Via the BBC: Cuban leader Castro ‘very well’

Secrecy surrounding his condition has fuelled rumours about the extent of his health problems and his eventual political future.

However, Cuban officials have repeatedly said he will eventually resume office.

Which, I can’t help but feel, is very Soviet of them.

It does strike me as odd that at this stage of the game, where the quasi-transition from Fidel to Raul has gone quite smoothly, that they continue to insist that Fidel is going to fully recover. Why maintain that public stance? He is clearly too ill to make even a controlled public appearance and the simple fact that he is 81 years of ago suggests that “full recovery” isn’t in the cards, as 81 year-olds often die sans a major illness and surgery, let alone with them.

The part about all of this that strikes me as odd is that they seems to have the opportunity before them to fully ease away from the idea of the Cuban state equaling Fidel, yet they prefer to insist on the notion that he will return.

Perhaps it is simply the habits of a closed political system, or maybe it is Fidel’s own denial manifesting as public statements. In any event, I continue to believe that this lingering illness is perhaps the best thing that could have happened to the regime, as had Fidel suddenly died, there would have been an immediate crisis that would have been far more difficult to manage. As it stands, the illness has given the party leadership the chance to figure out how to proceed and has allowed the Cuban public time to adjust to government without Fidel without having to go through the shock of his death.