Raul Castro said on Friday he is resigning as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, ending an era of formal leadership held by him and his brother Fidel Castro that began with the revolution in 1959.
The 89-year-old leader made the announcement in a speech at the opening of the eighth party congress.
He said he was retiring with the sense of having “fulfilled his mission and with confidence in the future of the fatherland".
Mr Castro didn’t say whom he would endorse as his successor as first secretary of the Communist Party. But he previously indicated that he favours yielding control to 60-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded him as president in 2018 and is the standard bearer of a younger generation of loyalists who have been pushing for economic opening without challenging Cuba’s one-party system.
His retirement means that for the first time in more than six decades, Cubans won’t have a Castro formally guiding their affairs.
This comes at a difficult time, with many on the island anxious about what lies ahead.
The coronavirus pandemic, painful financial reforms and restrictions imposed by the Trump administration have battered the economy, which shrank 11 per cent last year as a result of a collapse in tourism and remittances.
Long food lines and shortages have brought back echoes of the “special period” that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Discontent has been fuelled by the spread of the internet and growing inequality.
Much of the debate inside Cuba is focused on the pace of reform, with many complaining that the so-called historic generation represented by Mr Castro has been too slow to open the economy.
In January, Mr Diaz-Canel finally pulled the trigger on a plan approved two congresses ago to unify the island’s dual currency system, giving rise to fears of inflation.
He also threw the doors open to a broader range of private enterprise – a category long banned or tightly restricted – permitting Cubans to legally operate many private businesses from their homes.
This year’s congress is expected to focus on unfinished reforms to overhaul state-run enterprises, attract foreign investment and provide more legal protection to private business activities.
The Communist Party is made up of 700,000 activists and according to Cuba’s constitution, it is in charge of directing the affairs of the nation and society.
Fidel Castro, who led the revolution that drove dictator Fulgencio Batista from power in 1959, formally became head of the party in 1965, about four years after officially embracing socialism.
He quickly brought the party under his control and was the country’s unquestioned leader until falling ill in 2006.
In 2008, he handed the presidency to his younger brother Raul, who had fought alongside him during the revolution.
Raul Castro became head of the party in 2011. Fidel Castro died in 2016.
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Raul Castro addresses the 2016 Cuban Communist Party Congress in Havana. This year's congress could go down in history as the last with a member of the Castro family at the party's helm. AP -
Delegates attend the 2016 Cuban Communist Party Congress in Havana. This year's congress could go down in history as the last with a member of the Castro family at the party's helm, if Mr Castro keeps his promise to stand down. AP -
A picture of former Cuban president Raul Castro is displayed in the window of a state building in Havana. Reuters -
In this photo taken on December 21, 2019, Cuban Communist Party leader, Raul Castro, left, gives the thumbs-up to newly appointed Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, right. Cuba's ruling Communist Party will hold a congress from April 16 to 19, at the end of which Miguel Diaz-Canel will become its leader, replacing Mr Castro who is retiring. AFP -
A Havana billboard carries an image of Cuban Communist Party leader Raul Castro in 2018 with a slogan that reads: "It was, is and will be done." AP -
Cuban leader Raul Castro meets US president Barack Obama in 2015 at the Summit of the Americas. AP -
Cuban president Raul Castro, left, Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, centre, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009. -
Raul Castro is expected to step down as head of Cuba's ruling Communist Party. AP -
Cuban president Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul, preside over a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the death of independence hero Antonio Maceo, December 7, 1996. Cuba marked the day with a defiant message that the island was set on taking its communist system into the next century. -
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets Cuban leader Raul Castro on September 27, 2009 in Havana. Getty -
Pope Francis walks with Cuban leader Raul Castro in 2015 at the beginning of the pontiff's three-day visit. Getty -
As Cuban Armed Forces Minister, Raul Castro joins protesters as they march past the US Interests Section in Havana, July 26, 2000. President Fidel Castro, Raul's brother, led the group of Cubans as they commemorated a 1953 battle in which Castro-led revolutionaries fought against then-dictator Fulgencio Batista. RP/HB -
Fidel Castro, left, Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, centre, and Raul Castro speak during a private meeting on February 24, 2010 in Havana. Getty -
Cuban leader Fidel Castro, left, and his brother Raul, speak on August 3, 2001 during a session of the National Assembly in Havana. Getty -
Raul Castro is applauded at the National Assembly in 2018 in Havana after stepping down as president following 12 years in power. Getty.
