Nelson Bernal has converted part of his house into a private car wash business. Next door, his neighbor has turned his home into a hamburger joint. All of this would have been unimaginable in Cuba before Raul Castro came to power.

NELSON BERNAL, CAR WASH OWNER "Ten years ago, it wasn't possible to be self-employed and run a business like this. We're really happy to have this opportunity, and are taking maximum advantage of it."

Cuba's charismatic former leader, Fidel Castro, ruled Cuba for almost 50 years. In 2006, Fidel became ill and handed power to his younger brother Raul and it wasn't long before he showed he had ideas of his own.

MICHAEL VOSS, HAVANA "In July 2007, shortly after I arrived in Cuba I came here to the central city of Camaguey to hear Raul Castro give his first major speech, indicating that change was on the way."

Thousands of people packed into Camaguey's Revolution Square where Castro surprised the nation with his criticism of some of the country's economic shortcomings especially in food production.

RAUL CASTRO, PRESIDENT OF CUBA "It's imperative that we produce more from the land. It's there. And to reach our objectives, we must introduce the necessary structural and conceptual changes."

One of his first major initiatives was leasing underused state-owned land to private farmers like Jorge Robles. I first met Robles in 2009, clearing his newly acquired land of an impenetrable shrub called Marabu before starting to raise cattle. Today his farm near Camaguey is a mix of cattle and several thousand fruit trees. He is one of around 150-thousand private farmers who have leased more than a million and a half hectares of agricultural land from the state.

JORGE ROBLES, PRIVATE FARMER "It's good, it lets people produce; the larger the production, the better for the country and for everybody."

Raul Castro also started lifting a number of restrictions which had long angered many Cubans. They can now buy and sell their homes and travel abroad without needing permission in advance. Internet access is starting to ease with most towns now offering Wi-Fi hotspots. Raul Castro's other major breakthrough was restoring diplomatic relations with United States and inviting President Barack Obama for his historic visit to Cuba.

RAFAEL HERNANDEZ, MAGAZINE EDITOR "I think that Raul Castro's main legacy, one of the main legacies, is to make reforms a legitimate policy. To make Cubans used to the idea that socialism is not a system that is intact that is the same."

But there are still plenty of challenges. The economy is struggling, the market reforms have stalled and detente with the United States has gone backwards under President Donald Trump. The man seen here beside Castro, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is expected to become Cuba's next president and take over the reform process. Raul Castro though, could still exert influence as he continues as head of the Communist Party. Michael Voss, CGTN, Havana.