Bolivia's Morales sure Castro back May 1

LA PAZ, Apr 29 (Reuters) Bolivian President Evo Morales said he was ''sure'' Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has been recovering from intestinal surgery, will resume power during May Day celebrations in Havana on May 1, a Bolivian television station reported.

''I'm sure, my Cuban brothers, that on May 1 comrade Fidel will return to governing Cuba and Latin America,'' Morales said, according to the private Unitel network. ''I'm convinced that comrade Fidel will return to continue governing and leading the Cuban people.'' The Bolivian president said he had not received any official word from Cuban authorities about plans for Castro to return to power or that he might make his public appearance in nine months at a workers parade on May 1.

In Havana, senior Cuban officials preparing for the mass rally in Revolution Square could not confirm whether Castro would show up, but said he was involved in all major government decisions.

''If it is possible he will be there, if it is not, he won't be there,'' Economy Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez said at a news conference. ''We all would like his fast recovery to be even faster so that he can be back with us,'' he said.

Otto Rivero, a vice president of the Council of Ministers, said the Cuban people were very encouraged by photographs published last week of Castro looking stronger during a meeting with a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official.

''Fidel has not disappeared. He is permanently with us,'' Rivero said, but gave no clue when he would reappear.

Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since he underwent emergency intestinal surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his brother, Raul Castro, on July 31. His condition is a state secret in Cuba.

Cuban officials insist Castro, in power since 1959, is recovering steadily and that it is only a question of time before he returns to office.

It was the second time in two months that Morales, a leftist ally of Castro's, has said the communist leader was likely to return to power.

Morales made the comments late Friday afternoon during an event attended by dozens of Cuban doctors in the northern Bolivian department of Pando.

In March, Morales suggested Castro would resume power during an April meeting in Havana of the trade pact known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas. The group is comprised of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua and is aimed at rivaling US-sponsored free-trade agreements in Latin America.

Reuters DKS GC0734