Today’s Granma publishes Fidel Castro’s letter, dated February 18, 2008, announcing that he will not stand for “election” as President or Commander in Chief. No one should expect major changes in Cuba-America relations. In the letter, Castro writes:
To my dearest compatriots, who have recently honored me so much by electing me a member of the Parliament where so many agreements should be adopted of utmost importance to the destiny of our Revolution, I am saying that I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of President of the State Council and Commander in Chief.
Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, is the most likely successor to Cuba’s communist throne. Although Raul is reputed to be more of a softy in personal matters than Fidel, the communistic structure around him combined with the anti-Castro animus of Florida’s Cuban exiles should guarantee that little if anything changes in Cuba any time soon. In practical terms, Raul Castro has been in charge in Cuba for the past couple of years, so the official transition to Raul’s presidency should offer no surprises.
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