By Dr. Joseph Gonzalez, Appalachian State University — The Conversation US — 19 April 2021
On 16 April 2021, Raúl Castro relinquished his position as first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba — the most powerful position in the country — officially ending the Castro dynasty after more than six decades. Castro, 89, had served as Cuba’s president since 2008 and took the first secretary role from Fidel in 2011. Just as Fidel’s death in 2016 did not suddenly transform antagonistic US-Cuban ties, neither does Raúl’s departure.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who took office in 2018, has resisted calls for democratic reforms and faces pressing economic issues alongside the pandemic. The White House has said Cuba policy is “not a top priority.” Neither leader is likely to risk his political future with bold diplomacy. Still, younger Cubans continue to create conditions for a different relationship with the US. Unlike their parents and grandparents, Cubans in their 20s, 30s and 40s never enjoyed a sustained contract with the regime. They hustle to survive through private enterprise, and a growing capitalist bent: official statistics say about a third of Cubans are privately employed, though the real proportion is almost surely higher.
Cuba can do little more today than irritate US presidents by supporting Latin American leaders who resist American power. But calls for free expression persist among younger Cubans, food and utility costs have doubled or tripled in the past year following monetary unification, and most Cubans want closer ties to the US. The Castro era is over, but the conditions for a genuine US-Cuban thaw will depend on whether younger Cubans’ aspirations eventually shape policy on both sides of the Florida Straits.