Cuban President Fidel Castro is back "in charge" after undergoing intestinal surgery in July, his friend and protege Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said yesterday.

An intestinal ailment has kept the veteran leader out of the public eye for the past nine months, sparking speculation about whether he will return to power, which he ceded temporarily to his brother Raul on July 31.

"He is charge, he is in charge, he is doing a lot of thinking," Chavez said in a speech at a Latin American summit.

Chavez has already said that Castro, 80, has taken back much of his governing role informally.

Bolivian President Evo Morales has said he is sure Castro will attend a May Day parade in Havana, but Chavez said he did not know whether his mentor would be there.

"I'm sure, my Cuban brothers, that on May 1 comrade Fidel will return to governing Cuba and Latin America," Morales said, according to Bolivia's private Unitel TV network. "I'm convinced that comrade Fidel will return to continue governing and leading the Cuban people."

The Bolivian president said he had not received any official word from Cuban authorities about plans for Castro to return to power or that he might make his public appearance in nine months at a workers parade on May 1.

In Havana, senior Cuban officials preparing for the mass rally in Revolution Square could not confirm whether Castro would show up, but said he was involved in all major government decisions.

"If it is possible he will be there, if it is not, he won't be there," Economy Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez said at a news conference.

Otto Rivero, a vice-president of the Council of Ministers, said the Cuban people were very encouraged by photographs published in mid-April of Castro looking stronger during a meeting with senior Chinese leader Wu Guanzheng.

Source: China Daily/agencies