In a letter to the Cuban people published today (Spanish/English translation), 82-year-old Fidel Castro offered rare praise for the newly inaugurated U.S. president:
Nobody can doubt the sincerity of Obama's words when he says he will make his country into a model of freedom, respect for human rights in the world and for the independence of other nations.
Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez, who met with Castro during a four-day visit to Cuba, had this to say:
Fidel believes in Obama. He told me he had followed the inauguration of Barack Obama very closely, that he had watched the inauguration on television all day.
And just yesterday, El Comandante's brother, President Raul Castro, called President Obama "a good man."
Could this be a sign of things to come?
The winds of change are not only blowing in the executive palaces. Havana-based CBS News producer Portia Siegelbaum reports that "the average Cuban is feeling optimistic" about the prospects of U.S.-Cuban relations.
Despite his praise for President Obama, Fidel Castro expressed orthodox doubts about the U.S. President's range of action:
What will he do when the immense power he has grasped soon proves to be totally useless in overcoming the intractable, opposing contradictions of the (capitalist) system?
Raul Castro also wondered whether the U.S. President is raising "hopes too high," but reaffirmed his willingness to enter direct talks.
Fidel Castro, who stepped down from office in 2006, also expressed doubts about his health:
I have had the rare privilege of observing events over such a long time. I receive information and meditate calmly on those events. I expect I won't enjoy that privilege in four years, when Obama's first presidential term has ended.
Could this be a comment on the conventional wisdom that "there will be no major changes" in U.S.-Cuba relations until Fidel Castro dies? Is "papa" giving his blessing to a thaw that he might not survive to see?