Fidel the Blogger

Raúl may be officially in charge. But his brother still makes more noise—posting furiously about the Wall Street meltdown, sports, and his soft spot for Obama’s kids.

As Wall Street was melting down last week, Fidel Castro was busy blogging.

The 82-year-old former leader of the Cuban Revolution hammered out a brief post gloating about the bailout blow-up. “Bush is going hoarse giving ridiculous speeches,” Castro wrote on his blog, Reflections of Comrade Fidel.

The world has not seen much of Fidel since he officially transferred power to his brother Raúl last February. But after 49 years and 55 days of delivering the longest speeches of any Latin American politician in history, the octogenarian leader has discovered a new way to spread his opinions. In the past year, he’s written more than 150 blogs posts, weighing in on topics including U.S. presidential race (he prefers Obama), Alan Greenspan’s most recent book (he found it very useful), and his friendship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. (“Today is his birthday. Raul and I have sent him a painting of Che emerging from the earth.”)

Never a big fan of capitalism, the financial meltdown has triggered a flurry of self-satisfied blog entries by Castro. At least Cuba’s leaders are not “going crazy searching for solutions amidst depression, inflation, market collapse and unemployment,” he wrote in a recent post.

If Castro’s occasional public appearances with Chávez are any indication, Comrade Fidel is also dressing for his new job. The politician-turned-blogger has traded his military getup for an informal tracksuit, a more appropriate choice for someone who works at a home computer, and no longer needs to spend long hours at the podium.

On an island where Internet access is heavily monitored, Castro is Cuba’s only unrestricted blogger. He uses his new cyber perch to dispel rumors about his ailing health and share his views on everything from the conflict in Georgia to Eurocup soccer final. Since his blog is picked by every major Cuban newspaper, Fidel’s voice still manages to overshadow his younger brother Raul, even from retirement.

Sometimes, Castro seems downright apologetic for writing so much. “I don’t want to bother anyone, but I’m still alive and I still think about things,” he writes in a recent post.

Never a big fan of capitalism, the financial meltdown has triggered a flurry of self-satisfied blog entries by Castro. At least Cuba’s leaders are not “going crazy searching for solutions amidst depression, inflation, market collapse and unemployment,” he wrote in a post.