HAVANA — Now that Fidel Castro has retired, many Cubans are looking to his brother to let more people open businesses, own homes and even travel abroad. But it will probably fall to a new generation of leaders to ultimately fulfill or frustrate their dreams of prosperity.
During his 1 1/2 years as acting president, 76-year-old Raul Castro has hinted at reform but made few major changes — a reticence many see as a sign of respect for his beloved, more doctrinaire older brother, who survived despite the efforts of 10 U.S. presidents to bring him down.
And while hoping that Raul and his likely No. 2, Carlos Lage, will advocate for change, they wonder how that will fly with Fidel, who stepped down but isn’t going away.
“There has to be some change, more freedom with Raul,” said Andres, 63, who like many Cubans wouldn’t give his last name for fear of reprisal when talking about the Castro brothers. “The other one always nipped that off at the bud.” The resignation, announced Tuesday, should give Raul Castro the autonomy he lacked as the government’s caretaker since Fidel was sidelined by intestinal surgery in July 2006.
The younger Castro raised expectations of openings in the state-controlled economy with his reported fascination with Chinese-style capitalism, calls for unspecified “structural changes,” and acknowledgment that government wages averaging $19 a month do not satisfy basic needs. He also encouraged Cubans to open a fearless and critical debate, as long as they remember that the final decisions will be made by the island’s Communist leaders.
“That way we reach decisions, and I’m talking about big decisions,” he told student leaders in December 2006.
Many Cubans want to hear more such talk from their next leader.
Inspired by Raul, some leading Cuban cultural figures have called recently for dropping onerous visa requirements and other limits on their freedoms, a message that resonates with ordinary Cubans.
“This is what we needed. I hope to God people have more freedom — the freedom to have opinions and always speak their minds,” 37-year-old Lydis Perez said after dropping her son off at school.
“People talk in the hallways or the back rooms. … There’s a lot of fear.” Fidel Castro, however, insisted in his resignation letter Tuesday that he won’t disappear — or stay quiet if he sees his revolution going astray.
“This is not my farewell to you,” he wrote. “My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the title, ‘Reflections of Comrade Fidel.’ It will be another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard.” As the Council of State’s first vice president, Raul Castro has been his brother’s constitutionally designated successor for decades, so the big question is who will take his place as No. 2 on Sunday when the National Assembly selects Cuba’s new leadership.
A leading candidate is Lage, the de-facto prime minister, who at 56 is a full generation younger than the Castros. He’s among the most experienced leaders in a power structure dominated by septuagenarian former rebels, and he has built a reputation as a reformer.
A less likely possibility could emerge from a handful of leaders in their 30s and 40s, such as Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, whose Communist fervor earned them the collective nickname of “Young Talibans.” While no less loyal to the elder Castro, Lage was the architect of reforms that saved the island from economic collapse in the early 1990s. His moves allowed foreign investment in state enterprises, a measure of self-employment, and legal use of the U.S. dollar.
Raul Castro appears to get along with Lage, who is a quiet, pragmatic organizer like himself. Raul backed Lage’s earlier reform proposals, especially farmers markets where excess crops are sold at market prices.
But both Lage and Raul Castro say any change will not be at the expense of socialism. And Lage has dampened hopes that Cuba would follow China and Vietnam in allowing capitalist markets to thrive.
“Their successes and failures should enrich our efforts,” Lage told managers of state enterprises last year. “But the building of socialism in Cuba is only possible as a result of our own experiences.” Raul also has championed the concept of closer ties to the United States, offering again and again to discuss normalizing relations with Washington. But the Bush administration ruled that out Tuesday, deriding Raul Castro as “Fidel Lite.” That means that the nearly five-decade U.S. embargo of Cuba will remain in place for the known future — frustrating both Cubans and many Americans who see much potential in trade with the island, not only for business but as a catalyst for change.
And despite a detailed U.S. plan meant to encourage a “democratic transition” from the Castros’ rule, Cuban officials insist the island’s socialist political and economic systems will endure.
For now, that means Cuba’s tiny dissident community can only wait, and hope that the new leadership will be more open to change from within.
“History will say if it is a good day,” said Oswaldo Paya, whose Varela Project seeking a referendum on civil rights and electoral reforms was quashed under the elder Castro’s rule.
——— Associated Press Writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
HAVANA — Fidel Castro, ailing and 81, announced Tuesday he was resigning as Cuba’s president, ending a half-century of autocratic rule which made him a communist icon and a relentless opponent of U.S. policy around the globe.
The end of Castro’s rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul Castro to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel fell ill in July 2006.
President Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition, though he doubts that would come about under the rule of another Castro. The State Department denigrated the change as a “transfer of authority and power from dictator to dictator light.” Castro temporarily ceded his powers to his brother on July 31, 2006, when he announced that he had undergone intestinal surgery.
Since then, he has not been seen in public, appearing only sporadically in official photographs and videotapes and publishing dense essays about mostly international themes as his younger brother consolidated his rule.
“My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath,” Castro wrote in a letter published Tuesday in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma. But “it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer.” In the pre-dawn hours, most Cubans were unaware of Castro’s message, and Havana’s streets were quiet. It wasn’t until 5 a.m., several hours after it was posted on the internet, that official radio began reading the news to early risers.
As the news across the island, Cubans went about their business as usual, accepting the inevitable with a mix of sadness and hope.
“It is like losing a father,” said Luis Conte, an elderly museum watchman. Or “like a marriage — a very long one that is over.” Cuban dissidents welcomed the news as a possible first step toward change.
“The change of a person does not signify the change of a system,” said Oswaldo Paya, whose pro-democracy Varela Project sought an unsuccessful referendum on civil rights and electoral reforms. “We have always maintained hope and today we are more hopeful.” Reaction was subdued in Miami’s exile community. Dozens gathered in Little Havana, where motorists honked horns, but reporters nearly outnumbered the revelers who shouted “Free Cuba!” and sold little flags.
In Washington, the government said it had no plans to change U.S. policy or lift its embargo on Cuba.
Bush, traveling in Rwanda, pledged to “help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” But he implied that wasn’t likely under Raul Castro.
“The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy,” he said. “Eventually, this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections — and I mean free, and I mean fair — not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as true democracy.” If Cuba remains much the same, “political prisoners will rot in prison and the human condition will remain pathetic in many cases,” Bush said.
The United States built a detailed plan in 2005 for American assistance to ensure a democratic transition on the island of 11.2 million people after Castro’s death. But Cuban officials have insisted that the island’s socialist political and economic systems will outlive Castro.
“The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong,” Castro wrote Tuesday. “However, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century.” Peter Kornbluh, senior analyst at George Washington University’s National Security Archive, said the resignation will allow the next U.S. president to adopt a totally new approach toward dialogue and civil relations with a post-Fidel Cuba.
“Fidel Castro’s resignation does present a true opportunity to revisit a U.S. policy of perpetual antagonism towards Cuba, even though the current U.S. president is unlikely to make any changes in a hostile position towards Cuba,” he said.
Castro has been Cuba’s unchallenged leader since 1959. Monarchs excepted, he was the world’s longest ruling head of state.
There had been widespread speculation about whether he would continue as president when the new National Assembly meets Sunday to pick the country’s top leadership, the Council of State which will be headed by the new Cuban president. Castro said Cuban officials had wanted him to remain in power after his surgery.
“It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis-a-vis an adversary that had done everything possible to get rid of me, and I felt reluctant to comply,” he said in a reference to the United States.
Castro remains a member of parliament and is likely to be elected to the 31-member Council of State on Sunday, though he will no longer be its president. He also retains his powerful post as first secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party.
The resignation opens the path for Raul Castro’s succession to the presidency, and the full autonomy he has lacked in leading a caretaker government.
The younger Castro has raised expectations among Cubans for modest economic and other reforms, saying last year that the country requires unspecified “structural changes” and acknowledging that government wages averaging about $19 a month do not meet basic needs.
As first vice president of Cuba’s Council of State, Raul Castro was his brother’s constitutionally designated successor and appears to be a shoo-in for the presidential post when the council meets Sunday. More uncertain is who will be chosen as Raul’s new successor, although 56-year-old council Vice President Carlos Lage, who is Cuba’s de facto prime minister, is a strong possibility.
Castro rose to power on New Year’s Day 1959 and reshaped Cuba into a communist state 90 miles from U.S. shores.
The fiery guerrilla leader survived assassination attempts, a CIA-backed invasion and a missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Ten U.S. administrations tried to topple him, most famously in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
His ironclad rule ensured Cuba remained communist long after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.
Castro’s supporters admired his ability to provide a high level of health care and education for citizens while remaining fully independent of the United States. His detractors called him a dictator whose totalitarian government systematically denied individual freedoms and civil liberties such as speech, movement and assembly.
The United States was the first country to recognize Castro’s government, but the countries soon clashed as Castro seized American property and invited Soviet aid.
On April 16, 1961, Castro declared his revolution to be socialist. A day later, he defeated the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. The United States squeezed Cuba’s economy and the CIA plotted to kill Castro. Hostility reached its peak with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
The collapse of the Soviet Union sent Cuba into economic crisis, but the economy recovered in the late 1990s with a tourism boom.
HAVANA — An ailing, 81-year-old Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba’s president today after nearly a half-century in power, saying he will not accept a new term when parliament meets Sunday.
The end of Castro’s rule — the longest in the world for a head of government — frees his 76-year-old brother Raul to implement reforms he has hinted at since taking over as acting president when Fidel Castro fell ill in July 2006. President Bush said he hopes the resignation signals the beginning of a democratic transition.
“My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath,” Castro wrote in a letter published today in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma. But, he wrote, “it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer.” In the pre-dawn hours, most Cubans were unaware of Castro’s message. Havana’s streets were quiet, and there was no movement at several party-run neighborhood watch groups in Old Havana. It wasn’t until 5 a.m., several hours after Castro’s message was posted on the internet, that official radio began reading the missive to early risers.
Castro temporarily ceded his powers to his brother on July 31, 2006, when he announced that he had undergone intestinal surgery.
Since then, the elder Castro has not been seen in public, appearing only sporadically in official photographs and videotapes and publishing dense essays about mostly international themes as his younger brother has consolidated his rule.
There had been widespread speculation about whether Castro would continue as president when the new National Assembly meets Sunday to pick the country’s top leadership. Castro has been Cuba’s unchallenged leader since 1959 — monarchs excepted, he was the world’s longest ruling head of state.
Castro said Cuban officials had wanted him to remain in power after his surgery.
“It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis-a-vis an adversary that had done everything possible to get rid of me, and I felt reluctant to comply,” he said in a reference to the United States.
Castro remains a member of parliament and is likely to be elected to the 31-member Council of State on Sunday, though he will no longer be its president. Raul Castro’s wife, Vilma Espin, maintained her council seat until her death last year even though she was too sick to attend meetings for many months.
The resignation opens the path for Raul Castro’s succession to the presidency, and the full autonomy he has lacked in leading a caretaker government. The younger Castro has raised expectations among Cubans for modest economic and other reforms, stating last year that the country requires unspecified “structural changes” and acknowledging that government wages that average about $19 (euro13) a month do not satisfy basic needs.
As first vice president of Cuba’s Council of State, Raul Castro was his brother’s constitutionally designated successor and appears to be a shoo-in for the presidential post when the council meets Sunday. More uncertain is who will be chosen as Raul’s new successor, although 56-year-old council Vice President Carlos Lage, who is Cuba’s de facto prime minister, is a strong possibility.
Bush, traveling in Rwanda, pledged to “help the people of Cuba realize the blessings of liberty.” “The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for democracy,” he said. “Eventually, this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections — and I mean free, and I mean fair — not these kind of staged elections that the Castro brothers try to foist off as true democracy.” The United States built a detailed plan in 2005 for American assistance to ensure a democratic transition on the island of 11.2 million people after Castro’s death. But Cuban officials have insisted that the island’s socialist political and economic systems will outlive Castro.
“The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong,” Castro wrote today. “However, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century.” Castro rose to power on New Year’s Day 1959 and reshaped Cuba into a communist state 90 miles from U.S. shores. The fiery guerrilla leader survived assassination attempts, a CIA-backed invasion and a missile crisis that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. Ten U.S. administrations tried to topple him, most famously in the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961.
His ironclad rule ensured Cuba remained communist long after the breakup of the Soviet Union and the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.
Castro’s supporters admired his ability to provide a high level of health care and education for citizens while remaining fully independent of the United States. His detractors called him a dictator whose totalitarian government systematically denied individual freedoms and civil liberties such as speech, movement and assembly.
The United States was the first country to recognize Castro’s government, but the countries soon clashed as Castro seized American property and invited Soviet aid.
On April 16, 1961, Castro declared his revolution to be socialist. A day later, he defeated the CIA-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. The United States squeezed Cuba’s economy and the CIA plotted to kill Castro. Hostility reached its peak with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
The collapse of the Soviet Union sent Cuba into economic crisis, but the economy recovered in the late 1990s with a tourism boom.
