Raul Castro steps down as head of Cuba's Communist Party | DW News

Raul Castro steps down as head of Cuba's Communist Party | DW News
Raul Castro has announced his resignation as head of Cuba's ruling Communist Party - putting an end to six decades of rule in the country by members of the Castro family. Raul, who took over as president from his brother Fidel in 2008, has said he is passing leadership to a new generation.
The news drew a mixed reaction on Cuba's streets.
Raúl Castro has played most of his life second-string to his brother Fidel - first as a guerrilla commander, later as a senior figure in the socialist government.
After Fidel fell ill in 2006, Raul became the face of Communist Cuba.
The country's top position will be now filled by Miguel Diaz-Canel who has served as Cuba's president for the past three years. He is a party loyalist who has advocated reform of the ailing economy - without altering Cuba's one-party system.
Cuba's ongoing economic crisis presents a stiff challenge for the new leadership.
Last year, the economy shrank by 11 percent on the heels of new US sanctions - The coronavirus pandemic and domestic mismanagement have only compounded the hardships of daily life on the island.
But even though he's stepping down as party leader, Castro said he wasn't going anywhere.

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