Cuba lawmakers gather to replace Castro

No surprise there SSG(P) (Join to see). My darling wife escaped Cuba at age 14 in the 1960s and helped to bring her parents over to the USA later. She still has some relatives there - avowed communists on the one hand and Christina pastors on the other.
Hopefully Cuba will move away from dictatorship in this generation and embrace the rule of law and democracy.

"Members of Cuba's National Assembly are holding a two-day session in Havana which will mark the end of the Castro era.
President Raúl Castro, who took over as Cuba's president from his ailing brother Fidel in 2006, will step down at the meeting.
This means no Castro will be at the helm of the country for the first time since the revolution in 1959.
The man tipped to take over is First Vice-President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

What's happening at the session?
The National Assembly, Cuba's legislative body, is meeting in full to swear in its 605 members, who were elected last month.
The president of the National Candidacy Committee will read out the proposed candidates for the 31-member Council of State, including the council's president, first vice-president, its five vice-presidents and its secretary.
Members of the National Assembly will then cast their votes in secret. The votes will be counted by the National Candidacy Committee and the results are expected to be announced on Thursday, state-run newspaper Granma reported.

What's this Council of State and why does it matter?
The Council of State is where the power really lies in Cuba. The National Assembly only meets twice a year and it is the Council of State which remains in session throughout the year and issues laws in the form of decrees.
Since 1976, when a new constitution abolished the post of president of the republic, the president of the Council of State has been the head of state and government of Cuba.
So whoever is elected president of the Council of State is top dog?
Whoever is chosen by the National Assembly in its two-day session will be Cuba's new president, yes.

Is the Castro era definitely over then?
It will be the first time that a Castro has not been at the helm of the country either as prime minister or as president of the Council of State since 1959.
Having said that, Raúl Castro is going to stay on in his post of first secretary of the Communist Party until 2021.
Analysts say that while the new president is likely to look after the day-to-day decisions, Raúl Castro will remain a powerful influence and is likely to have the last word on wider policies."

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