WASHINGTON — President Bush called on Cubans Thursday to work for democratic change but the island's ruling Communist Party stressed it would stay in control after Fidel Castro's hand-over to his brother.
Bush's overt call for change was bound to anger the Cuban government, which has accused the United States of trying to interfere in Cuban affairs since soon after Castro swept to power on the Caribbean island in 1959.
"We will support you in your effort to build a transitional government in Cuba committed to democracy and we will take note of those, in the current Cuban regime, who obstruct your desire for a free Cuba," Bush said.
His comments, delivered in a statement from Texas where he is traveling, were Bush's first public declaration on Cuba since Fidel Castro ceded power Monday temporarily to younger brother Raul Castro because of surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding.
The hand-over triggered a wave of speculation over whether the one-time guerrilla fighter, 79, would ever return to office, and if he did not, how power would evolve after 47 years with Fidel Castro at the helm.
The Communist Party made plain Thursday it intended to remain in control no matter what happened to Fidel Castro.
There was still no public appearance by his designated successor, Raul Castro, 75.
But in a typically cryptic message analysts said was designed to dispel fears of a disorderly transition of power, the main Communist newspaper Granma printed part of an old speech by Raul Castro.
In the speech, delivered on June 14 to army officers and first printed in Granma the following day, Raul Castro said, "Only the Communist Party .... can be the worthy heir of the trust Cubans have placed in their leader."
Some analysts said this was meant to signal that Raul will lead a more consensual style of government, with perhaps more power for the party Politburo, than Fidel, a notorious workaholic with a reputation for always getting his own way.
Bush Comments
The Bush administration had already dismissed the possibility of warming relations with a government led by Raul Castro, but Bush's comments on Tuesday went a step further.
"I urge the Cuban people to work for democratic change on the island," he said, adding the United States stood ready to support them.
In Miami, where Cuban exiles have long demanded an aggressive U.S. stance by the United States on Cuba, some exiles said Washington should be going further.
"For the first time in 47 years Castro's not in power. So let's demand elections in Cuba. Why shouldn't the United States and Europe and the rest of the world say 'we need elections in Cuba in the next 90 days,"' William Sanchez, a member of the group Democracy Movement, told a news conference.
"Why not? Why shouldn't the world demand it? Why should we be waiting for Cuba to continue its dictatorship in a different form."
"The only way to apply the Bush plan for regime change in Cuba is by force, and force will not work," said Rogelio Polanco, editor of the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde.
"Raul is firmly at the helm of the nation and leading the armed forces that have a proven combat record and international experience. Make no mistake," he warned.
The lack of public images of Fidel Castro or his brother since Monday has fed rumors around Latin America that Castro, who became the world's longest-serving head of government despite U.S. attempts to kill or depose him, had already died.
And despite a surface calm on the streets of Havana, many Cubans have told foreign reporters they want Raul to show who is in control by making a public appearance.
"Why hasn't Raul come out and spoken? That's what is needed," said a Havana delivery man on Thursday, asking not to be identified. "There is a dreadful calm here."
Long known to be his brother's chosen successor, Raul Castro, Cuba's defense minister is regarded as competent but uncharismatic.
Analysts said the leadership probably considered that if Raul Castro appeared too early, it might panic Cubans, most of whom have never known any other ruler than Fidel.
"If I were going to try to suggest to the Cuban people at the moment that what we have is tranquillity, absolute continuity and a large team more in place than ever, the last thing I would do is make a national broadcast in a time of crisis," said Hal Klepak, professor of history at the Royal Military College of Canada.
While Cubans' lives have gotten tougher since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the capital Havana is falling to pieces, the party exercises control in all areas of life. There is a lot of grumbling, but Cubans are still proud of free health and education.
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