Word: rauling
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...their health care plans. Though both would make health care more affordable, Clinton would insist upon a requirement that every American have coverage; Obama would not, though he contends that lowering the cost would make nearly everyone decide to do it. Clinton said she would not sit down with Raul Castro until he had shown clear signs of political reform in Cuba; Obama said he would insist upon preparations, not preconditions. That distinction is hardly likely to sway many people in either Texas or Ohio...
...visit. But his choice to stay six days, and hold a series of public masses and private encounters, is a sign that Bertone has big ambitions for the trip. His official itinerary includes a meeting with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, but Vatican sources say that a meeting with Raul Castro, the heir apparent to his older brother, is almost certain. Depending on his health, Fidel Castro may also meet with the Cardinal. The two dined together in Havana in Oct. 2005 when Bertone, then Archbishop of Genoa, was sent as an unofficial emissary from the newly elected Pope Benedict...
...Raul's ascension, however, is sure to amplify the U.S. debate over whether to begin engaging Cuba more deeply in order to be better positioned to help a democratic transition once the Castros are gone. (A new U.S. Administration could mean a change in American policy toward the island.) Meanwhile, Fidel's resignation is both a boon and a bitter pill to Cuban exiles in Miami, who are relieved to see him out of power but unhappy that he, and not they, got to choose the timing of his exit, and that his regime will linger on in large part...
Venezuela, which possess the hemisphere's largest oil reserves, may actually weigh more heavily today on Raul's mind than the U.S. In recent years Venezuela's left-wing, radically anti-U.S. President, Hugo Chavez, a fervent Fidel admirer, has helped prop up Cuba's economy with almost 100,000 daily barrels of cut-rate crude. Chavez, however, is deeply suspicious of, if not antagonistic to, Raul's economic reform intentions. "Raul has to play ball with the Venezuelans," says Latell. "He has no one else to turn to right...
Perhaps. But as Hernandez points out, Raul also has to deal with the heightened reform expectations he's planting in the minds of younger Cubans like Eliecer Avila. In the end, he may have little choice but to keep turning to them - which would be good news for Cuba, the U.S. and everyone else this small Caribbean island has captivated for the past 50 years. With reporting by Dolly Mascarenas/Mexico City and Siobhan Morrissey/Miami...