Cuba announced today that the nation has chosen its next president, 57-year-old Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez. Diaz-Canel was chosen at the two-day legislative session of the Cuban National Assembly. It is an important transformative moment in the history of the Island, passing the presidency to a younger generation of leaders.
Diaz-Canel, educated as an engineer, originally worked as a local party leader. He was appointed as Minister of Higher Education (2009-2012) and, in 2012, promoted to Vice President of the Council of Ministers. In 2013, Diaz-Canel was elected to the post of First Vice President of the Council of State. He is also a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Raúl Castro became president after his brother, former leader Fidel Castro, became unwell. Although retiring from the presidency, Raúl will remain as head of the Communist Party until 2021.
In his decade as president, Raúl Castro rolled out modest adjustments to the economy and called for the elimination of the dual currencies.
The Diaz-Canel government will continue to maintain the achievements of the Cuban Revolution and will face the tasks of building economic growth and establishing a single currency system. Diaz-Canel will also be dealing with the continued challenges of the 60 year old American blockade against Cuba, as well as the current U.S. government’s rollback of advances made by previous U.S. President, Barack Obama.
