Raúl Castro says goodbye and closes a huge chapter in Cuban history

In a few days, Cuba will no longer have no Castro in power: the congress of the Communist Party, which began this Friday, will end more than six decades of reign of brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, giving way to a new generation.

“Dreaming and Carrying on a Country: Our # 8th CPC Congress Begins Today”, said on Twitter the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who will take the reins of the country from Monday.

It is “the congress of continuity”, he added, noting that the orientations of the country, one of the last five communist nations in the world, will not change.

After Fidel’s death in 2016, the retirement of Raúl, on the verge of turning 90 and relieved by Miguel Díaz-Canel (60), turns a historical page on the island. Most of its inhabitants they did not know another family leader other than that of known revolutionaries.

“Raúl will not be responsible for the Party, but (for) any problem Raúl is there, Raúl is not dead“, testifies Ramón Blande, an 84-year-old communist activist, wearing a chin strap well placed to protect himself from the coronavirus.

The problems of truth

And certainly, he emphasizes, Díaz-Canel is still “rather young”, but “faces real problems”.

This truth has to do with poverty.

With an empty pot in his arms, Sergio, a 44-year-old cook, says that “there is nothing to be expected” from the Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, where Raúl Castro will succeed Díaz-Canel as first secretary. , the highest office in the country.

“There are salary problems, it is not enough, there are food problems, the queues are full of people,” he said in a plaza in Old Havana, devastated by the absence of tourists.

Like him, many Cubans are tired of the pandemic and the long queues they are forced to make. get food.

The CPC Congress

It is in this reality that between this Friday and April 19 will meet the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, a conclave at the highest level that it only happens every five years.

Several hundred one-party delegates from across the island will meet to four days at the Havana Convention Center, to discuss fundamental issues of the country.

This conclave behind closed doors, which opens 60 years later If Fidel Castro proclaimed the socialist character of the revolution, it will be broadcast at least partially on television.

The appointment of Díaz-Canel as the new first secretary could take place during its last session, Monday.

Withdraw

With Raúl Castro, the big names of the historical generation – the one that made the revolution of 1959 – must withdraw, including the number two of the Party, José Ramón Machado Ventura, 90, and Commander Ramiro Valdés, 88.

In the streets of Havana, without tourists due to the pandemic, Cubans seem more concerned about food shortages, long lines in front of supermarkets and the inflationary spiral which triggered the recent unification of the two currencies available to the country.

“I hope that with Congress it will improve, because the prices are very high, the salaries have increased (…), but (…) ultimately it is not enough (the money) “, laments María Martínez, 68-year-old pensioner. years.

The CPC meeting “will focus its attention on issues fundamental to the present and future of the nation,” Granma, the official CPC organ, announced in March.

The publication announced that documents ranging from the country’s economic and social model to mechanisms for fight the “subversion politico-ideological ”on the Internet and on social networks.

“People do not expect anything from the documents because if they are adopted, nothing can be done. What would be interesting about the party convention is that there would be a very clear mandate for the government undertake transformations relatively large and fast, ”says economist Ricardo Torres of the University of Havana.

A historic event

For Norman McKay, analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, “the departure of (Raúl) Castro is a historic event not only because it marks the end of a dynasty which lasted more than 50 years, but also because it occurs in the middle of a period of major difficulties and economic disruption “.

“This does not necessarily mean that there will be a sudden change in the style of the Communist Party ”, but“ Internet will facilitate a greater demand for responsibility and freedoms, posing to the government challenges it will be difficult for the Communist Party to ignore, ”he adds.

In recent months, Cuba has experienced a social disorder, 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 animal rights activists.

Social networks have also echoed young people’s demand for more political freedom and expression.

“It’s not a real change”

“That Raúl Castro cedes the leadership of the Communist Party to Cuba not a real change“Cuban-born US Senator Marco Rubio said on Twitter Tuesday.” But a real change is already underway, “he noted, referring to the current social unrest.

For political analyst Harold Cárdenas, “there is a great feeling of fatigue in society, a fatigue which is a mixture of Trump administration policy towards Cuba of maximum expression, with the lack of confidence in the projects and promises of the Cuban leaders. “

This is what “the country’s opposition is trying to capitalize on,” Cárdenas said.

Donald Trump’s sanctions wiped them out in 2019 Cruises full of American tourists, and a year later the same happened with the agencies of the Western Union company, through which the Cubans have family remittances and friends abroad.

Islanders are also distressed by the rise of markets that operate in dollars, a currency most of them do not have access to.

As President of the country since 2018, Díaz-Canel will be the first civilian who will also lead the game, in which he has developed throughout his career.

Raúl “would be the last (Castro) to hold this post,” says Villanis Vargas, a 47-year-old teacher. “But hey, there is the replacement, the rescue who is educated, trained and I believe our country will move forward with that.”

Clarín press room with information from Agence France Presse

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