Miguel Diaz-Canel To Lead New Generation In Cuba

Cuba's Communist Party elected President Miguel Diaz-Canel to succeed Raul Castro as party first secretary, on the final day of its congress on Monday.

The current president and second in command, Diaz-Canel replaces Raul Castro to occupy the most powerful position in the country.

"Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, has been elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba at the 8th Congress PCC," the party announced on its Twitter account.

The changeover marks the end of six decades of rule by brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, who led the leftist revolution of 1959.

Being born after the revolution, 60-year-old Diaz-Canel embodies the new generation in power in Cuba with a more up-to-date thinking. However, he has said he will not change the political line of the island. The electronic engineer has spent his entire career in the Communist Party and has followed every step to reach the highest levels of government.

He was a member of the communist youth and then headed the communist party in two provinces. After that, he was appointed as minister of Higher Education and vice president in 2013, before becoming president in 2019. Diaz-Canel will be the first civilian to lead the party.

During his speech on Friday, Raul Castro pointed out that Diaz-Canel "is not the result of improvisation", but of a thoughtful selection of "a young revolutionary man with conditions to be promoted to higher positions".

Diaz-Canel must now deal with the worst economic crisis faced by the island in nearly 30 years, caused by the pandemic and US-imposed sanctions. -