Castro Will No Longer Run Country He LovesDefiant and controversial Charismatic Cuban leader Fidel Castro has announced to his compatriots that he would not accept another term as president and that he was stepping down as head of state. . This is huge! For the first time in 50 years, the Communist-ruled island's leadership is up for grabs.
Castro, 81 and ailing, has not been seen in public since late July 2006, when he underwent surgery for an intestinal ailment and handed off power to his brother Raul, now 76. "I have never been afraid of death. I have never been concerned about death," he once said.
Word of this significant proclamation was carried on the state-run Granma International newspaper website. Having survived (and frustrated) 10 US presidents, of course our Commander-In-Chief George Bush had something to say about all of this.
Castro, 81 and ailing, has not been seen in public since late July 2006, when he underwent surgery for an intestinal ailment and handed off power to his brother Raul, now 76. "I have never been afraid of death. I have never been concerned about death," he once said.
Word of this significant proclamation was carried on the state-run Granma International newspaper website. Having survived (and frustrated) 10 US presidents, of course our Commander-In-Chief George Bush had something to say about all of this.
The Cuban National Assembly is due to convene Sunday to reappoint the 31-member Council of State, which Fidel Castro has headed since his band of revolutionaries took power in January 1959 at the age of 32.
But in a message to Granma, Castro said he "does not aspire to and will not accept, I repeat, I neither want nor will accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander in chief."It was the latest in a series of indications from the bearded revolutionary that leadership of the Communist-ruled island was in transition. Castro had said in recent musings in Cuban publications that he would not stand in the way of younger Cuban leaders taking over the helm of the country of 11.4 million.
Through the years, the former lawyer was the target of scores of CIA assassination attempts. He took delight in the fact none of them ever succeeded. To leftist revolutionaries around the world, Castro, with his ubiquitous military fatigues, iron hand leadership and fiery oratory, became a hero and patron. But for hundreds of thousands of his countrymen who fled into exile rather than live under his thumb, he became an object of intense hatred.
As for Castro's private life, he is believed to have fathered eight children with four different women. His longtime companion, Dalia Soto del Valle, is the mother of five of his sons.
Raul Castro, who has stood in his brother's shadow for nearly half a century, has indicated support for modest economic reforms that would allow Cubans to improve their material well-being. But major change to the country's economic structure has been stifled by a perception that Fidel Castro opposes any differentiation in Cubans' economic status. [CNN]
But in a message to Granma, Castro said he "does not aspire to and will not accept, I repeat, I neither want nor will accept, the position of president of the Council of State and commander in chief."It was the latest in a series of indications from the bearded revolutionary that leadership of the Communist-ruled island was in transition. Castro had said in recent musings in Cuban publications that he would not stand in the way of younger Cuban leaders taking over the helm of the country of 11.4 million.Through the years, the former lawyer was the target of scores of CIA assassination attempts. He took delight in the fact none of them ever succeeded. To leftist revolutionaries around the world, Castro, with his ubiquitous military fatigues, iron hand leadership and fiery oratory, became a hero and patron. But for hundreds of thousands of his countrymen who fled into exile rather than live under his thumb, he became an object of intense hatred.
As for Castro's private life, he is believed to have fathered eight children with four different women. His longtime companion, Dalia Soto del Valle, is the mother of five of his sons.
Raul Castro, who has stood in his brother's shadow for nearly half a century, has indicated support for modest economic reforms that would allow Cubans to improve their material well-being. But major change to the country's economic structure has been stifled by a perception that Fidel Castro opposes any differentiation in Cubans' economic status. [CNN]