Castro Signals Resumption of Public Role

HFS Cuba's leader Fidel Castro, left, meets with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, unseen, in Havana, in a Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 file photo. Fidel Castro lashed out against U.S. biofuel plans in an op-ed piece published Thursday, March 29, 2007, in the Communist Party daily Granma. (AP Photo/Juventud Rebelde, FILE) (Juventud Rebelde - AP)

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!"