Cuba gets new leader as last Castro retires

HAVANA (AFP) -Cuba marked the end of an era Monday with the transfer of power from the Castro clan, in charge for six decades, to the communist country’s first-ever civilian leader in Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The transition, while hugely symbolic, is unlikely to result in dramatic policy shifts in the one-party system Diaz-Canel, 60, has vowed to safeguard.

“The most revolutionary thing within the Revolution is to always defend the party, in the same way that the party should be the greatest defender of the Revolution,” he said on Monday.

Already Cuba’s president since 2018, Diaz-Canel has now also taken the all-powerful position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) as Raul Castro, 89, entered retirement.

The pre-determined power transfer at a four-day PCC congress in Havana, marks a watershed for the country of 11.2 million people, many of whom have known no leader other than a Castro.

Fidel Castro, still revered as the country’s father and savior, led the country from 1959 to 2006, when he fell ill and his brother Raul took over. Fidel Castro died in 2016.

Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles fan was born after the revolution led by the Castro siblings in the 1950s, leading in 1959 to the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

While in some ways more modern than the Castros with their love for military uniforms, Diaz-Canel is a staunch party disciple.

And a new constitution passed in May 2019 made it clear that the country’s commitment to socialism was “irrevocable.”

In his final address to the party last Friday, Castro affirmed a “willingness to conduct a respectful dialogue and build a new kind of relationship with the United States.”

But he stressed the country would not renounce “the principles of the revolution and socialism” as he urged the new generation to “zealously protect” the one-party dogma.

“There are limits that cannot be crossed,” warned Castro.

The leadership change comes as Cuba battles its worst economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting food shortages, long lines for basic necessities and growing disgruntlement over limited freedoms.

Cuba, one of just five communist countries along with China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea, faces constant shortages and imports 80 percent of what it consumes for lack of sufficient local production.

“Since I was born, I have only known one party,” said Miguel Gainza, a 58-year-old in Havana.

“And no one dies of hunger, it’s true,” he adds. But today, “we are a little stuck, and it’s a shame that Fidel is dead because he solved all our problems.”