Catholic writer, dissident: Cuba needs young, female leader

Published: 2006-08-02

PUEBLA, Mexico (CNS) -- Cuba needs a leader who is young, pragmatic, female and concerned with family, said a Catholic writer and dissident exiled in Mexico. "(Cuban President Fidel) Castro's successor should be young, between 30 and 40, and should live in Cuba and not in Miami, Mexico or Madrid, and he should be a woman," said Jose Prats Sariol, who escaped from Cuba in 2003. Prats worked with the Catholic publication Vitral of the Diocese of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. "The younger generation is not poisoned by hatred of the West and this dream of socialist revolution," he told Catholic News Service. "They are very pragmatic; they want an open society that will enable a modern Cuba to face two challenges, one economic and the other psychological. "Decades of economic hardship and Marxist indoctrination laid the groundwork for a very romantic, rosy perception of life in the free West. Many think that the world outside of Cuba is one big, wonderful supermarket where you can buy anything you want and don't have to pay," he said. Castro ceded power temporarily July 31 to his younger brother, Raul Castro. Castro, who has been in power for 47 years, said in a statement Aug. 1 that his health is stable after a serious operation.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .