Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Jan 31 2007 (IPS) – A new surprise visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to Cuba served as a pretext to show images of his friend and host, Fidel Castro, up and about.
Castro, who temporarily ceded power to his brother Raúl because of health problems on Jul. 31, was on his feet when he met with Chávez, and could be seen in good spirits and visibly heavier than the last time he was seen on TV, on Oct. 28.

In response to Chávez s query How are you, compañero? Castro said, as he has at other difficult moments: In one piece.

The Venezuelan leader said at the end of the tape that the two-hour meeting took place on Monday afternoon.

During the conversation, which covered issues ranging from climate change and the global energy crisis to the threats posed by the empire (the United States), Chávez said he had seen Castro with the clarity he has always had.

What a relief! commented a resident of the Havana neighbourhood of Arroyo Naranjo who said that earlier that day she had been convinced that Fidel was in very bad shape.
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In a Jul. 31 message to the Cuban people that was read out by his personal secretary, Castro explained that he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was provisionally stepping aside, leaving his brother Raúl, the defence minister, in charge.

The president also delegated other important responsibilities to a group of six of his closest associates: Vice President Carlos Lage, Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, the president of the Central Bank, Francisco Soberón, Public Health Minister José Ramón Balaguer, and the vice presidents of the Council of State, Esteban Lazo and José Ramón Machado Ventura.

Although the latest video recording did not clear up doubts as to whether Castro would return to power, it did lay to rest rumours of a further deterioration in his state of health, which had even led some to predict his imminent demise.

Observers speculate that Cuban authorities had been waiting for a visible recuperation on the part of Castro before releasing a new tape, in order to counteract the impact on Cubans of the Oct. 28 video and refute rumours that he was dead or dying.

In the Oct. 28 recording, Castro was seen reading the newspaper, walking down a hallway, doing exercises with his arms, and speaking directly to the camera. The images, however, had a strong impact because they showed him very thin and with a weak voice, speaking slower than normal.

Your voice is stronger than 48 years ago, when you first visited Caracas, Chávez told the Cuban leader on Monday.

Castro flew to Caracas on Jan. 24, 1959, less than a month after the Cuban revolution. That date was now commemorated with a lengthy report in Cuba s official newspaper Granma, a letter from Castro to Chávez, and the signing of 16 new cooperation agreements which according to analysts will open up a new stage in bilateral economic relations.

The accords will involve the establishment of 12 new mixed enterprises partnerships between outside investors and the Cuban government the laying of an underwater fibre optic cable connecting the two countries, and projects for joint oil exploration in Cuba s exclusive economic zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition, Venezuela will grant Cuba 100 million dollars to upgrade its railways, and Caracas and Havana will cooperate on modernising and building ports in the two countries, manufacturing and repairing ships, boosting technological efficiency and expanding the capacity of shipyards.

The mixed enterprises will include two in Venezuela s agricultural sector: one in the western state of Barinas, to produce and export rice to Cuba, and another that will be dedicated to the sustainable management of natural forests, the expansion of plantation forestry, and timber production.

We are really pleased, Fidel, with the news that we have received about your recovery, Chávez said during the ceremony in which the new economic cooperation agreements were signed. He added optimistically that Castro was no longer on his sickbed, but was up and walking about, indeed almost jogging.

As proof, Chávez displayed a letter he had received from Castro, and pointed out to TV viewers how steady the Cuban leader s signature was, which he said demonstrated that he was recovering, and not dying, or unable to talk or move around, as people have been saying.

And on Jan. 26, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said Castro is keeping up on the main current events in Cuba, that he is consulted for the most important decisions, and that he will return to the full exercise of his powers as soon as the doctors give him the green light.

Other high-level officials began to make similar statements early last week, in an attempt to offset the effects of a Jan. 16 article published by the Spanish daily El País, which said Castro s prognosis was very grave after three failed operations, and that he was having trouble with the healing process, due to complications from an intestinal condition known as diverticulitis.

Fidel is recovering, responded the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, José Ramón Fernández, on a visit to Spain at the time.

Castro s recovery is going well and he is still in charge, Ricardo Alarcón, the president of Cuba s National Assembly, said last Saturday.

When we re talking about a serious, responsible government and serious people like Fidel Castro, no one is going to base their conclusions on the speculations of rumour mongers, he added.