BRASILIA - Fidel Castro, who announced Tuesday he was stepping down as Cuba's leader, is a "living legend" who made a good decision for his country, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said.
"Fidel is the only living legend in the history of mankind. He took this initiative and I believe it will be good for Cuba," Lula told reporters.
The leftist leader added that Brazil was "happy that it is this way, (with) a calm process."
"What we feared was, in a bad-case scenario, that a turbulent process might happen, and that the Cubans of Miami might think that the moment had come to return to Cuba and turn the island into a conflict zone," Lula said.
"It was important for the calm in Latin America that this process happen in a calm way, by Fidel's own initiative."
Lula visited Castro on January 15, as the Cuban leader was convalescing after his 2006 intestinal surgery.
ahg/rmb/mac
02/19/2008 16:38 GMT