Few Surprises in Cuba’s New Council of State

Raúl Castro with Ramón Machado Ventura in a session of the National Assembly. (EFE)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 Paril 2018 — The proposal of Miguel Díaz-Canel to be president of the Council of State confirmed widespread expectations, however the nomination of Salvador Valdés Mesa as first vice president surprised those who bet on Mercedes López Acea, who, from her position of vice president, was removed from the list of members of the Council of State.

The departure of Raúl Castro and José Ramón Machado Ventura was foreseeable, which is why Ramiro Valdés Menéndez remains as the only representative of the historical generation continuing in a position as vice president, while Ines María Chapman and Beatriz Jhonson rise to that position in along with the current Minister of Public Health, Roberto Tomás Morales Ojeda, who was not a member of the previous Council of State. The Comptroller Gladys Bejerano Portela continued her position in this elite group.

Other small surprises were the departure from the Council of State of Marino Murillo and Adel Izquierdo Rodríguez, both vice-presidents of the Council of Ministers and of General Álvaro López Miera, who dominates the finances of military companies.

A widespread murmur passed among the deputies of the National Assembly when the name of the three-time world champion in hammer throw Yipsi Moreno Gonzalez was read out from the list of candidates. This deputy from Camagüey province becomes the first person to reach the Council of State without being a member of the Communist Party or its youth organization.

As was to be expected, the leaders of the so-called mass organizations maintained their symbolic presence.

Going forward, only the details that answer these questions remain: Where will the office of the new president be located? What will be the first law signed with his name? Will his wife be recognized as First Lady? Who will congratulate him on his appointment? Is his first speech already known before it is given? Will he swear allegiance to the party and the ideas of Fidel and Raúl Castro? He has at least five years to give his personal interpretation of how he will give continuity to that legacy.

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