End of the Castro era as Cuba welcomes first civilian leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel
- Cuba’s president since 2018, Diaz-Canel has now also taken the most senior position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)
- The transition is unlikely to result in dramatic policy shifts in the one-party system that Diaz-Canel has vowed to safeguard
Cuba marked the end of an era on Monday with the official transfer of power from the Castro clan, in charge for six decades, to the communist country’s first civilian leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel.
The transition, while hugely symbolic, is unlikely to result in dramatic policy shifts in the one-party system that 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.
Diaz-Canel added the outgoing leader, 89-year-old Raul Castro, would still be consulted on “strategic decisions.”
From retirement, Castro would give “direction and alert to any error or deficiency, ready to confront imperialism as he first did with his rifle,” said the new leader.
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Already Cuba’s president since 2018, Diaz-Canel has now also taken the most senior position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).