{"id":237753,"date":"2021-04-20T11:07:11","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T15:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=237753"},"modified":"2021-04-20T11:07:11","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T15:07:11","slug":"cuba-president-diaz-canel-takes-over-from-raul-castro-as-head-of-communist-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/society-cuba\/politics-in-cuba\/cuba-president-diaz-canel-takes-over-from-raul-castro-as-head-of-communist-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba: President D\u00edaz-Canel takes over from Ra\u00fal Castro as head of Communist Party"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cuban President <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/tag\/cuban-president-miguel-diaz-canel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> replaced former President Ra\u00fal Castro as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), according to official media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">D\u00edaz-Canel, the island\u2019s president for three years, was elected to succeed Castro, who <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuba-raul-castro-confirms-he-will-leave-communist-partys-leadership\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">had already confirmed his intention<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to leave his post at the head of the PCC during the opening of the 8th Congress of the political organization, which culminated this Monday in Havana.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Electo Miguel Diaz Canel Bermudez, Primer Secretario del Comite Central\u00a0 del Partido Comunista de <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cuba<\/a> en el <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/8voCongresoPCC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#8voCongresoPCC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CongresodelaContinuidad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CongresodelaContinuidad<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CubaSocialista?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CubaSocialista<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/d9FvHTPPtn\">pic.twitter.com\/d9FvHTPPtn<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Partido Comunista de Cuba (@PartidoPCC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PartidoPCC\/status\/1384145612300374024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The election of the current president was announced at the opening of the congress\u2019 last day, at which time the new Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the party\u2019s Secretariat were also announced, Cubadebate website <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cubadebate.cu\/noticias\/2021\/04\/19\/concluye-congreso-del-partido-de-los-comunistas-cubanos-electo-miguel-diaz-canel-como-su-primer-secretario\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to this publication, the Political Bureau is headed by D\u00edaz-Canel and also made up of Esteban Lazo Hern\u00e1ndez, who chairs the National Assembly and the Council of State; Vice President Salvador Vald\u00e9s Mesa; Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; Deputy Prime Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda; the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/cuba\/cuba-sustituyen-al-ministro-de-las-fuerzas-armadas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">newly appointed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Minister of the Armed Forces, General of the Army Corps \u00c1lvaro L\u00f3pez Miera; and the Minister of the Interior, Division General L\u00e1zaro \u00c1lvarez Casas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, it is also made up of Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla; Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, head of the Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions (CTC); Teresa Amarelle Bou\u00e9, head of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC); Dr. Martha Ayala \u00c1vila, General Director of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB); Jos\u00e9 Amado Ricardo Guerra, Secretary of the Council of Ministers; Luis Alberto Rodr\u00edguez L\u00f3pez-Callejas, executive president of the powerful Business Administration Group (GAESA); and Gladys Mart\u00ednez Verdecia, first secretary of the PCC in the province of Artemisa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Along with Ra\u00fal Castro, 89, other historical leaders also left the leadership of the PCC, such as the until now number two of the organization, Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Machado Ventura (90), and Commander Ramiro Vald\u00e9s (88), in addition to Marino Murillo, face of the economic reforms started a decade ago on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The post of second secretary of the PCC, which until now was held by Machado Ventura, was not announced at the closing of the congress nor does it appear in <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.granma.cu\/octavo-congreso-pcc\/2021-04-19\/buro-politico-secretariado-y-miembros-del-comite-central-del-partido-comunista-de-cuba-19-04-2021-10-04-36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the lists released<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by the Cuban state media\u2014the only ones with access to coverage of the conclave\u2014so apparently the post was eliminated from the party leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, the Secretariat of the party organization was made up of Roberto Morales Ojeda, who will be the secretary of the Cadres Organization and Policy; Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, now head of the Ideological Department; Joel Queipo Ruiz, head of the strategic Economic Department; Jos\u00e9 Ram\u00f3n Monteagudo Ruiz, head of the Food and Agriculture Department; F\u00e9lix Duarte Ortega, head of the Industry, Construction, Tourism, Transportation and Services Department; and Jorge Luis Broche Lorenzo, who will head the Education, Sports and Science Department.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for the remaining members of the Central Committee of the PCC, standing out among them are figures with an important place in the current Cuban government, such as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil, the also Deputy Prime Ministers In\u00e9s Mar\u00eda Chapman and Jorge Luis Tapia, as well as several ministers, among them Meisi Bola\u00f1os, of Finance and Prices; Betsy D\u00edaz, of Domestic Trade; Juan Carlos Garc\u00eda, of Tourism; Jorge Luis Perdomo, of Communications; and Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel Portal, of Health; although the absence of Rodrigo Malmierca is striking, at the head of a key portfolio such as Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also included are a group of high-ranking officers and first secretaries of the PCC in the different provinces of the country, the Comptroller General Gladys Mar\u00eda Bejerano; Mayra Arevich, president of the state telecommunications company ETECSA; Homero Acosta, secretary of the National Assembly and the Council of State; Josefina Vidal, one of the faces of the thaw between Cuba and the United States and today the island\u2019s ambassador to Canada; and Gerardo Hern\u00e1ndez, one of the Cuban prisoners in the U.S. accused of espionage who returned to the island during the Obama administration and currently heads the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition, a group of lesser known names appears in the Central Committee in the island\u2019s current political and government scenario, and fifty women, a figure that contrasts with the women included in the Political Bureau (three out of 14) and in the Secretariat (none among the six members).<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_237758\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-237758\" style=\"width: 1040px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-237758\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1040\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion.png 1040w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-1024x610.png 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-768x458.png 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-750x447.png 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1040px) 100vw, 1040px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-237758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Political Bureau of the PCC (comparison with the previous one), in red the people who stopped being part of the Political Bureau, in blue those who occupy new positions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_237757\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-237757\" style=\"width: 1042px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-237757 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2.png\" alt=\"New Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba (comparison with the previous one), in red the names of those who are no longer part of the Secretariat, in blue the names of the new members.\" width=\"1042\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2.png 1042w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2-300x103.png 300w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2-1024x353.png 1024w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2-768x265.png 768w, https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Cuadro-comparacion-2-750x258.png 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1042px) 100vw, 1042px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-237757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba (comparison with the previous one), in red the names of those who are no longer part of the Secretariat, in blue the names of the new members.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the official newspaper <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Granma<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.granma.cu\/octavo-congreso-pcc\/2021-04-19\/elegido-miguel-diaz-canel-bermudez-como-primer-secretario-del-comite-central-del-partido-comunista-de-cuba-19-04-2021-10-04-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 100% of the voting tickets for the new members of this body were valid, while all were elected with more than 99.32% of the votes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The 8th PCC Congress concluded on Monday after four days of sessions, with a speech by D\u00edaz-Canel, his first as leader of the political organization and in which, however, he confirmed that his predecessor will continue to be consulted on the &#8220;strategic decisions of the future of the nation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In his closing speech, the president assured that &#8220;the project undertaken&#8221; in Cuba under the leadership of Ra\u00fal Castro in the last 10 years &#8220;is colossal&#8221; and said that the ex-president &#8220;will always be present, fighting with energy, contributing ideas and purposes to the revolutionary cause through his advice and mentoring and his alertness to any error or deficiency&#8221;.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">Con el General de Ejercito Raul Castro Ruz seran consultadas las decisiones estrategicas del futuro de la nacion, reafirma el Primer Secretario del CCPCC y presidente de la Republica de <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cuba?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cuba<\/a>, Miguel Diaz Canel Bermudez en la clausura del <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/8voCongresoPCC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#8voCongresoPCC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CongresodelaContinuidad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#CongresodelaContinuidad<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XXcOef5BKZ\">pic.twitter.com\/XXcOef5BKZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Partido Comunista de Cuba (@PartidoPCC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PartidoPCC\/status\/1384152043401580564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In addition, in his speech, D\u00edaz-Canel reaffirmed his commitment to &#8220;continuity&#8221; with the &#8220;historic generation&#8221;, whom he thanked for their &#8220;consecration and dedication to the revolutionary project&#8221;, while calling to consolidate the &#8220;generational continuity&#8221; and to turn young people into &#8220;agents of the transformations underway&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He also referred to the economic situation of the country and its current challenges and difficulties, to the US embargo and the &#8220;campaigns of subversion and ideological intoxication promoted by US agencies and entities&#8221;, and assured that Cuba&#8217;s aspiration &#8220;is to live in peace and relate with our northern neighbor as we do with the rest of the international community, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, without interference of any kind&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The closure of the event coincided with the 60th anniversary of the failed invasion of the Bay of Pigs -or Playa Gir\u00f3n- by a group of Cubans opposed to the nascent Revolution and with the support of the United States government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>D\u00edaz-Canel, the island\u2019s president for three years, was elected to succeed Castro, who had already confirmed his intention to leave his post at the head of the PCC during the opening of the 8th Congress of the political organization, which culminated this Monday in Havana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3134,"featured_media":237759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13902,13910],"tags":[34202,14833,17836,4121],"ppma_author":[33546],"class_list":["post-237753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba","category-politics-in-cuba","tag-comunist-party","tag-cuban-politics","tag-cuban-president-miguel-diaz-canel","tag-raul-castro-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cuba: President D\u00edaz-Canel takes over from Ra\u00fal Castro as head of Communist Party | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"D\u00edaz-Canel, the island\u2019s president for three 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