Fidel Castro steps down - What's next for Cuba?
from the Miami Herald
Raul Castro not the only possible successor
Cuban leader Fidel Castro has long referred to his brother Raúl as his designated successor and ''temporarily'' ceded power to the defense minister when he got sick in 2006. But there are others considered possible candidates to succeed Castro:
RAUL CASTRO, 76
Fidel Castro's younger brother and most likely heir is widely seen as a hard-liner and master organizer who forged Cuba's military first into one of the world's best fighting machines and later into the island's main economic engine.
Cuba's long-serving defense minister again showed his leadership when the ailing Castro ''temporarily'' ceded power to him in July 2006, successfully steering the nation through the potentially risky hand-over and adopting a handful of changes designed to ease the island's many economic woes.
Before assuming power, Raúl was viewed with both trepidation and hope. He was expected to be harsher than Castro on the political and security sides, but more pragmatic on the economic side and more likely to seek better relations with Washington.
As temporary guardian of the Cuban revolution, Raúl met both expectations to differing degrees. The regime's tight political control of the island did not unravel, and he maintained continuity and stability.
And while he took no radical steps to open the country's economy to market forces, there were subtle signs that he might steer Cuba in the direction of China or Vietnam, where capitalism and communism co-exist.
While Raúl is clearly Cuba's second most powerful man after his brother, some experts believe he will opt to rule from the back benches and allow another man to assume the title of president.
CARLOS LAGE, 56
Cuba's vice president is considered a leading candidate to succeed Fidel Castro as president.
A pediatrician who once served on a medical mission to Ethiopia, Lage is considered a pragmatic technocrat, who would be acceptable to the country's powerful factions, including the armed forces and old-time Communist Party members.
He has been the island's economic czar since the early 1990s, overseeing a series of capitalist-styled reforms while echoing Castro's unease with the what the reforms might unleash. He has warned that corruption ``is very serious, however isolated it may be, because socialism is built on morality.''
For a while, he kept a low profile as Castro backtracked on reforms of the 1990s. But when Castro fell sick in 2006, he was placed in charge of energy and finance.
He has been a member of the Communist Party's ruling Politburo since 1991 and one of the younger members of Fidel's inner circle. Under Lage's watch, Cuba's energy crunch has eased somewhat in recent months.
Lage has taken a much more public role under Raúl Castro, often representing the country at international gatherings and especially in relations with Venezuela, now Cuba's biggest source of foreign subsidies.
But he has continued, in public at least, to warn of capitalism's failings.
''We always knew the biggest challenge of socialism is to instill in young people a communist conscience and rejection of capitalism, without having lived in it, without having seen the moral damage it produces,'' he said in April last year.
Cuba's communist system, he added, was ``not as ideal as the one we wished for, or achieved years ago.''
Lage's two sons are active in Cuba's youth movements.
RICARDO ALARCON, 70
Urbane and fluent in English, he is one of Cuba's most prominent politicians and is often interviewed by foreign media. He served as Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations and foreign minister for more than 20 years before becoming president of the National Assembly in 1993.
His high visibility makes him a natural candidate as Castro's successor, though he's also considered too old. A recently leaked video showed Alarcón awkwardly fielding tough questions from university students.
FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE, 42
The foreign minister, an electrical engineer by training, is one of the youngest members of the Cuban leadership and might be favored in a succession if there's a drive for a generational change.
But many perceive Perez Roque as too close to Castro to oversee real change. He was Castro's chief of staff for eight years before becoming foreign minister in 1999, and is considered a member of the hard-line faction known as the Taliban.
RAMIRO VALDES, 75
One of the historical figures of the Cuban revolution, he fought in the assault on the Moncada barracks in 1953 and has served as interior minister and vice prime minister. He has been minister of communications since 2006.
Considered a hard-liner, Valdés in public has backed the hints of reforms encouraged by interim Cuban leader Raúl Castro. But his clashes with Raúl in the first half of the 1980s led to his dismissal as interior minister in 1985.
Some experts view him as too powerful for Raúl's liking, and too old for those who want a generational change.
ESTEBAN LAZO, 64
Born from a poor peasant family, Lazo is one of the few Afro Cubans to hold senior government posts. He is a member of the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Political Buro of the Cuban Communist Party.
Castro tapped Lazo to oversee Cuba's education system after he got sick in 2006, and his racial and socio-economic background might make him an attractive candidate for the presidency. But his experience has been mostly in the Cuban bureaucracy instead of the front lines of politics.
Raul Castro not the only possible successor
Cuban leader Fidel Castro has long referred to his brother Raúl as his designated successor and ''temporarily'' ceded power to the defense minister when he got sick in 2006. But there are others considered possible candidates to succeed Castro:
RAUL CASTRO, 76
Fidel Castro's younger brother and most likely heir is widely seen as a hard-liner and master organizer who forged Cuba's military first into one of the world's best fighting machines and later into the island's main economic engine.
Cuba's long-serving defense minister again showed his leadership when the ailing Castro ''temporarily'' ceded power to him in July 2006, successfully steering the nation through the potentially risky hand-over and adopting a handful of changes designed to ease the island's many economic woes.
Before assuming power, Raúl was viewed with both trepidation and hope. He was expected to be harsher than Castro on the political and security sides, but more pragmatic on the economic side and more likely to seek better relations with Washington.
As temporary guardian of the Cuban revolution, Raúl met both expectations to differing degrees. The regime's tight political control of the island did not unravel, and he maintained continuity and stability.
And while he took no radical steps to open the country's economy to market forces, there were subtle signs that he might steer Cuba in the direction of China or Vietnam, where capitalism and communism co-exist.
While Raúl is clearly Cuba's second most powerful man after his brother, some experts believe he will opt to rule from the back benches and allow another man to assume the title of president.
CARLOS LAGE, 56
Cuba's vice president is considered a leading candidate to succeed Fidel Castro as president.
A pediatrician who once served on a medical mission to Ethiopia, Lage is considered a pragmatic technocrat, who would be acceptable to the country's powerful factions, including the armed forces and old-time Communist Party members.
He has been the island's economic czar since the early 1990s, overseeing a series of capitalist-styled reforms while echoing Castro's unease with the what the reforms might unleash. He has warned that corruption ``is very serious, however isolated it may be, because socialism is built on morality.''
For a while, he kept a low profile as Castro backtracked on reforms of the 1990s. But when Castro fell sick in 2006, he was placed in charge of energy and finance.
He has been a member of the Communist Party's ruling Politburo since 1991 and one of the younger members of Fidel's inner circle. Under Lage's watch, Cuba's energy crunch has eased somewhat in recent months.
Lage has taken a much more public role under Raúl Castro, often representing the country at international gatherings and especially in relations with Venezuela, now Cuba's biggest source of foreign subsidies.
But he has continued, in public at least, to warn of capitalism's failings.
''We always knew the biggest challenge of socialism is to instill in young people a communist conscience and rejection of capitalism, without having lived in it, without having seen the moral damage it produces,'' he said in April last year.
Cuba's communist system, he added, was ``not as ideal as the one we wished for, or achieved years ago.''
Lage's two sons are active in Cuba's youth movements.
RICARDO ALARCON, 70
Urbane and fluent in English, he is one of Cuba's most prominent politicians and is often interviewed by foreign media. He served as Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations and foreign minister for more than 20 years before becoming president of the National Assembly in 1993.
His high visibility makes him a natural candidate as Castro's successor, though he's also considered too old. A recently leaked video showed Alarcón awkwardly fielding tough questions from university students.
FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE, 42
The foreign minister, an electrical engineer by training, is one of the youngest members of the Cuban leadership and might be favored in a succession if there's a drive for a generational change.
But many perceive Perez Roque as too close to Castro to oversee real change. He was Castro's chief of staff for eight years before becoming foreign minister in 1999, and is considered a member of the hard-line faction known as the Taliban.
RAMIRO VALDES, 75
One of the historical figures of the Cuban revolution, he fought in the assault on the Moncada barracks in 1953 and has served as interior minister and vice prime minister. He has been minister of communications since 2006.
Considered a hard-liner, Valdés in public has backed the hints of reforms encouraged by interim Cuban leader Raúl Castro. But his clashes with Raúl in the first half of the 1980s led to his dismissal as interior minister in 1985.
Some experts view him as too powerful for Raúl's liking, and too old for those who want a generational change.
ESTEBAN LAZO, 64
Born from a poor peasant family, Lazo is one of the few Afro Cubans to hold senior government posts. He is a member of the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers and the Political Buro of the Cuban Communist Party.
Castro tapped Lazo to oversee Cuba's education system after he got sick in 2006, and his racial and socio-economic background might make him an attractive candidate for the presidency. But his experience has been mostly in the Cuban bureaucracy instead of the front lines of politics.
posted by Scott @ 11:05 PM
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