Cuba’s future after Raul Castro retires, by Michael Shifter and Susan Roberts

A year following the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the relationship between the U.S. and the island nation has dramatically changed. To discuss this and more, President of the Inter-American Dialogue, Michael Shifter spoke with CGTN’s Susan Roberts.

Comments by Michael Shifter:

“The internal politics of Cuba are pretty opaque. It is hard to know exactly what is going on in the inner circle at the highest levels of the Cuban government, but it seems clear that Raul Castro will step aside and there will be a new President, most likely [Miguel] Díaz-Canel, the current Vice-President. But Raul Castro will still retain a lot of power as head of the communist party. How much he gives up, actually, we’ll have to see. Cuba is going through a hard time, I think they are preparing for continuity, I don’t think we should expect any dramatic changes, but there may be changes on the margins.”

“The communist party is the only party [in Cuba], so this is the chief mechanism for making policy decisions, and so [Raul Castro] will not give up his authority and his power completely, but Díaz-Canel or somebody else, but most likely Díaz-Canel will be the new President. That new President will be able to take a new direction, and this will be the first time ever that there won’t be a Castro as the head of the country.”

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EN: 

https://www.thedialogue.org/resources/cubas-future-after-raul-castro-retires/