary leader announced in 2006 that he had
"temporarily'' turned over his government powers to Raúl and other
senior Havana officials after undergoing emergency surgery. Raúl was
officially elected to succeed him in 2008.
But Castro had never before said that he also gave up the title of first
secretary of the Communist Party, the island's only legal political
party and described by Cuba's constitution as "the superior directing
force of society and the state."
Just why Castro waited until Tuesday to make the announcement remained a
mystery.
Perhaps he did not want to make the change public in 2006 "thinking that
could cause a shock among the Cuban people," said Max Lesnick, a Miami
radio commentator who travels to Havana frequently and chatted with
Castro last year.
Other analysts said maybe Castro kept his decision secret in the hope of
someday being healthy enough to resume day-to-day control of the party.
But he has now realized that's not possible, so he's made his
resignation public.
Still others suspect Castro never officially gave up the title, and is
saying so now to boost his brothers standing in advance of a party
Congress April 16-19, its first since 1997.
Whatever the reason, "the single most fascinating aspect of Fidel's
announcement is that his dictatorship is so obscure and personalized
that only he knew he hasn't been PCC head for the last five years," said
Mauricio Claver-Carone, director of the U.S.-Cuba Political action
committee.
"If true, then he's following the lead of his friend (Moammar) Gaddafi
in Libya, who also claimed this month not to hold any official titles or
positions of power," Claver-Carone added in an email to El Nuevo Herald.
Over the last 5 ½ years, there was not even a rumor that the party
leadership had officially changed hands. Instead, there were indications
that the older brother was holding on to the control of the party.
The Party's Web page in fact still listed Castro as first secretary on
Tuesday and brother Raúl as his No. 2, though Castro was not known to
have attended any meetings of party officials since 2006.
Raúl Castro said last year the Congress would deal exclusively with the
market economic reforms that has proposed and that party matters —
presumably including the leadership jobs — would be dealt with during a
conference later this year.
Should Raúl be elected next month to the top party leadership post, that
would spark immediate speculation on who might become the new No 2 — and
perhaps next in line to lead the island of 11 million people.
Both Castros are believed to have been selected as delegates to the
Congress, though it is unclear if the older brother will attend the
sessions. Castro was first elected as head of the party when it was
created in 1965.
Just who really has been running Cuba since Castro took ill has been a
topic of heated discussions, unresolved in the face of the veil of
secrecy that has long covered Cuba's leadership dynamics.
Most supporters of the Castros tended to argue that there has been a
seamless transition of power from Castro to his 79-year-year-old
brother, as shown by Raúl's ambitious reform plans. His brother would
have never allowed such changes, they say.
The reforms include the dismissal of more than 1 million public
employees and trims in health and education services in order to cut
government spending, and allowing a massive expansion of private
economic activity.
Others argue that Castro retains a strong voice, especially in the
country's most important decisions, and point to the slow pace of Raúl's
reforms.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/22/2129020/fidel-castro-says-hes-not-in-charge.html
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