Vicki Huddleston, former chief of the US Interests Section in Cuba, who is now Visiting Fellow of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, presents a worse case scenario for Cuba in the event of Raúl Castro’s death.
A snippet of the article:
Raúl Castro died on Jan. 2, 2009, after serving less than a year as president of Cuba. José Ramón Machado Ventura, 79, stepped up briefly, but because of his poor health the National Assembly selected Gen. Abelardo Colome Ibarra, 70, and Gen. Julio Casas Regueiro, 74, as president and first vice president. Subsequently, they were given the top positions in the Communist Party. Fidel, who hasn’t been seen in live video footage for over three years, wrote an opinion piece praising the new leadership. President Colome promised early provincial and regional elections in 2011. Another transition — or succession — has taken place without internal upheaval, indeed, hardly a murmur. Colome has continued the economic reform program initiated by Raúl Castro. So far, the regime has been successful in improving the quality of the lives of average Cubans. Incomes have increased and there is greater access to information and the Internet. Reforms in the agricultural sector have reduced discontent in rural Cuba by improving prices and market access.
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