Miguel Diaz-Canel will inherit a struggling economy when Cuban President Raul Castro transfers power to his handpicked successor on Thursday, and it’s highly unlikely that the longtime Communist Party loyalist will enact sweeping reforms to the largely state-run system.
Diaz-Canel, the 57-year-old vice president of Cuba, is set to assume the presidency a day after members of Cuba’s national assembly named him the sole candidate to succeed a dynasty that began when Fidel Castro seized power in 1959. The transition of power is unfolding amid long-term economic turmoil for the island nation.
While Diaz-Canel’s relative youth, civilian background and advocacy for reforms such as internet access for Cuban civilians have stoked optimism about an economic policy shift, multiple experts on Cuba told FOX Business that the life-long Communist Party member is unlikely to buck the system – especially with Raul Castro installed as head of Cuba’s only political party through 2021. Read more