Castro era comes to an end

Cuba will see an end to an era today when Raul Castro, now 86 years-old, who took over from his older brother, Fidel, in 2006, will leave office. The National Assembly has already voted on the only candidate selected by the National Nominations Committee and the results will be known today.

Everything indicates, therefore, that the 58 year old electronic engineer Miguel Díaz-Canel will tomorrow become the first president in the country’s modern history who does not bear the name Castro.

Díaz-Canel’s ability to remain discreetly in the background has allowed him to get where he is without the charisma of the Castro brothers; it is a change of name but not of the course of the nation. While he may defend the need for all Cubans to have access to the Internet and the urgent modernisation of the country, Raúl retains the post of general secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) until 2021 and from that position will monitor the work of his protege, who belongs to another generation which does not have the legitimacy of the veterans of the Revolution of 1959. Experts suggest that one of the major questions is whether Diaz-Canel will be able to withstand the pressure of the party apparatus and create the necessary balance to satisfy both the old and new generations of Cuban revolutionaries.

There are other changes as well with many of the veteran stepping aside, however, in numbers, that represents less than 40% of the main organs of state and of the party. Throughout the entire process since Castro announced his retirement, the message has been unchanged: Socialism remains, and the Revolution continues.