Cuba opens to a new era without the command of the brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, at the hands of a new generation

Raúl Castro he will retire at the age of 89, To leave the island’s highest power in April during the Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), the first to be held after the death of his brother Fidel in 2016.

The Castro brothers have been steadfast since 1959 the kingdoms in Cuba, which is now opening up to a new era with other men in power.

The new team has “Pending the task of building its legitimacy“It can only emanate from its own political project, which brings economic prosperity and social justice to Cuba,” Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue Analysis Center in Washington, told AFP.

It is expected that these men and women, led by current President Miguel Diaz-Canel, 60, arrive during the next (single) PCC congress — between April 16 and 19– to the maximum direction of the party, center of power on the island.

Cuba will remain socialist, but for specialists, constitutional legality will limit the preeminence of ideology and it can allow for political openness.

In April 2019 a new Constitution was passed defending the “irreversible” nature of socialism in the country. is “Daughter of her time and reflects the diversity of society”, Said then Raúl Castro, who after ceding the presidency to Díaz-Canel in 2018, will now leave the leadership of the PCC.

Unlike its predecessor, approved unanimously in 1976, the new Magna Carta received the approval of 78.3% of the popular vote, and 22% of rejection or abstention, a high level in the Cuban context.

new scenario

However, in recent months, artists, intellectuals and other sectors of civil society they have begun to demand rights and freedoms in the country.

Faced with these claims, the new team is expected push for political reform of the state “To effectively manage the tensions that are manifesting in society,” Shifter points out, considering that at least in theory the Constitution allows the power of the president to be deconcentrated.

On November 27 he registered an unprecedented peaceful protest by 300 artists in front of the Ministry of Culture, demanding freedom of expression.

While a decree for animal welfare was passed a few weeks ago, considered the first victory of unofficial civil society.

The rapid spread of the internet in the last three years on the island has allowed to many Cubans to express discontent.

The PCC, meanwhile, announced it will face “political-ideological subversion” on social media.

For Shifter, this new ruling generation has the major challenge of responding with a political project different from that of the generation of historical leaders, that grants ample quotas of freedom to the society.

The tradition of the revolution leaders had been to mobilize their hosts to have active ideological support, but that is changing.

“Today the mobilization is selective. Not so much with an ideological logic but a political one, accommodating to government, demanding neutrality rather than militancy, ”said Cuban academic Arturo López-Levy of Holy Names University in Oakland, California.

With the US

Another key factor will be the relationship that the new political team maintains with the United States, which for some experts it largely determines what happens on the island.

The new president of the United States, Joe Biden, had advanced in his campaign that could eliminate the sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump, and to resume a policy of rapprochement with the island, having as its compass the demand for respect for human rights. However, so far Cuba has not been a priority.

“Because of the dynamics that exist between Cuba and the United States, the United States really directly and indirectly conditions much of what is happening. [en Cuba]”From the decision-making of even Cuban leaders,” said political analyst Harold Cárdenas.

The new Cuban political project should also build a pragmatic relationship with the United States, And one thing that could change is the strong military presence in government, the CCP and the economy.

Much of the 280 sanctions imposed on Cuba by the Trump administration targeted military-led companies. Under a new policy they could pass into civilian hands for not being the target of sanctions.

Although, whether civilian or military, the state owns these companies.

In the event that this does not happen and American hostility continues, internally. “Cuba experienced a long renegotiation of civil-military relationsr, ”Lopez-Levy points out.

Then “the military will have the perfect justification to continue playing its prominent role in the political and socio-economic,” he concluded.

Font. AFP

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