Fidel Castro Again Calling the Shots

He's been gradually reasserting his authority in the last year
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2010 3:36 PM CST
Fidel Castro Again Calling the Shots
Fidel Castro, left, with Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, in Havana, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.   (AP Photo/Ricardo Stuckert-Brazil's Presidency)

Fidel Castro may have turned over the presidency to his brother when he was seriously ill, but he's been gradually regaining his health and reasserting his authority in Cuba over the past year, writes Arian Camp-Flores. The Newsweek writer talks to several Havana experts who see unmistakable signs that Fidel is rolling back some of Raul's relatively progressive reforms and keeping his brother in line.

"I think Fidel decided that Raul was going too far, that Raul was playing with fire," says one former CIA analyst. Writes Camp-Flores: "The Comandante won't be around forever, of course. However improved his health, it can't be that great, considering his continued seclusion. But as long as Fidel is calling the shots, the Cuban economy will remain unproductive, the youth will remain restive, and relations with the US will remain at an impasse."
(More Fidel Castro stories.)

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