Back

LatinNews Daily - 12 March 2018

Cuba – another step closer to electing Castro’s successor

Development: On 11 March elections took place in Cuba to ratify two official sets of candidates for the 612-seat national assembly and provincial assemblies.

Significance: This election is the next step in the electoral process that began on 26 November 2017 and is set to end on 19 April, when President Raúl Castro is expected to step down as president of Cuba’s 31-member council of state and council of ministers after two five-year terms. With the national assembly due to officially choose a successor in April, current Vice President Miguel Díaz-Canel is widely expected to take over – becoming the first non-Castro leader of Cuba since 1959. Yet, even if he wanted to, Díaz-Canel would be in no position to depart from the central tenets of the Cuban Revolution, given that Castro will retain the powerful position of first secretary of the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) until at least 2021.

  • The candidates for the national assembly and provincial assemblies were first nominated by municipal assemblies back in January and were chosen from a slate compiled by the national electoral commission.
  • While voting in Cuba is not compulsory, it is legal for every citizen over the age of 16 and is seen as a patriotic duty that is highly encouraged by the government. Over 8m people were registered to vote in the 11 March elections, and elections usually have a turnout of about 85%.
  • A recent Miami Herald report points out that three other high-ranking officials were honoured with medals in a ceremony on 24 February, signalling that they may also be preparing to step down from their positions. The three honourees were José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the PCC and first vice president from 2008-2013; Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, former interior minister under Fidel Castro from 1965-1969 and 1978-1986; and Guillermo García Frías, a member of the council of state and the PCC central committee. All three officials have been part of Cuba’s government since the founding of the PCC in 1965, and, like Raúl Castro, are all over 85 years of age.

Looking Ahead: The Miami Herald report notes that the PCC central committee is scheduled to meet on 18 March, which may make some key changes in the government before the shift in leadership on 19 April.

LatinNews
Intelligence Research Ltd.
167-169 Great Portland Street,
5th floor,
London, W1W 5PF - UK
Phone : +44 (0) 203 695 2790
Contact
You may contact us via our online contact form
Copyright © 2022 Intelligence Research Ltd. All rights reserved.