Raúl Castro is still alive: the Cuban government’s strategy to defuse speculation about his health | International

Raúl Castro is still alive. The Cuban government made this clear by showing a photo of him a few days ago, amid constant rumors announcing his death. It had seemed strange that Castro, accustomed to receiving ministers and senior leaders in Havana, was not present on the first day of the visit of the President of Vietnam, To Lam, who was welcomed by the Cuban President, Miguel Díaz- Canel, and his wife. It would seem normal that the president of a nation faces this type of event alone, but the truth is that in Cuba the character and surname Castro continue to pull the strings of diplomacy and power in the country, at least symbolically. .

Having not seen Castro during the formalities of To Lam’s visit, many Cubans began to wonder what had happened to the former president, whose health condition, according to unofficial sources, was repeated repeatedly. More than once, social networks were filled with messages speculating about his death. Perhaps, as Cuban citizen Lisbet Tase says, because “this is what ordinary Cubans expect most.”

The Cuban government has never made an official statement to openly rule out the death of Raúl Castro, nor to confirm whether it is true that he suffered from any illness, which would not be unusual at the age of 93 years since his birthday was in June. 3. But all this is not new: a deep secret has always guarded the Cuban leaders, their lives, their partners and their state of health.

What the government did was highlight the figure of Castro when several press articles falsely announced his death. The day after the Vietnamese leader’s visit, the historic Cuban leader was seen in a photo shared by the Cuban presidency, in which Castro appeared holding To Lam’s hands. The message was clear: Castro is still alive. This strategy is not new either: while the death of Fidel Castro was imminent and the news of his disappearance spread more than once, the government denied them all by making a public appearance. The day his death became reality, no one predicted it. It was his own brother who took the microphone and very solemnly announced that Fidel had died at the age of 90.

The last public appearance of the youngest Castro brother took place just a few days ago, when images of the funeral of General and First Deputy Minister of the Army Corps Ramón Espinosa Martín were televised. Looking diminished, with tight lips and his stiff olive green uniform wrapped around him, he reappeared with some of the individuals who are part of the upper echelon of power amid flower wreaths and martial parades to honor the departed.

For some time now, Castro has had to say goodbye to several historic leaders of the Revolution. This seems to be the end of a historical cycle, the end of an era: more than 60 years ago, this generation began to occupy positions of power in the country with the nascent Revolution and today, as Cuba is going through the worst crisis in its history, all of history, time is forcing them to leave their posts. In September, five people in the upper echelons of power died, all over the age of 80, showing that change in Cuba only comes from natural causes. Besides Espinosa Martín (85 years old), Raúl said goodbye to at least five other leaders, almost all of them his contemporaries: Romárico Vidal Sotomayor García, Juan Antonio Hernández Hernández, Jorge Luis Guerrero Almaguer, Juan Israel Cervantes Tablada and Leonardo Ramón Andollo Valdés. In the oldest government in the Western Hemisphere, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, 92, still holds positions of power; as well as José Ramón Machado Ventura, 93, and Guillermo García Frías, 96.

At other times, the Cuban government brings up Raúl’s figure not to deny a presumed death, but to give a much-needed boost to President Díaz-Canel, an uncharismatic leader who has had to face an economic crisis. , a coronavirus pandemic, decline in tourism, natural disasters, massive and unprecedented demonstrations and the largest migratory exodus in the country’s history. When Cubans took to the streets like never before, on July 11, 2021, Castro, without any official position in the government, resigned in 2018 as President of the Council of State and Cabinet of the Republic of Cuba and in 2021 he resigned from his position. first secretary of the Communist Party — attended a public celebration and the closing of a Party Central Committee event. And, as if in an attempt to keep alive traditions that have recently lost their appeal among many Cubans, in January Raúl marched alongside other top leaders in the traditional March of the Torches, held the day before the date of birth of José Martí, the national president of Cuba. hero.

Also earlier this year, in the midst of the economic collapse and decision-making process to address the crisis in the country, Castro made a public appearance asking leaders who “are not up to the task that the moment demands » to resign from their positions. Castro made headlines during the elections as a message to those in Cuba who have renounced the democratic exercise of voting. When Nicolás Maduro proclaimed himself president of Venezuela in July despite well-founded suspicions of fraud, it was Raúl Castro who made a conspiratorial call to Caracas to congratulate him.

In all these appearances, he showed himself as an active figure aware of domestic and foreign policy issues. Above all, the government tried to reaffirm the message that Castroism is not dead, that it did not die with Fidel and that it would not even die if the last Castro died.

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