Cubans see Castro comeback after lively radio chat

HAVANA, Mar 1 (Reuters) After hearing his unmistakable voice in a good-humored chat played on state television, many Cubans are now convinced Fidel Castro is no longer at death's door and could even return to lead them.

The 80-year-old revolutionary, who has not been seen in public for seven months, unexpectedly called in to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's radio talk show on Tuesday night, telling his closest ally he feels stronger and more energetic.

It was Castro's first live broadcast since he fell ill and their chat was quickly played on Cuban state television, reassuring supporters that he is bouncing back.

''Everyone is so happy. He sounds very well. We had begun to think he was dying and slowly he is recovering,'' said Gertrudis Oliveira, a teacher in Santiago, Cuba's second city. ''He is almost back to being the Fidel we were used to.'' Castro was forced to hand over power temporarily to his brother and designated successor, Defense Minister Raul Castro, in July after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery.

His prolonged absence cast uncertainty over the Western Hemisphere's only Communist society and raised hopes of economic reforms, if not political change, under Raul.

Castro sounded stronger in his chat with Chavez, and said Cuba was running smoothly without him.

''I ask everyone to be patient and calm. I'm happy because everything is quiet and the country is going well, which is what matters,'' he said.

Cuban authorities insist Castro is recovering steadily, is back on the telephone calling his ministers and will resume a leadership role at some point.

During a visit to Honduras, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said, ''President Fidel Castro is recovering. His convalescence is improving and he feels really much better.'' BACK IN POWER SOON? As she bought her daily bread roll on the government ration book, 67-year-old retiree Carmen Lopez said, ''I was so relieved to hear him. Although he is not officially in power, he can help fix everything that is wrong in Cuba.'' Student Tatiana Vazquez agreed, saying, ''Even if he can work from his room, that's enough. He can help improve our lives.'' Cuban dissident Manuel Cuesta Morua said Castro's recovery has dashed the hopes of opponents who expected rapid change once the leftist firebrand left center stage.

''I think the message is clear: 'Here I am, recovering, and it is only a question of time before I return to power,''' Cuesta Morua said, although he doubts that Castro will have the physical strength to lead Cuba as effectively as before.

A senior Cuban official said yesterday in Beijing that Castro will return to his duties in the ''near future.'' Fernando Remirez, head of the ruling Communist Party's international relations committee, slammed the US government and anti-Castro exiles in Miami for predicting there would be chaos in Cuba without Castro at the helm.

US intelligence chief Mike McConnell, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, said: ''This year will mark the end of the long domination of (Cuba) by Fidel Castro.'' But McConnell said ''significant positive change immediately following Castro's death is unlikely'' since the long transition has allowed his brother to consolidate his position.

Cuba watchers see growing evidence that Castro is regaining his health and flexing his political muscle again.

''At the least, he no longer appears to be at death's door, although his very limited public exposure suggests that he remains quite frail,'' said Dan Erikson, an expert on Cuba at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank.

''By demonstrating that he is alive and recovering, Fidel Castro is trying to rescue himself from a fate worse than death, which is irrelevance,'' he said.

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