In a few days, no Castro will be in power in Cuba. The Congress of the Communist Party, which opens on Friday April 16, will end six decades of reign of a sibling that now leaves room for a new generation. On the island, the function of first secretary is considered more important than that of president.
After Fidel’s death in 2016, the retirement of Raul, soon to be 90 years old, who passes the baton on Monday to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, turns a historic page for the island and its inhabitants, almost all of whom do not. ‘have never known any other ruling family than that of the famous revolutionaries.
Already president since 2018, Miguel Diaz-Canel will be the first civilian to also lead the party, in which he has led his entire career.
From 9 a.m. (3 p.m. in Paris), several hundred delegates of the single party, coming from all the provinces, will meet for four days in the capital, at the Palais des conventions, to debate the major issues of the country. The meeting, behind closed doors, opens sixty years to the day after Fidel Castro’s proclamation of the socialist character of the revolution. It will be broadcast at least partially on television.
With Raul Castro, some of the great names of the historical generation – those who made the 1959 revolution – are also due to retire, including the party’s number two, José Ramon Machado Ventura, 90, and Commander Ramiro Valdés, 88 years.
An unprecedented social discontent
For Norman McKay, analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, “The departure of [Raul] Castro is a landmark event, not only because it marks the end of a dynasty that lasted more than fifty years, but also because it comes in a period of significant economic hardship and upheaval ”. Indeed, the inhabitants are suffering from food shortages and dizzying inflation caused by the recent unification of the two local currencies.
“This does not necessarily mean that there will be a brutal change in the style of the Communist Party., [mais] The internet should facilitate demands for transparency and freedoms, giving rise to challenges for the government that the Communist Party will find it hard to ignore. “
In recent months, Cuba has been experiencing unprecedented social tension, driven by the recent arrival of the mobile Internet, with demonstrations by artists, protests by dissidents and mobilizations from other sectors of civil society such as the animal advocates.
Social networks have also echoed the demands of young Cubans for more political freedom and expression. “That Raul Castro cedes the leadership of the Communist Party to Cuba is not a real change”, tweeted Tuesday Marco Rubio, United States senator of Cuban origin. “But the real change is underway anyway”, he added, in reference to this social turmoil.
Fatigue of American politics
For political analyst Harold Cardenas, “There is a great feeling of fatigue in society” cuban, “Which is a mixture [des effets] of the Trump administration’s policy of maximum pressure on Cuba and of the lack of confidence in the plans and promises of the Cuban leaders ”. This is what “The political opposition is trying to capitalize”.
Donald Trump’s sanctions notably eliminated cruise ships filled with American tourists in 2019, then in 2020 Western Union agencies, where Cubans received money from their relatives abroad. But residents also deplored the proliferation of dollar stores, a currency to which many of them do not have access.
