Raul Castro hands baton to Miguel for Revolution 2.O
havana — Cuba’s new President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who was on Thursday named as Raul Castro’s successor, vowed to keep the Caribbean island on the path of “revolution” but also on the path of economic reform.
“The mandate given by the people to this legislature is to continue the Cuban revolution at this crucial historic moment, which will be marked by what we must do to implement the economic model” put in place by Castro, he said.
“I have come to work, and not to make promises,” he told the National Assembly, whose 605 delegates elected him in a vote on Wednesday, pledging to remain “loyal to the legacy of commandante Fidel Castro, but also to the example, the values and the teachings of General Raul Castro.”
Castro, who remains head of the all-powerful Communist Party, would “preside over the most important decisions for the present and future of our nation.”
The 57-year-old, who has spent years climbing the party ranks, was named the sole candidate for the presidency on Wednesday and was formally named on Thursday to a five-year term, taking the helm a day before his 58th birthday.
I will be loyal to the legacy of commandante Fidel Castro, but also to the example, the values and the teachings of General Raul Castro Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuban President
Cuba, he said, would remain “olive green” in honour of the military fatigues worn by the victorious revolutionaries of 1959.
And he noted he would have Raul Castro as a guide — a nod to those veterans of the revolution with concerns that their socialist legacy may be buried by the tide of reform. —
havana — Cuba’s new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, began his term on Thursday with a promise to defend the socialist revolution led by the Castro brothers since 1959, giving a strident speech that also emphasized the need to modernise the island’s economy.
A stalwart of the ruling Communist Party, Diaz-Canel was sworn in to replace Raul Castro by the National Assembly in a new chapter for the Caribbean island but one that has been carefully managed and is aimed at preserving the political system.
“The mandate given by the people to this house is to give continuity to the Cuban revolution in a crucial historic moment,” DiazCanel told the assembly in his first speech as president.
He delivered a long homage to 86-year-old Raul Castro, calling him the best student of his brother Fidel. Fidel Castro, who led a band of rebels that overthrew a USbacked dictator and then ruled for decades, handed over power to Raul Castro in 2008 as his health deteriorated. He died in 2016.
Raul Castro will retain considerable clout as he will remain head of the Communist Party until a congress in 2021. Diaz-Canel, 57, said Castro would remain the leader of the revolution and would be involved in major decisions.
He praised him as a fighter and for the reforms he ushered in during his decade as president.
His speech laid out a course for the his five-year term, in which he will have to strike a balance between defending Cuba’s socialist system and reforming it enough to satisfy a young generation hungry for better economic conditions. He confirmed expectations that the transition would not herald sweeping changes to one of the world’s last state-run economies and one-party systems, promising there would be no return to capitalism. —