Cuba is all set for a post-Castro era, as the Caribbean Island will get a new president later this year. It will be the first time in six decades when a ‘non-Castro’ president will lead the country. The island nation’s Council of State recently announced that 86-year-old Raul Castro would step down after a decade as president after the General Elections, to be held on March 11. The newly-elected Parliament or the National Assembly of the People’s Power will choose Raul’s successor in April. It will be a historic shift of power for the communist nation.

The Cuban president will not be elected directly by the people. On March 11, Cubans will elect the representatives of National Assembly and 15 Municipal Assemblies of the People’s Power for the next five years. And members of the National Assembly will elect the new president. The National Assembly will also elect the first vice president and all the 35 members of the Council of State. The 35-member Council enjoys the highest constitutional power in Cuba between two sessions of the National Assembly.
Fidel Castro became president of the country after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. He had served as the president for five decades. After Fidel’s retirement, Raul assumed the presidency in 2008. Raul was 84 when Fidel died on November 25, 2016. In December 2017, he said: “When the National Assembly is constituted (in April), my second and last term as head of state and the government will be concluded, and Cuba will have a new president.”

Miguel Díaz-Canel

But, who will be Raul’s successor?
According to sources close to Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, First Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel may replace Raul in April. The 57-year-old Miguel has been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party since 2003.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/+KoushikDasboundless

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das