Fidel Castro fractured his left knee and right arm after losing his footing on steps following a graduation ceremony speech in Havana on Wednesday. The 78-year-old president has governed Cuba's communist state for more than 45 years.
The accident renewed long-running speculation about the country's future. Castro had fainted during a public address in June 2001, and health rumors circulate regularly among Cubans. The government volunteers little about his actual condition, though his cultivated image is of a leader who sleeps little, works past midnight, and maintains a regular exercise routine.
Authority on the island runs entirely through Castro, who manages diplomacy, economic decisions, and daily governance personally. His designated successor is his younger brother Raul, 74, who heads the armed forces ministry and this year extended its reach into the tourism sector. Diplomats privately question whether Raul has the standing to hold the system together after his brother.
Castro showed no sign of stepping aside. He indicated he would continue working even in a cast, and a government statement confirmed he remained fit to handle essential matters.
His personal physician offered a striking forecast, predicting Castro would live to 140, citing expected breakthroughs in stem-cell science.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.