President Raul Castro returned Saturday to the military barracks where he and his brother Fidel launched Cuba's revolution, addressing thousand of supporters amid questions about whether he will announce more changes to remake the island's communist system, AP reported.
Castro spoke as the sun set over the jagged peaks of the Sierra Maestra mountains that ring Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city. At his back stood the orange and white Moncada military complex where he and Fidel led a band of rebels that launched an attack 55 years ago, planting the seeds for a revolution that succeeded in January 1959.
Since taking office five months ago, Raul Castro has opened more unused state land to private farmers, legalized cell phones for ordinary citizens and allowed some workers to seek legal title to their homes.
While both Castro brothers were born in Cuba's east, Raul, who at 77 is five years younger that Fidel, seems happiest here. Many locals consider him more down-home than his brother.
"Raul is a man of the people and Santiago is full of his people," said Elizabeth Trumpeta, a 42-year-old administrator at a government shoe repair shop, who lives across the street from Moncada. "He can go to Havana, live and work there, but he has Santiago in his heart."
Santiago, 535 miles (860 kilometers) southeast of Havana, is the de-facto capital of the island's eastern half.
The Moncada attack was a disaster, with many assailants killed and most of the rest captured. But it launched a movement that brought Fidel Castro to power when President Fulgencio Batista fled the country.
It was at the commemoration of this anniversary two years ago that Fidel Castro was last seen in public. He underwent emergency intestinal surgery five days later and has only appeared in official videos and photographs since. Raul succeeded him as president in February.
Yet Fidel Castro - not Raul - is featured on Revolution Day posters affixed to houses and businesses across Santiago. With a broad grin and a white beard, he hoists a rifle skyward before a picture of the Moncada barracks, now a museum attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually.
The crowd chanted "Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!" and "Long live Fidel!" before Raul Castro's speech, which came as part of Revolution Day festivities, the most-important day on Cuba's capital. Many wore red and black T-shirts and waved small Cuban flags.
Raul Castro hinted two weeks ago that further reform will be stalled by rising global food and oil prices. And many say their hopes for change are fading.
"There are a lot of people on the street who talk about change, but we haven't had even one economic or political reform that counts, nothing we hoped for with Raul," said Oswaldo, a 69-year-old retired construction worker. He declined to give his last name, saying, "Being able to openly criticize things is something else we can only hope for."