| "Attention all comrades! Everything is normal! That is all!" |
Cuba's Communist government tried to impose a sense of normalcy Tuesday, its first day in 47 years without Fidel Castro in charge. Businesses remained open and workers rallied in support of their ailing leader, who temporarily handed power to his brother after surgery. Raul Castro, the island's acting president, was nowhere to be seen as Cubans began to worry about what comes next and exiles in Miami celebrated a development they hoped signaled the death of a dictator. Cuban dissidents kept a low profile while watching for signs of Castro's condition. "Everything's normal here — for the moment," said hospital worker Emilio Garcia, 41, waiting for a friend at a Havana hotel. "But we've never experienced this before — it's like a small test of how things could be without Fidel." The main newscast on state-run television gave no details of the 79-year-old Castro's condition, but ran a string of man-on-the-street interviews with Cubans wishing him well and professing confidence in the revolution's staying power. The anchor said Castro had the people's "unconditional support." The usual suspects leaders of China, Venezuela, Bolivia and Mexico wished Castro well. |