Fidel Castro (81) who announced on last Tuesday that he was stepping aside after ruling for almost 50 years, was not present as the national assembly held its landmark session to select a new leader. But the last of the Cold War leaders voted for his successor in a sealed envelope and newly reelected speaker Ricardo Alarcon announced later to the assembly that 76-year-old Raul —the only candidate put forward to take the helm — had been named the new president.
In defiance of US-led calls for democratic change, Fidel Castro had ruled out any betrayal of the Cuban revolution ahead of Monday’s landmark vote. “The end of one era is not the same thing as the beginning of an unsustainable system,” Castro wrote in an editorial on Friday.
The only place in need of transformation was the US, he said, arguing that “Cuba had changed some time ago, and will continue on its dialectical path”.
Earlier, in his announcement, the frail communist icon had quashed speculation that he would retake the country’s helm he ceded “temporarily” to defence chief Raul Castro on July 31, 2006, shortly after undergoing surgery.
The 614-member assembly was also choosing in a secret vote the country’s Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, first vice president, five other vice presidents, a party secretary and the 23 members of the Council of State.
Jose Ramon Machado, another “old guard” Cuban leader, was selected for the number-two spot, lawmakers said. Machado (77), is a former health minister and a founder of the Communist Party. He has been chief of party organisation since 1990.
Vice President Carlos Lage (56) seen by many as a rising younger-generation leader with a longshot chance at the presidency, kept his current place.
After years in Fidel’s charismatic shadow as Cuba’s number two and defence minister, Raul faces massive challenges: dismantling a monolithic leadership, preparing the transition to a newer generation in power, reforming the economy and resolving domestic problems.
With half of Cuba’s farmland idle; monthly salaries averaging the equivalent of $ 15, woefully inadequate even in a subsidised economy; national transport near collapse; shortfalls in housing and food stocks, and a shoddy bureaucracy, the outlook is not good.
Former US Central Intelligence Agency analyst Brian Latell believes Raul is a “transition figure” who “like his brother, has no intention of opening up Cuba” in the political sense.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nonetheless urged Cuba to move towards “peaceful, democratic change”. “We urge the Cuban government to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing all political prisoners, respecting human rights, and creating a clear pathway towards free and fair elections,” Rice said in a statement in Washington.
‘Consult Fidel’
Cuba’s new leader Raul Castro in his speech accepting the post asked the national assembly for authority to consult his brother, outgoing President Fidel Castro, on issues of major importance.
Parliament quickly acceded to the request on Sunday.
