Diaz-Canel replaces Castro as president
Cuban lawmakers yesterday transferred power to new president Miguel Diaz-Canel, marking a major generational shift on the island nation ruled for almost 60 years by the late Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul.
Diaz-Canel, 57, a longtime stalwart of the ruling Communist Party, was heartily endorsed for the position by outgoing president Raul Castro, who had led the country since his older brother relinquished the top post 10 years ago.
Fidel Castro died at age 90 in 2016, but the succession of his sibling ensured that the ideals of the storied comandante would remain paramount.
In a speech before Cuba’s National Assembly, Diaz-Canel vowed to maintain ‘‘continuity to the Cuban Revolution’’, a theme
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that state media had repeatedly emphasised in recent days as the turnover in power approached.
Few Cubans and outside experts expect a major transformation in Cuban governance under the leadership of DiazCanel, a relatively low-key party functionary who lacks the revolutionary pedigree of the Castro brothers. The new president is widely described as a hardworking bureaucrat unlikely to veer from the principles of the Castros’ rule.
But the transition from the Castro era has major symbolic significance in Cuba, which has been ruled by one of the two brothers since the 1959 revolution that ousted the government of United States-backed strongman Fulgencio Batista. Many Cubans have said they hope that a new generation of leaders will be more attentive to the needs of the nation’s tech-savvy youth, who often express frustration with the ruling party’s orthodoxy and a lack of economic opportunities.
The new president hailed his 86-year-old predecessor and patron, who is to remain for at least three years head of Cuba’s Communist Party, a crucial position that will keep a Castro seated at the core of the island’s leadership.
Diaz-Canel was the sole candidate nominated for the presidency by Cuba’s more than 600-member National Assembly.
The new leader faces enormous challenges as his five-year term begins. Cuba is mired in an economic slump amid worsening relations with longtime adversary the US since the advent of the Trump administration.
In his comments, Diaz-Canel proclaimed that Havana would not back down in the face of what he labelled ‘‘the threats from the powerful imperialist neighbour’’.
‘‘Here, there is no room for a transition that ignores or destroys the legacy of so many years of struggle,’’ he said. ‘‘We will always be disposed to have dialogue and co-operation . . . under terms of respect and equal treatment.’’ Diaz-Canel said: ‘‘There will be no space for those who aspire for a restoration of capitalism. . . . (We) will defend the revolution.’’
A robust and often animated Castro, in a rambling 90-minute speech, assailed an ‘‘aggressive’’ and ‘‘threatening’’ tone from Washington under Trump.
The Trump administration has imposed new restrictions on USCuba commercial and tourism ties that had been liberalised under President Barack Obama. The Obama White House reached a groundbreaking accord with Cuba to renew diplomatic relations between the two historic Cold War rivals.
The diplomatic opening from Obama raised expectations of an eventual full normalisation of relations that could result in an end to the almost 60-year US embargo on most US commerce with Cuba. However, Trump’s rollback of the Obama detente has dashed those prospects and obliged Cuban authorities to seek alternative avenues of economic development.
During his 10-year rule, Raul Castro embarked on an aggressive campaign of market reforms of Cuba’s command economy, expanding private ownership, facilitating investment from the country’s large diaspora community, and allowing Cubans greater freedom to travel abroad.
– LA Times