By Anthony Boadle
HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said onTuesday that he will not return to lead the country aspresident or commander-in-chief, retiring as head of state 49years after he seized power in an armed revolution.
Castro, 81, said in a statement to the country that hewould not seek a new presidential term when the NationalAssembly meets on February 24.
"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honour inrecent days of electing me a member of parliament ... Icommunicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept -- Irepeat not aspire to or accept -- the positions of President ofCouncil of State and Commander in Chief," Castro said in thestatement published on the Web site of the Communist Party'sGranma newspaper.
The National Assembly or legislature is expected tonominate his brother and designated successor Raul Castro, 76,as president in place of Castro, who has not appeared in publicfor almost 19 months after being stricken by an undisclosedillness.
The title of "Comandante en Jefe" or commander-in-chief,was created for him in 1958 as the leader of a guerrillamovement that swept down from the mountains of eastern Cuba tooverthrow U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Castro's retirement draws the curtain on a political careerthat spanned the Cold War and survived U.S. enmity, CIAassassination attempts and the demise of Soviet Communism.
A charismatic leader famous for his long speeches deliveredin his green military fatigues, Castro is admired in the ThirdWorld for standing up to the United States but considered byhis opponents a tyrant who suppressed freedom.
His illness and departure from Cuba's helm have raiseddoubts about the future of the Western Hemisphere's onlycommunist state.
"Fortunately, our Revolution can still count on cadres fromthe old guard and others who were very young in the earlystages of the process," Castro said in his statement.
"They have the authority and the experience to guaranteethe replacement," he said.
The bearded leader who took power in an armed uprisingagainst a U.S.-backed dictator in 1959 had temporarily cededpower to his younger brother after he underwent emergencysurgery to stop intestinal bleeding in mid-2006.
Castro has only been seen in pictures since then, lookinggaunt and frail, though his health improved enough a year agoto allow him to keep in the public mind writing reams ofarticles published by Cuba's state press.
"This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fightas a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to writeunder the heading of 'Reflections by comrade Fidel.' It will bejust another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will beheard. I shall be careful," Castro said.
Castro could remain politically influential as firstsecretary of the ruling Communist Party and elder statesman.
Raul Castro, Cuba's long-standing defence minister, has runthe country since July 31, 2006 as acting president. He hasraised expectations of economic reforms to improve the dailylot of Cubans, but has yet to deliver.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle, Editing by Eric Walsh)
