If you thought the death of Fidel Castro meant the end of Cuba’s communism and dictatorship, you were sorely mistaken. Miguel Diaz-Canel who is vice president to Raul Castro is likely to succeed Raul Castro when he finally kicks the bucket. Diaz-Canel kind of looks like a Cuban version of aspiring Canadian dictator Justin Trudeau.
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Miguel Diaz-Canel, 55, currently serves as Raul Castro’s vice president and is his apparent successor. He has been working his way up the hierarchy for 30 years, first in provincial positions and then as minister of higher education. When he was 43, he became a member of the Politburo, the youngest ever. Most of the other members fought in the 1959 revolution.
An electrical engineer by trade and a Beatles fan, Diaz-Canel is a social media devotee, often posting pictures of himself and the younger Castro brother.
America’s Quarterly said in a profile last year Diaz-Canel generally keeps a low profile. He was born after the revolution and is a member of the reform wing of the party, more an experienced manager than ideologue. Unlike the Castros, he dresses in jeans and sports jackets, eschewing military fatigues.
“He is well-liked, young, well-educated, and he’s gone through all the different hoops. That he is admired in the often snippy world of university circles is very significant and shows he has the talent for handling people,” Professor Rafael Betancourt of the University of Havana told the Latin Post.
Miguel Diaz-Canel is fairly young too. So unless Cuba rids themselves of him before Raul Castro croaks, the dictatorship will live on for decades.