Raul Castro retires .. But the Communist Party remains in the leadership of Cuba
The old generation represented by Raul Castro "to the right" with the new leader, President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
EPA
The most prominent feature of Cuba throughout the Communist rule is extreme poverty, as seen on a street in the capital, Havana.
EPA
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Cuba turned the page of the Castro era, the day before yesterday, after the ruling Communist Party elected President Miguel Diaz Canel as first secretary to succeed Raul Castro.
This step unveils the curtain on a six-decade era of rule by the brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, who led a revolution in 1959 and established a communist-run state at the doorstep of the United States.
Leadership is now carefully coordinated transmission to a younger generation that has made its way up the ranks of the party, rather than carving out stature through guerrilla warfare.
Diaz Canel (60 years) was the party leader in two provinces, before joining the country's government in 2009, and Castro (89 years) succeeded Cuba in 2018, and it was widely expected that he would become the party's first secretary, the most powerful position in Country.
His election came within the framework of broader amendments within the political bureau of the party during a four-day conference, under the title "Unity and Survival," and most of its sessions were closed.
"Comrade Raul ... will be consulted in the most important strategic decisions that are heavier in relation to the fate of our country, he will always be present," Diaz-Canel told hundreds of attendees in his first speeches as party leader, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, in an image that contrasts with Castro's military clothes. He said that Castro would also continue to guide and instruct and "warn against any error or defect."
Some Havana residents praised the transmission of leadership from generation to generation, saying the Diaz Canel is more in line with the times, while others doubted it would make a significant difference.
"The only thing that will happen is that the Castro family will leave, but things will remain as they are," said nurse Melanie Miranda, 22.
Since becoming president, Diaz-Canel has been stressing to continue the path, and he is not expected to move the country away from socialism and one-party rule, although he will face pressure to make economic reforms.
The US sanctions and the pandemic have exacerbated the problems of an already exhausted central economy, which suffers from a rampant shortage of even basic goods, in a manner that forces people to queue for hours in front of stores across the country.
• Since becoming president, Diaz-Kanel has been stressing to continue the path, and he is not expected to move the country away from the socialist system and one-party rule, although he will face pressure to make economic reforms.
• Some Havana residents praised the transmission of leadership from generation to generation, saying that Diaz Canel is more in line with the times, while others doubted that it would make a big difference.
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