Acting Cuban President, Raul Castro said on Monday that Communist Party leaders support his brother Fidel's re-election to parliament, saying he is exercising two hours daily and gaining weight while keeping his mind healthy with reading and writing.
A seat in parliament is the first step in a process that would allow Fidel to retain his post atop the Council of State, Cuba's supreme governing body.
Communist Party leaders "defend him running again" Raul Castro said of his brother's candidacy for re-election to the Cuba's National Assembly, or parliament, on Jan. 20.
Last week, the 81-year-old Fidel Castro suggested he would not cling to power forever, nor stand in the way of a younger generation of politicians. He hinted at his political future for the first time since emergency intestinal surgery forced him to cede power to a "provisional" government headed by Raul in July last year.
But Raul indicated on Monday that Fidel was healthy enough to stand for re-election.
Through daily exercise, Fidel "has recovered a lot of weight and muscle mass," he said, speaking to voters in Fidel's district in the eastern city of Santiago, where the brothers spent part of their youth. He said Fidel asked him to visit voters in district visit because he was unable to.
In remarks carried on Cuban state TV on Monday evening, Raul said his brother "has more time, he's reading more than ever. He's meditating more than ever and writing almost more than ever."
"His powerful mind is healthier," the acting president said.
Speaking of Cuba's electoral system, Raul Castro noted that US democracy pits two identical parties against one another and joked that a choice between a Republican and Democrat is like choosing between himself and his brother Fidel.
"We could say in Cuba we have two parties: one led by Fidel and one led by Raul, what would be the difference?" he asked. "That's the same thing that happens in the United States ... both are the same. Fidel is a little taller than me, he has a beard and I don't."
The 76-year-old Raul scoffed at the notion Cuba needs to be more like the US. However, he also acknowledged that the island's communist government has its flaws, saying "our system has to become more democratized."
"I want to say this: If we only have one party that represents the interests of the people, where we can have differences, we should have them," he said. "Not class clashes, but it's good to have differences.''
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS