LA PAZ - Bolivian President Evo Morales said he was "sure" Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who has been recovering from intestinal surgery, will resume power during May Day celebrations in Havana on May 1, a Bolivian television station reported on Saturday.

A top Cuban official has moved to quash speculation that convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro, seen here on 20 April 2007, might appear at a May Day parade, though he said Castro was "very well." [AFP]

"I'm sure, my Cuban brothers, that on May 1 comrade Fidel will return to governing Cuba and Latin America," Morales said, according to the private Unitel 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. "We all would like his fast recovery to be even faster so that he can be back with us," he said.

Otto Rivero, a vice president of the Council of Ministers, said the Cuban people were very encouraged by photographs published last week of Castro looking stronger during a meeting with a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official.

"Fidel has not disappeared. He is permanently with us," Rivero said, but gave no clue when he would reappear.

Castro, 80, has not been seen in public since he underwent emergency intestinal surgery that forced him to hand over power temporarily to his brother, Raul Castro, on July 31. His condition is a state secret in Cuba.

Cuban officials insist Castro, in power since 1959, is recovering steadily and that it is only a question of time before he returns to office.

It was the second time in two months that Morales, a leftist ally of Castro's, has said the Cuban leader was likely to return to power.

Morales made the comments late Friday afternoon during an event attended by dozens of Cuban doctors in the northern Bolivian department of Pando.

In March, Morales suggested Castro would resume power during an April meeting in Havana of the trade pact known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas. The group is comprised of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua and is aimed at rivaling US-sponsored free-trade agreements in Latin America.

Castro is "very well," but don't expect May Day show: official

A top Cuban official, however, has moved to quash speculation that convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro might appear at a May Day parade, though he said Castro was "very well."

A fitter, less gaunt Castro, 80, was seen in official photos earlier this week after he met with a top Chinese official, in a sign he unofficially is back at work on more of his customary official duties.

That fuelled speculation among many Cubans that Castro, who underwent major intestinal surgery in July, might be on hand at the May day parade in Havana's Revolution Square.

National Assembly speaker Ricardo Alarcon, one of the communist regime's top figures, said he thought Fidel Castro should take a pass and opt for a television appearance instead. Fidel Castro has not appeared in public since his operation nine months ago.

"It's one thing to be well, but to be there for two hours watching a parade ...I would prefer to see him on TV. He looks better on television," Alarcon said when asked late Tuesday if Fidel Castro might show for May Day events May 1.

Alarcon said Fidel Castro is "very well" and speaks by phone with colleagues several times a day.

"He is informed about the main issues, following them very closely, and carefully ... This is not a man whose life is over," Alarcon stressed.

Saturday, the Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma ran two still photos of a fitter-looking Castro -- his first official media picture since January 30. A third photo of Fidel Castro with his guest was run in the Juventude Rebelde newspaper.

In the new images, Castro appears in a brown and red track suit, both sitting and standing, and appeared to have gained back some of the weight he lost during his illness.

The official who met Castro, Wu Guanzheng, is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China. He reportedly brought a card for the Cuban leader from President Hu Jintao.

After almost five decades at the helm of the only communist country in the Americas, Fidel Castro underwent intestinal surgery last July and temporarily handed power to Raul Castro, the defense chief, July 31.

Cuban officials and ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have given updates on Castro's health in recent months, hinting he is set for a comeback, and defying predictions by his arch-nemesis, the United States, that his death was near.