Cuba faces last May Day parade under Castro
Yahoo News, May 1, 2017
Havana (AFP) – The Cuban government’s traditional May Day
Parade Monday is the last to be overseen by President Raul Castro – and the
first without his late brother and revolutionary predecessor Fidel.
The May 1 rally draws hundreds of thousands of Cubans into
Havana’s Revolution Square in a sea of red, white and blue national flags and
portraits of Fidel Castro.
But he died in November and Raul Castro, after just over a
decade in power has said he will step
aside in February 2018.
Raul Castro has been cautiously opening up Cuba’s state-run
economy and strengthening its foreign relations – notably by re-establishing
diplomatic ties with the United States.
But Monday’s parade has the feel of the end of an era. It is
not clear who will take Castro’s place next year.
Most rumors suggest it will be Miguel Diaz-Canel, 54,
vice-president of the State Council. Despite ministerial experience and party
credentials, he is seen as lacking a support base in the military.
“There is a very high uncertainty about 2018,” said Pavel
Vidal, a former official of Cuba’s central bank and an academic at Colombia’s
Javeriana University.
“One could expect a process of continuity” of Raul Castro’s
reforms, he added, “but not at the same speed.”
Cuba’s economic fortunes depend largely on another country
that will see May Day marches on Monday: Venezuela.
Monday’s parade in Havana will make a show of support for
Venezuela’s leftist government which is facing violent opposition protests, top
Cuban labor union leader Ulises Guilarte said.
Venezuela sells cut-price oil to its leftist allies in
Havana. Cuba is currently in recession, dragged down by its ally’s economic
crisis.
This article took me by surprise, since I was unaware that Raul Castro was planning to step aside as soon as February 2018. I believe this should be a sign of hope for those who live in the beautiful island of Cuba, because whoever takes Castro' s place thereafter may not be able to handle more years of tyranny, and hopefully this may be the end to years of repression and the beginning if a new era to Cuba.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Lopez
Reading this article i was very taken, i heard plenty bad things about Raul Castro but i didn't know he was that much of a ass whole. i hope that cuba can finally find peace. -Sidnesha Holland
ReplyDeleteIts is disappointing how people are force to celebrate him.
ReplyDeleteLet hope for a better future for Cuba.
ReplyDeleteI feel happy for the Cuban people now that Raul Castro will be stepping aside on February 2018. Hopefully whoever is their next leader will stop all the tyranny that exists.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to what Cuba will be in the years to come. Cheers, Cuba Libre
ReplyDeleteManuel Sauleda
Looking forward to what Cuba will be in the years to come. Cheers, Cuba Libre
ReplyDeleteManuel Sauleda
Greatly dislike Obama's insistence on lifting the embargo, knowing that the money that is spent in Cuba goes to the government. For Cuba as a whole, I only wish that they don't have to endure much more of this regime.
ReplyDelete