Miami Herald (Sunday)

Cuba is proposing a new ‘collective’ form of leadership

- BY MIMI WHITEFIELD mwhitefiel­d@miamiheral­d.com

By this time next year, under a new constituti­on, Cuba may have a prime minister, a president of the republic — and another president who will head both its parliament and Council of State.

That structure is a big departure from recent decades when Raúl Castro — and his predecesso­r, the late Fidel Castro — was president of both the Council of Ministers and Council of State and also headed the Communist Party of Cuba. Since April, Miguel Díaz-Canel has served as both president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers and Raúl Castro continues to lead the powerful party.

While the Communist Party will continue to be the dominant force in the country, Cuba analysts say they expect the president of the republic will be far more influentia­l than either the new post of prime minister, who is expected to be a technocrat who will direct the day-to-day operations of the government, or the dual president of Cuba’s National Assembly and the Council of State.

The National Assembly, Cuba’s parliament, recently approved a draft of the new constituti­on, which will replace a 1976 Soviet-style constituti­on. But it still must undergo an approval process that includes a three-month public debate period and face a national referendum early next year.

If approved, as expected, Castro and Díaz-Canel will likely remain the two dominant figures in Cuba’s government. Castro said he expects Díaz-Canel to succeed him when his term as party chieftain ends in 2021. In the meantime, Díaz-Canel has acknowledg­ed he will be looking to Castro as a “lucid and tireless guide.”

“Díaz-Canel has clearly been selected to be the

Under Cuba’s proposed constituti­on, the way top government leadership functions will shift. The post of prime minister will be created, and Cuba will have a president of the republic and another president who will head both the National Assembly and the Council of State. Cuba released the text of the proposed constituti­on on Wednesday.

guy,” said William LeoGrande, an American University professor who specialize­s in Cuba. “The creation of a prime minister, who will focus on the work of the ministries and making sure the economic reform program is carried out, makes perfect sense.”

Neverthele­ss, there will be some significan­t changes. Currently, Díaz-Canel is both head of state and chief of government. Those functions are separated under the new constituti­on.

“The idea is to create a more collective form of leadership within the framework of a oneparty state. I don’t see this as a separation of power so much as functional differenti­ation,” said Arturo López-Levy, a former Cuban intelligen­ce analyst and a lecturer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. “The presi-

dent will be more in charge of strategic projects and setting developmen­t goals.”

Borrowing a page from the Chinese constituti­on, Cuba’s new prime minister will serve at the will of the president of the republic, who is the more powerful figure. But unlike China, which removed term limits for president and vice president in a March 2018 revision to its constituti­on, Cuba has imposed a maximum of 10 years of service.

From National Assembly discussion­s and the text of the draft constituti­on, it appears this is how Cuba’s government will be organized in the future and how leadership roles will function:

President of the Republic:

A

The president will be the head of state and make strategic decisions on the developmen­t and direction of the country.

To become president, a candidate must be a National Assembly member and a Cuban citizen by birth. There are also age restrictio­ns. The president must

 ?? ABEL PADRON ACN via AP ?? A member of the National Assembly studies the proposed update to the Constituti­on, in Havana, on July 21, 2018.
ABEL PADRON ACN via AP A member of the National Assembly studies the proposed update to the Constituti­on, in Havana, on July 21, 2018.

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