Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2018/04/18

Raúl Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel 12 years ago and led Cuba through some of its biggest changes in decades, is expected to step down today and hand power to someone outside the Castro dynasty for the first time since the Cuban revolution more than half a century ago.

Independent political analyst Dr Dale Mckinley told Radio Islam that the handover of power is a generational change.

“The new leader is in his 50’s, he’s not from the Castro family and he’s not from that generation, there’s a need for new blood in the Cuban political scene.”

Mckinley says Cuba could see certain reforms and change in the country soon.

“I don’t think that there is going to be too many political changes in a sense that that communist party will continue to dominate the political scene.”

Mckinley adds that Raúl Castro managed to achieve a degree of stability in the country.

“He certainly held the line, when he took over and I think Cuba for the past few decades have been fighting on the economic front.”

The Cuban government selected the country’s 57-year-old first vice-president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, as the sole candidate to succeed President Raúl Castro.

Mckinley says Diaz-Canel’s biggest challenge would be creating a hybrid model the country can use to improve on the healthcare and the economic sector moving forward.