An Even More Radical Castro?

As the Cuban community and the rest of us wonder whether Fidel Castro has reached his final days, news reports about his brother and designated successor indicate that 75 year old Raul Castro is even more radical than Fidel:

As first vice president of the Council of State, Cuba's supreme governing body, Raul is legally designated to assume his brother's role as president of the council in the event of "absence, illness or death."

Three weeks after taking power in January 1959, Castro named Raul his successor, telling supporters: "Behind me are others more radical than I."

He officially designated Raul as his successor at a Communist Party congress in October 1997, saying "Raul is younger than I, more energetic than I. He can count on much more time."

As head of Cuba's armed forces, Raul has been deeply involved in Cuba's military involvement in Angola and Ethiopia during the 1970s _ as well as with the military's successful peacetime efforts to help rescue Cuba's economy following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Although usually working behind the scenes, Raul briefly assumed a higher profile during the seven-month fight to return Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez to his homeland from Florida in 2000.

Should Fidel assume room temperature the rejoicing in the Cuban ex-pat community will be something to see. Unfortunately, it may not mean a new day in Cuba if little brother is even more radical than Fidel.