Castro cited saying too early for health verdict

By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA — Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro sees it as too early to judge his recovery from surgery that forced him to temporarily hand over power for the first time in 47 years to his brother, state media on Wednesday quoted him saying.

As speculation swirled that his rule might be nearing an end, state-run newspaper Granma published a message from the 79-year-old president saying details of his health were secret but that he was stable and in good spirits.

"The most I can say is that the situation will remain stable for many days before a verdict can be given," said the message from Castro, which was first read out on state television late on Tuesday.

"The situation is stable but real progress on health needs time," said the message, mentioning Cuba’s "specific situation" — a reference to long-running U.S. government hostility to the communist outpost on its doorstep.

Castro, who last appeared in public on July 26, handed over power to his 75-year-old defense minister brother, Raul, on Monday after surgery to halt stomach bleeding.

The news ignited raucous celebrations among Cuban-Americans in Miami hoping for an end to Cuban communism.

But residents of the Caribbean island’s picturesque but scruffy capital have largely gone about their business as usual. Many said they are worried about their "comandante"’s health but that the revolution he started in the hills of the Sierra Maestra would go on without him.

There appeared to be a slight increase in police presence in some of Havana’s more run-down neighborhoods, where street protests over power cuts broke out last summer. Some Cubans with relatives in the security forces said military and other uniformed personnel had also been mobilized in barracks and police stations as a precaution.

Some residents also reported that rapid deployment brigades used to quell riots in the past were on standby.

"Everything is calm and people are not talking about it in the street, but they are worried. What is going to happen?" said Manuel, chauffeur of a battered Russian-made Lada car.

PRO-CASTRO RALLIES

Government employees held small rallies across Cuba on Tuesday to show their support for Castro and the revolution.

At some rallies women concerned about Castro’s health were seen crying.

"Everything will continue all the same here," said Ibis, a factory worker at a meeting in Havana’s Central Park.

"I am not afraid of anything. The revolution is going to continue," she said.

Opinion can be hard to measure in a tightly controlled society like Cuba. Many here, still suffering from economic deprivation since the collapse of Castro’s supporter the Soviet Union in 1991, are too busy coping with the needs of daily life to think about the future, let alone get involved in dissent.

The U.S. administration, which has tightened a long embargo of Cuba, has dismissed any possibility of a softer stance toward the Cuban government even if Raul Castro takes over permanently.

Raul, Fidel Castro’s designated successor, has assumed the posts of Communist Party head, armed forces’ commander-in-chief and president of the Council of State. Party officials expressed backing for the ex-guerrilla, who has spent decades in his brother’s shadow.

Some Cubans, although concerned about Castro’s health, believe a well-planned succession under the ruling Communist Party was under way. Seven out of every 10 Cubans were born after Castro’s revolution and know no other system.