![Cuba's President and newly-elected First Secretary of the Communist Party Miguel Diaz-Canel speaks during the closing session of the 8th Congress of the Communist Party in Havana, Cuba, on April 19, 2021 [Ariel Ley Royero/ACN via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-04-19T173200Z_1098015844_RC25ZM9EK1UO_RTRMADP_3_CUBA-POLITICS.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Miguel Díaz-Canel becomes head of Communist Party, and retains title of president.
Raul Castro
After six decades, Cuba will not have a Castro in an official position of command.
![Investors, analysts and Cuban citizens will all be watching this weekend's congress closely — and seeing how many more of the country's so-called 'historic generation' actually depart, as Raul Castro (centre) has. That, experts say, will be crucial to knowing whether economic change is actually in the cards or whether business will continue as usual [File: Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AP19355685980477.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
EDITOR'S ANALYSIS
As Cuba turns page on Castro era, economic reform gains urgency
Cuba is now confronting new and dire economic challenges along with historic ones.
![Raul Castro led Cuba's army, then succeeded his brother Fidel as president of the country, then first secretary of the Communist Party [File: Alejandro Ernesto/Pool/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2014-01-02T120000Z_505579105_GM1EA120SSZ01_RTRMADP_3_CUBA.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Move marks the first time in 62 years that Cuba will not have a leader that is named Castro.
![US-Cuba relations have taken a hit from changing administrations and regional crises [File: iStock/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/576561fce5c94d8ca65b1fd3ca940389_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
A hostile Trump administration and crises in Venezuela have left the landmark Obama-era detente hanging in the balance.
![Raul Castro has been Cuba's head of state since 2008 [File: Jorge Beltran/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/4b975dfc2cad4a0484a98ee65e659994_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The sanctions block Raul Castro and his immediate family from entering the United States, Pompeo says.
![Like the president and parliament deputies, the prime minister can now be elected to a maximum of two five-year consecutive terms [Irene Perez/Cubadebate/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/6da8adb7299b4c2099d354fb035e1d11_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
The electoral law allows for both a president and a prime minister but bars a multiparty system.
![Castro said that Cuba had proven it could not be intimidated by threats [Yamil Lage/Pool via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/b206aec9eb6d4dc29896e55bc4b2d870_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Decades after his brother overthrew Cuba’s US-backed leader, Raul Castro slams Washington for return to confrontation.
![Diaz-Canel is the first person outside Castro family to rule Cuba in 59 years [Alejandro Ernesto/Pool]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/74e7c6c8685445a8840958aa31e46f49_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Miguel Diaz-Canel’s election marks first time in nearly six decades the Communist country will not be led by a Castro.
A new era dawns for Cuba for the first time in almost 60 years Communist country’s leader is not called Castro.
It will be the first time in nearly six decades that the island country will not be led by a Castro.
![The Castro family has ruled the socialist nation since a revolution ushered in the rule of Fidel Castro in 1959 [AP]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/18af873d42054cbab5bd16d27c3ac606_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
It will be the first time in nearly six decades that the island country will not be led by a Castro.
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
Raul Castro’s report card
For the first time in six decades, Cuba will be led by a person who does not carry the name Castro.
![Diaz-Canel's political career began during the economic downturn [Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/3f716bb34c2e486489b8befc19e52af9_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Little known about 57-year-old’s plans to tackle challenges facing Communist country, including its struggling economy.