By KATHERINE ELLISON
Herald Staff Writer
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Walking stiffly, looking gray and dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Cuban President Fidel Castro arrived here Saturday to a military trumpet salute and the shouted welcomes of more than 1,000 flag-waving supporters.
Behind the gleaming facade of the Hyatt hotel where he is staying, however, he's likely to hear something less than applause.
To be sure, the 22 Latin American and European presidents attending this weekend's sixth Ibero-American summit -- along with King Juan Carlos of Spain -- plan to deliver a strong condemnation of the recently extended U.S. economic embargo against Cuba.
But some of the leaders are showing new impatience at Castro's slowness in making democratic reforms. And the lack of any other pressing issues at this meeting on ``governability'' has made Castro's lonely status stand out even more.
Argentine President Carlos Menem has routinely used the summits to try to pressure the Cuban leader, and reports from Spain indicate that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar will now join him.
``Argentina and Spain, and I think also Bolivia, are going to be pulling at his ears,'' said Cuban exile activist Carlos Alberto Montaner, who lives in Madrid.
Montaner joined several other prominent exiles on Friday in delivering a letter to summit organizers proposing that Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina enter negotiations on Cuba's future.
Robaina turned down the offer, telling reporters he found anti-Castro displays ``so routine that they are no longer interesting, nor worrisome. We're interested in more serious matters.''
Montaner, who plans to leave Santiago today with empty hands, said he nonetheless took hope in what he understood would be a provision of this summit's conclusions that calls for monitoring democratic practices within each country and reporting back in time for the next summit, next year in Venezuela.
``That won't be quite as supportive an environment for Castro,'' Montaner said.
Castro arrived in Santiago aboard a Cubana airlines plane Saturday, receiving the same red carpet welcome and military honors as the other heads of state. He stayed at the Hyatt the rest of the day, leaving only for a dinner downtown with the rest of the summit guests.
On his ride to the hotel from the airport and again on his way to the dinner, Castro was greeted by supporters who lined the route to shout ``Fidel!'' and waved Cuban flags.
A few dozen anti-Castro demonstrators beat pots and pans loudly Saturday evening in the apartment buildings near the Hyatt, and larger anti-Castro protests are planned today.
When the time came, though, the air force extended the usual honors.
Today, after the summit formalities, Castro is expected to visit the grave of President Salvador Allende, a Marxist deposed by Pinochet 23 years ago.
Pinochet was far from Santiago Saturday, at military exercises in the north. Asked about Castro by a TV reporter in the town of Iquique, he said, ``Look, if the government wants to invite Lucifer, and Lucifer comes here, what does it have to do with me?''
Copyright © 1996 The Miami Herald