A daughter of acting President Raul Castro said on Sunday that her uncle Fidel is recovering "very well" from surgery and would likely again be "present and very active" in Cuba's government.
"Fidel is stupendous," said Mariela Castro Espin, who attended the dedication of a book of collected speeches and interviews by her mother Vilma Espin, head of the Federation of Cuban Women.
Raul Castro took over as acting president in July after his brother Fidel underwent surgery and disappeared from public view, aside from occasional videotaped meetings with foreign visitors.
The most recent showed a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Jan. 29 in which Fidel Castro seemed noticeably stronger and less haggard than before. The videotape eased speculation fed by a Jan. 16 report in the Spanish newspaper El Pais that described him as being in "very grave" condition after three failed operations.
Cuban officials have not given details of his illness. It has not been clear if the Cuban leader would eventually return fully or would leave government in the hands of colleagues. There have been no visible signs of unrest or major policy changes since he stepped aside.
Asked if Fidel Castro would resume his full duties, his niece said, "I imagine him returning and not returning because one way or the other he is going to be present and very active."
Castro Espin, who heads the National Center for Sex Education, said she had not seen her uncle in recent days, but had spoken with "many people to be able to have information from different points of view" about his condition.
"I know that he is very well, that he is recovering very well, that he is even very conscious of his age, of the current moments of the revolution and with great confidence in his comrades," she said.
Castro "is recuperating as a man of 80 years should recuperate," she said.
Her comments were similar to those of Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon in a story published on Sunday by the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.
Alarcon was quoted as saying he had spoken with Fidel Castro "several times" by phone and that the Cuban leader was closely following events.
"I'm confident that he will not only continue leading, as he is now, on fundamental topics, but that we will see him more closely," Alarcon said.
"It would be natural to expect that things would be like before, but without using so many hours making appearances and visits," Alarcon said.
But he added, "I wouldn't risk saying that he will be more discreet and controlled, because that could be ridiculous. He's capable of coming back and surprising everybody."
Vilma Espin, 76, who served as Cuba's de facto first lady for years, did not attend the book presentation. She is reputed to be ill.
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