Former Cuban President Fidel Castro appeared on state television Sunday for the first time since June 2008, looking far healthier than in many of the photos released since his surgery. The footage shows clips from Fidel’s three-hour meeting over the weekend with a group of Venezuelan students from the University of Carabobo. He comments on the dangers of global warming and climate change, and on the qualities needed to be a good revolutionary.
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Why was the footage shown on national television now?… Probably because Fidel Castro remains the ultimate symbol of the Cuban revolution, which needs a bit of a morale boost at the moment. After all, Cuba’s economic prospects are grim and Cubans have been asked to endure difficult austerity measures. The probability of heightened opposition and unrest is great during such a difficult period. A healthier and typically conversational Fidel Castro could be seen, in these circumstances, as a calming symbol of regularity, unity and the stability of the revolution.
Indeed, Reuters India reports that Josefa Urfe, a cook from central Havana, said the video had served to reassure nervous Cubans that the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution was alright. Political dissident Oscar Chepe commented, “Raul Castro wants to use his brother as a symbol… They’ll continue using the figure of Fidel as the old symbol of the revolution to keep people calm.” And Cuba expert Dan Erikson agreed, pointing out that this is likely “an effort to take advantage of a good spell in Fidel’s health to maximize his exposure in a way that maintains Raul’s position in power and wards off internal challenges.”
The Reuters analysis is here.
