Fidel Castro applauds Chavez

2007-11-11 20:29

Havana - Fidel Castro broke two weeks of silence on Sunday, applauding his close friend Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for having "levelled devastating criticisms at Europe" during a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal.

In an article published on the front pages of state newspapers, the ailing 81-year-old Castro also praised speeches by leftist presidents Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Eva Morales of Bolivia during the Ibero-American summit held in Chile.

He blasted conservative leaders at the meeting, singling out El Salvador's President Tony Saca, a US ally.

Castro wrote: "The speech delivered by the president of El Salvador at this summit is disgusting.

"Capitalism is a system governed by blind, destructive and tyrannical laws that have been imposed on the human species."

Castro not seen in public

Castro did not discuss a phone call he placed to the Venezuelan leader on Saturday, but wrote that "Chavez levelled devastating criticisms at Europe, the same Europe that pretended to offer lessons on good governance at this Latin American summit."

Nor did he mention that the gathering ended with a heated exchange involving Chavez and King Juan Carlos of Spain, who told the Venezuelan president to "shut up".

Chavez triggered the spat by repeatedly referring to conservative former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as a "fascist".

Castro has not been seen in public since undergoing a series of emergency intestinal surgeries and stepping aside in favour of his younger brother Raul in July 2006.

- AP