HAVANA — Hundreds of thousands of cheering workers marched through Cuba’s Revolution Plaza today, but Fidel Castro was nowhere to be seen.
The place where Mr. Castro would have watched the festivities — a raised platform under a towering statue of Cuban colonial independence hero Jose Marti — was instead occupied by his brother Raul.
Mr. Castro has attended the annual International Workers’ Day march for decades, but the 80-year-old communist leader has not been seen in public since emergency intestinal surgery forced him to step down temporarily nine months ago and temporarily cede his duties to his 75-year-old brother.
In a speech just before the huge annual parade began, Salvador Valdes, secretary general of Central Workers Union of Cuba, hinted it was highly unlikely that Mr. Castro would make his first public appearance since stepping down from power.
“A speedy recovery and lots of health, dear Fidel,” Mr. Valdes said, adding, “Viva Fidel” as the crowd shouted back, “Viva.”
Acting President and Defense Minister Raul Castro, five years younger than his sibling, stood stiffly and smiled, occasionally waving as marchers streamed past, waving plastic Cuban flags, portraits of Fidel Castro and banners denouncing U.S. “imperialism.”
Fidel Castro issued the latest in a new series of communiques yesterday, calling for a revolution in energy production, but gave no hint of whether he would make a May Day appearance.
He reiterated his opposition on U.S. plans to use food crops to produce ethanol for cars, predicting that American fuel needs would be provided with the labor of the world’s impoverished sugar-cane workers.
“Tomorrow, the first of Ma,y is a good day to carry these reflections to the workers and all of the poor people of the world,” Mr. Castro wrote in the communique.
Occasional government photographs and videos of the elder Mr. Castro have assured Cubans he is still alive and recovering, appearing stronger and more robust in the most recent images.
However, the urgent need by many to see the man who ruled this country for 47 straight years seems to have faded in recent months as life has continued normally under the leadership of Raul Castro.
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