HAVANA, (Reuters – Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said his frail health forced him to delegate his powers as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, suggesting he may have resigned his last leadership post.
State-run press said today he told students in a Wednesday meeting he was not with them in the role of the ruling party’s First Secretary.
“I got sick and did what I had to do — I delegated my powers. I cannot do something that I am not in condition to dedicate to full time,” the 84-year-old Castro said.
“I am only a soldier of ideas,” he said. “I didn’t hesitate a moment in letting go of my positions.”
His departure as head of the party likely would have more symbolic power than real effect because his health problems removed him from decision-making for so long, but it would be another signal that Cuba’s aging leadership is facing transition.
In 2006, Castro, then president, provisionally ceded power to his younger brother Raul Castro after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed intestinal ailment. He officially resigned the office in February 2008 and Raul Castro, now 79, succeeded him as president.
At least in name, he remained as head of the party, which is Cuba’s only legal political party and has scheduled a congress in April to affirm the island’s future economic policy.
