Cuba bids goodbye to the revolutionary generation
On April 19th, Raul Castro plans to step down as
president of Cuba, which brings an end to the 60 years of rule that his family
has had over the country. Castro, who is 86, is expected to hand his power to
his “first” vice-president, Miguel Diaz-Canel. Diz-Canel is an engineer by
trade who has spent a quiet and model 30 years in the government and the
Communist Party. He has backed gay rights before many other countries did and
has argued for certain other freedoms. This transition of power is part of a
broader generational change for Cuba in which several other conservatives such
as Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and Ramiro Valdes will leave the council of the
state. However, change will not occur soon given hat Raul Castro plans to
remain head of the Politburo, which controls the Communist Party and the
overall direction of policy. Diaz-Canel has to look to some type of economic
form given the terrible shape of the economy. Ultimately, he will have to look
at ways to help fix the farm production, increase the foreign exchange, stop
food shortages, unify the currency and increase quality of living.
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