Wow, I'm actually surprised to see this story. I'm actually convinced that Castro is dead and that the Cuban government is hiding it from the world. It would explain why he hasn't been seen since he gave up control of Cuba to his brother.
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I agree with the rest of the posters.
While technically, it IS a conspiracy theory (the Cuban government officials conspiring to hide his death), it's a very plausible one.
He still has interviews with reporters you god damned idiots! He shows up on state news, talking about stuff. Current stuff. A lack of "public appearances" doesn't mean no one sees him.
Plus, he's not actually in power any more. He's a retired government official. He's a dictator that won the game, he left power while he was still alive and had a popularity that was very high. If he died, the state would give him a huge state funeral.
Cuba doesn't have weird crazy subterfuge shenanigans. That's us. They stay in power by having periodic meetings all over the country so that they can adjust their platform such that they always get more "yes" votes than "no" and don't lose power. Since it's a single party system and your only votes are Yes and No, that's literally all they have to do. They don't fucking bother with having exploding cigars and poisonous shells.
They have the life and death of Castro accounted for. They have something beneficial to do in either case. But the fact that Castro doesn't get air time on US news doesn't mean that he's dead.
-Frank
Yeah, I agree with Frank.
He's still around, giving interviews. While it's possible that he could be dead and it could be a double, I'm pretty sure that if Castro had died, there would have been a giant funeral parade that would try to be the equal of or dwarf the USSR's funeral parades of Lenin and Stalin.
It's not really a matter of him being hidden away by authorities or anything. He personally said that he could barely stand and would be staying away from public appearances. He still has reporters come in and interview him on a regular basis and he writes a weekly column in Granma.
That he is sickly and dying isn't a secret or a conspiracy. He totally says that, and so do his doctors. But he's not hidden away or anything either. He's not running for office, but he is acting as a commentator in various news outlets.
It's like a coach that retires from the game, but takes a job as a sports commentator. Only replace that with general-president and political commentator.
You can read English-language transcripts of him Here. Honestly, the fact that any of this is surprising to Americans shows how weirdly insular our news media is, Castro isn't being secretive: he never fucking shuts up.
-Frank
Ya, this really isn't such a crazy idea. I had a talk with a friend about this, because he really hasn't appeared since his brother took power. And no better way to keep people on their toes than to make them think Castro is still alive.
Fidel Castro has had one foot in the grave for some time now, but I don’t see his death being a secret. I catch Radio Havana Cuba on shortwave and take it with a grain of salt as I would any state-run broadcaster, but here’s what seems to be going on. Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, turned the strings over to his brother Raúl, who is now running the show. Cuba has a friend in Venezuela, and its president Hugo Chávez Frias, as well as Ecuador and Bolivia, and probably won’t keep these countries in the dark on Fidel’s death, but invite their leaders to Havana for a big state funeral.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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