Fidel Castro writes first editorial since surgery

Jimmy2 · March 30, 2007

Fidel Castro writes first editorial since surgery

By Catherine Bremer

Thursday, March 29, 2007;

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's Fidel Castro published his first editorial since his July surgery on Thursday, signing his name to a scathing article on U.S. biofuel plans for Thursday's edition of the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

The article -- e-mailed to the media in the early hours of Thursday and later posted on Granma's Web site -- said nothing about Castro's state of health, but signaled that the convalescing leader is following world affairs closely.

It was the latest indication that Castro has no plans to retire from the limelight, after comments by various government officials recently that he is recovering well enough to soon take a more active role in government.

Castro has yet to reappear in public, however, having only been seen in photographs and video recordings or heard on the radio since his surgery. He has been pictured in track suits or pajamas rather than his trademark olive green uniform.

In Thursday's article, Castro said more than 3 billion people in the world were condemned to die prematurely of hunger or thirst from plans by his ideological foe, the United States, to convert foodstuffs like corn into fuel for cars.

"This is not an exaggerated figure, it's more likely cautious," Castro wrote in the ruling Communist Party's daily newspaper. "I've been meditating quite a bit since President Bush's meeting with North American automobile makers."

He was commenting on a proposal by the Bush administration to cut gasoline use by 20 percent by 2017, mostly by increasing the use of fuels such as ethanol, made from home-grown corn.

Bush's plan, unveiled in his State of the Union speech in late January, also counts on advances in making ethanol from other sources such as wood chips and switchgrass.

Castro said nothing about whether he intends to participate more actively in the government, after handing over day-to-day power to Raul Castro eight months ago.

The editorial, dated March 28, was sub-headed "Reflections of the Comandante in Chief" -- a possible indication that Castro could from now on put his musings on world affairs down on paper, rather than in the lengthy speeches which have been the trademark of his more than four decades in power.

On Wednesday, Castro's elder brother Ramon Castro said the recovering leader was in good shape, but shed no light on whether he could soon make a live public appearance.

The Cuban government has not given any indication whether Castro could show up at an April 28 meeting in Cuba of a trade pact known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA, as Bolivian President Evo Morales has said he hoped.

Castro ceded his presidential functions to his 75-year-old brother, the defense minister, when disclosing he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery. He has not appeared in public since.

In the meantime, Raul Castro has run the nation at the head of a collective leadership named by his older brother, including Cabinet Secretary Carlos Lage and several other top Communist Party officials.

But it was clear from his article that Fidel Castro now wants his voice to be heard on international issues, especially when it comes to the environment.

Written with the apocalyptic tone he has traditionally adopted in the past to discuss the effects of U.S. policies on developing nations, there was no reason to doubt Castro was the author.

"The sinister idea of converting food into combustible was definitively established as the economic line of the foreign policy of the United States," Castro wrote of Bush's discussions of biofuels with U.S. automakers this week.

He noted that Cuba has also experimented with extracting ethanol from sugar cane, but said there could be disastrous consequences if rich nations imported key food crops such as corn from poor countries to help meet energy needs.

"Apply this recipe to the countries of the Third World and you will see how many people among the hungry masses of our planet will no longer consume corn," the article said.

In recent weeks, Bolivian President Evo Morales and several senior Cuban officials have indicated that Castro could soon take a more active role in public affairs and may even return to the presidency.

Morales said he expects to see Castro in public April 28 during a meeting in Havana with presidents celebrating a regional trade and cooperation pact.

Like many Cubans, Cuesta Morua said he expected that Castro will make a public appearance soon. "We are going to see his face," he said. "But we are going to read him more than we are going to see him."

Castro's older brother, Ramon, said Wednesday that Fidel was doing very well but dodged questions about whether he would soon make a public appearance. "He's in one piece," the 82-year-old Ramon said. "These Castros are strong!"