Cubans Comforted By Castro Video
By CBS News Producer Portia Siegelbaum.
Sixteen days after Cuban President Fidel Castro stunned the nation by stepping aside, reality is finally beginning to sink in: the 80-year-old leader may be forced by nature to cut back on his public profile, taking the role of elder statesman instead of "Comandante en Jefe."
"I was very happy to see him, but saddened to see him lying in bed, when he's always been so active," said Silvia Gargado, 39, a cashier.
That feeling reflects general public opinion.
On Monday evening, the day following Castro's birthday, state-owned television broadcast a 10-minute video that showed him visiting in his hospital room with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the country's acting President, Castro's younger brother Raul.
This is a country that jealously guards the image of its leaders. Photographers are barred from showing any government or Communist Party official holding an alcoholic beverage. Even shooting a picture of officials toasting a new treaty or a visiting dignitary is prohibited. In that context, the intimate footage of a bed-ridden Castro is an unparalleled first.
It's safe to say that viewers were alarmed at how ill he looked, noting his quiet demeanor and trembling hands. On the other hand, people were somewhat reassured by his affectionate banter with Chavez during the three-hour visit, indicating that Castro remains lucid despite his medical emergency.
That sight, says Gargado, was particularly comforting. "I'm very content that President Chavez came to see him."
Celina Buse, a 52-year-old telephone company worker, was more emphatic: "It was magnificent. I think that there is an immense fraternal union between them." She said the truth of that is visible in both the Venezuelan leader's daily words and deeds.
Her feelings were echoed by Roberto, 40, a truck driver. "There are no words to describe the dialogue between the two, it was great."
Cubans are well-aware that relations with oil-rich Venezuela have helped fuel an economic upturn here. Many credit these relations to the close personal ties between the elder Castro, who took the firebrand Venezuelan under his wing long before he became president.
On the up side, the video was enough to convince some Cubans that the man they have called the "Maximum Leader" for 47 years is on the road to recovery. "We saw that Fidel was in a good mood and we expect that he'll be back on the job soon," said Jose Montenegro, 62, a department store employee.
On the down side, it enhanced concern about Castro's health, some arguing that it reinforced his sober message to the nation issued the day before: While urging citizens to be "optimistic" he warned them that his recovery would take time and was not without "considerable risk".
Castro's personal health update contrasted with a report published the previous day in Granma, the official Communist Party newspaper. Headlined "Firm Like a Caguairan," a particularly durable hardwood tree indigenous to eastern Cuba, the note said Castro was sitting up, walking, talking with visitors and even working some.
With the government treating Castro's health as a "state secret" and his doctors not talking, people are left to speculate.
"I was shocked by how thin he looked, how tired, "said a doctor, who asked not to be identified. She voiced the suspicion, shared by others, that he could be suffering from colon cancer, though admitting it's hard to diagnose his condition based on a video. Last week, Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage flatly denied reports in a Brazilian newspaper claiming Castro had cancer.
"Even if he does have colon cancer and even if they have to operate on him again, it doesn't mean that he won't live for several more years," the doctor added, "but he'll have to strictly limit his activities."
But despite the fact that the cause of Castro's intestinal bleeding has not been announced, many Cubans take what information is released at face value.
"Our government always keeps us informed, it tells us the truth. And the comandante himself, has told us that we'll be informed of everything, of any adverse situation," Buse declared with confidence.
Jose Raul Moracen, a professor at the Santiago de Cuba School of Education, vacationing in Havana, also reacted optimistically to reports in the official press. Commenting on photographs of the same Castro and Chavez visit published by Granma Monday morning, he said, "I think the comandante is in frank recovery. As he himself said, it will take time but the photos that we're seeing give me a very positive impression."