Whatever he writes is reprinted in its entirety in every Cuban newspaper, and read out in serious tones by anchors on television and radio broadcasts. Often, comments or newspaper articles that catch Castro's fancy are quoted nearly in their entirety, with only brief fresh comment. Occasionally, Castro, 85, even quotes his own past columns, entitled "Reflections," verbatim from beginning to end.
The pieces come irregularly, but almost all have one thing in common. They are long. Or at least they were until two weeks ago, when Castro began a flurry of bite-size ruminations that have Cubans and Cuba watchers alike scratching their heads.
"What are the FC?" Castro asked in a one-paragraph offering on June 10, before answering himself cryptically: "These comprise a method with which I try to transmit the modest understandings I have acquired during long years, and which I consider useful for Cuban officials responsible for the production of foodstuffs that are essential to our people's lives."
Nobody on the island seems to have any idea what the "FC" stand for, or what the former leader is referring to. The Cuban government has not responded to requests for an explanation.
In comments posted on the government's Cubadebate website beneath the "Reflection," Cubans took turns trying to decipher its meaning, or asking for help.
"I WOULD APPRECIATE IF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF, OR ONE OF HIS AIDES, EXPLAINS WHAT ARE THE FC," wrote a reader identified as Orestes.
"For me it's clear what FC stands for," said a bold poster named Armando. "Corrupt functionaries, dung-eating functionaries, cretinous functionaries, outdated functionaries, quasi-stupid functionaries, complicit functionaries." In Spanish, all of those possibilities bear the initials FC.
Exiles in Miami have long monitored Castro's writings, and false rumors of his demise pop up whenever a few weeks go by without a new essay. The latest batch have raised questions of another kind.
"Every day his comments are getting smaller. Like someone who is fading out," said Miami political consultant and Cuban exile Gus Garcia. "I keep thinking the whole philosophy now is from a gentleman who is no longer in touch with reality.
The day after the FC essay, Castro published a 65-word blurb on former East German leader Erich Honecker, whose communist regime collapsed in 1990 as reforms in the Soviet Union led to uprisings that swept away socialist governments across Eastern Europe.
"I maintain feelings of profound solidarity with Honecker," Castro wrote, following a dig at an unnamed world leader who "sold his soul for a few fingers of vodka," an apparent reference to reformist Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.
On Tuesday, Castro wrote two sentences noting that yoga masters "can do things with the human body that can hardly be imagined." He urged his countrymen to watch a coming television program on the subject before signing off.
Cubans say the randomness of the new mini-dispatches is unsettling, and reactions have ranged from puzzlement to outright derision.
"I don't understand what he is trying to say but it must be something, because Fidel never does anything just to do it," said Julio Romero, a 67-year-old retiree. "There's always a reason, so we'll see."
Many younger Cubans were less charitable, if reluctant to go on the record for fear of getting into trouble.
"I think he's toasted," said Pablo, a twenty-something Havana resident. He smiled and twirled his finger next to his ear as he used the slang term for crazy, then walked briskly away.
