Cuba’s National Assembly nominated Miguel Diaz-Canel as candidate to replace Raul Castro as the nation’s president. 

The 605 members of the national assembly met in the Conventions Palace in Havana, where they announced the proposed candidates for the 31 member state council. The president of the National Candidacy Committee, Gisela Duarte, said more than 87.6 percent of the candidates were born after the Cuban revolution, “various generations of Cubans are represented; above all the youth. Setting forth the fulfillment of what the leader of the Cuban army Raul Castro promised on the 24th of February in 2013; an orderly and gradual transfer of the top leadership positions in the country to the new generations.”

The nomination of the 57 year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, confirmed expectations that the First Vice President would be chosen as President of the State Council.  His long commitment to the “Cuban revolution” and his start in the communist youth, were highlighted as reasons for the decision. 

The new president will have the large task of revitalizing Cuba’s economy, as citizens voice hope for a rise in their standard of living. As Cuba’s ally Venezuela is dealing with a political and economic crisis back at home, Cuba is courting potential economic partners in Asia. Diaz-Canel has made a name for himself internationally, even visiting China as the first Vice President of Cuba in 2015.

Little is known about the personal life of Cuban politicians and Diaz-Canel has granted few interviews to foreign media, but in one interview he spoke of continuity when referring to Cuba’s future. 

Raul Castro – who took on the leadership after his ailing brother Fidel in 2006 – will step down but continue as President of the Communist Party till 2021. 

It is expected that Diaz-Canel will be approved by the 604 delegates of the national assembly on Thursday April 19, as they generally confirm the candidates with near-total unanimity. The date will have historic significance as it marks the 57th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs; Cuba’s 1961 defeat of a CIA-backed Cuban exile invasion at the Bay of Pigs.

(Top image: Cuban President Raul Castro (L) waves next to First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel (C) during a National Assembly session that will select Cuba's Council of State ahead of the naming of a new president, in Havana, April 18, 2018. /VCG Photo)