Cubans don't expect to see ailing Castro anytime soon

By Silvia Ayuso Jul 25, 2007, 4:14 GMT

Fidel Castro at Havana\'s Jose Marti airport in a 1978 file photo. REUTERS/Prensa Latina

Havana - In the shade, Cubans chat, smoke, drink something cold or read the newspaper, as Havana moves to the slow rhythm of July's tropical heat.

Cuban President Fidel Castro, 80, was last seen in public on July 26, 2006, five days before 'temporarily' ceding power to his brother Raul.

With the looming anniversary of the communist leader's health- imposed retreat into private convalescence, political expectations are as languid as the summer lifestyle on the Caribbean island.

'I do not think he will appear on July 26,' said Alfonso, a young street vendor from Havana's Vedado neighbourhood.

'(Castro's) recovery is prolonged, as he himself has said. There is also his age. His age goes against a swift recovery, though all the people would like to see him. ... Everyone wants him back.'

He 'always' reads the articles published in the Cuban press from the ailing Castro, 'written by a very great statesman who is well- informed about events in the world,' Alfonso said, even citing details to prove his attentiveness to El Presidente. 'You always learn something new.'

Andres, a resident of Old Havana, claims the texts from Castro are a 'symptom' that the leader is recovering.

Many others, though, are not so confident.

Elena, a retired woman who says she feels frustrated by the 'lack of change' under Raul Castro, is convinced of Fidel's permanent retreat. 'He is not going to appear (in the coming days), or ever again,' she said. 'He is going to be a president behind the scenes.'

Jesus, 75, works at parking cars to bolster his monthly pension of 200 pesos, some 10 dollars. He is fearful that a return to power could be bad for the elder Castro's health.

'The people do not want him to be busy again, lest we lose him,' Jesus said.

'Fidel is our leader. We adore Fidel. He is like the Pope in Rome. We want him to be healthy. He just has to have a quiet life.'

Ice cream vendor Agustin is similarly relaxed about Castro's official return to public duties.

'This is like a home. Fidel is at the helm, but if sometimes he is not there everyone knows what they have to do,' Agustin says. 'When (Vice President Carlos) Lage or Felipe (Perez Roque, foreign minister) travel the world, they are Fidel Castro - they are his voice.'

Charly, 27, agrees.

'If (Castro) does not return fully, he will still be the leader. Raul will govern with his ideas, like he has so far, thank God,' the young actor says.

Regla, a young mother playing with her son in a park in Havana, expresses more urgency about Fidel's recovery.

'If he does not return ... what will become of us?' she asks.

Regla looks around carefully and whispers, 'People don't want Raul.'

Gladys, who asked not to be identified by her last name, voiced similar sentiments about the younger Castro.

'People prefer (Fidel) to the other one (Raul),' she says, using her hand to mark the beard, a gesture by which Cubans refer to Fidel without mentioning him by name.

'Although there are many who no longer support (Fidel), when he is on television or they speak about him, people stop to look. But no one talks about Raul. They do not want him.'

Many on the island agree, whether with relief or with disappointment, that 'nothing has changed' in the year since Fidel Castro left the stage.