Cuba's first-ever leadership transition from the Castro brothers to Miguel Diaz-Canel suggests that the island nation will retain political continuity during an unprecedented era of uncertainty in relations with the US. Unlike his predecessor, Trump is exceptionally hostile to the country and has attempted to roll back Obama's rapprochement with the island, due to what is likely a combination of geopolitical and ideological factors. The US "deep state" has always had plans to subvert the Cuban Revolution by hook or by crook, but the global face of hyper-capitalism was more than happy to openly oblige given his hate for communism, no matter whether it's practiced by the Castros or President Diaz-Canel.
About the island's new leader, he's known for his loyalty to the revolution and has therefore unsurprisingly vowed to strengthen it during his tenure. Raul will still wield tremendous influence as the First Secretary of the Communist Party and will probably continue to mentor President Diaz-Canel until he gets the hang of things. On the surface, this interestingly resembles what happened in Russia in 2008 when Dmitry Medvedev succeeded Vladimir Putin in the Presidency while the latter became Prime Minister and helped maintain the country's overall sense of direction, but with the crucial difference in this case being that Raul is much too elderly to realistically return to office after President Diaz-Canel's first term expires in 2023.
Alongside Raul's assistance, President Diaz-Canel can also count on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for guidance if he ever needs it, seeing as how Chavez's successor was the first foreign leader to visit Cuba after its historic transition of power. This is more than symbolic because both allied countries are facing heightened US Hybrid War pressure at the moment on the political, economic, and international fronts, so they have a pressing need to stick together during these trying times. In addition, the two socialist states are also carrying out limited reforms at home, so they could share their experiences with one another in order to ensure that their domestic changes are implemented as effectively as possible.
Andrew Korybko is joined by Don DeBar, host a syndicated daily radio newscast CPR News heard across the US, Eldan Cruz, a communication strategist currently based in Honduras where he does regional political analysis.
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