Is he or isn't he? Did he or didn't he? If Castro is truly dead, when will it be officially announced? The answer to these and other questions remain unanswered.
The latest issue of the Economist reports that rumour mongers and rumour listeners alike believe that the seemingly ageless, debatably iconic Cuban leader Fidel Castro may in fact be dead.
The rumour-mill community points to the continuing denial of death by Cuban officials as being evidence enough that the old boy has finally snuffed it and snuffed it good. The tight-lipped officials begin and end most queries with the standard "It's a state secret, stupid" line.
Additional information comes in the by now old-hat news that Castro is continuing to recover from his intestinal surgery, which now seems like an eternity ago. What might be telling is that there were no new photos or news film of him, his condition not withstanding, at the time of his 81st birthday last month.
The article speculates that there might be a cover up of Castro's death in the El Cid tradition. El Cid was Spain's legendary hero who was said to have carried on fighting even after his death after his cohorts tied him onto his saddle and horse in order to frighten and demoralise Spain's Moorish enemies. Other examples include Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, who died in 210 BC, the news of which was withheld for two months; and English King Edward VI, whose death announcement was delayed for several days while the matter of succession was sorted out. And then there was the fifth Tibetan Dalai Lama, whose death was not announced for an amazing 15 years.
The article suggests that October 10 might be a day to expect an announcement of death. That day will mark the anniversary of Cuba's declaration of independence from Spain.
More recent article on Fidel Castro:
