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The Cuban President, Fidel Castro appears to be . This appears to be yet another reminder of that fact that the 81-year-old President no longer holds the reigns of power in this one of the last surviving Communist regimes. For over a year now, Castro’s brother, Raul, has served as de-facto leader and little has been seen of Fidel since he entered hospital over a year ago.

Reports have suggested that Castro is currently suffering from some form of intestinal cancer. However, the Cuban government has denied this. Cuban government officials remain tight-lipped when it comes to providing details on Castro’s current condition. Little has been seen of the leader during the last two months. Pictures provided to the media a few months ago showed a frail Mr. Castro. His current location is a state secret.

However, Mr. Castro will not be forgotten any time soon despite the fact that he is unlikely to ever make any sort of return to Cuban politics. The fireworks which marked his birthday were a reminder of the significant role played by Castro in the politics of the region since the 1950s. Even during his illness, Castro’s influence continues to be felt in Cuban media: for example, his editorials routinely appear in the Cuban print media. Many observers believe that Castro has now taken a new position as an advisor to his brother, who has little experience in politics. And despite the many Cuban dissidents who flee to the United States every day, Mr. Castro appears to have many supporters in Cuba as well. Party members held candle-lit vigils across the island as a mark of solidarity with their leader.

So far the handover of power in Cuba appears to have gone relatively smoothly. Raul Castro has indicated that he intends to implement much needed reforms to the Cuban economy. It is likely that the longer Fidel Castro remains out of the public eye, the more likely it is that the current state of affairs will continue.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 13th, 2007 at 6:20 pm and is filed under Current Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.