It has just been confirmed that Fidel Castro – leader of Cuba since 1959 – is to retire as President of his country.
Whilst it’s certainly a moment for the history books, it’s difficult to see what his stepping-down will change in the short-to-medium term. After all, Castro “temporarily” handed over power to his brother Raul in 2006, and – despite some vague overtures to America – the latter has failed to stamp his mark on either Cuban politics or society. With the National Assembly expected to elect Raul as Fidel Casto’s full-time successor on 24th February, the stasis is set to continue.
(If anything, US-Cuban relations may deteriorate even further; especially given the bad blood between John McCain and the Cuban leadership.)
Meanwhile, it’s been an eventful evening in the Pakistani elections. Be sure to catch-up with Rani Singh’s Coffee House coverage, which discusses all the power-broking – violence – vote-rigging – and shock defeats. So far, unofficial results show that the PML(N) and PPP opposition parties are well ahead of the ruling, pro-Musharraf PML(Q) party, although no group has attained an overall majority.
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