Briefing: Cuba after Fidel

Five months after Raúl Castro took the reins of power from his brother Fidel, Cubans are now free to buy once-forbidden items such as PCs and mobile phones. But how much has life in Cuba really changed? 

Has Fidel really left the scene?

He still casts a long shadow. When Raúl Castro assumed Cuba’s presidency in February, he declared that he would “consult” regularly with his 81-year-old brother, and they are believed to be in constant contact. The ailing Fidel also makes his views known through frequent columns in the government newspaper Granma, often exhorting Cubans not to abandon the spirit of the 1959 Communist revolution. Much of the state apparatus that Fidel created, including a network of informers that permeates Cuban society, is still in place. But “it’s not just fear” that explains Fidel’s continued hold over his people, says Herminio Camacho, editor of the Cuban youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde (Rebel Youth). As the mythological father figure who led Cuba for decades, Castro still enjoys the deep devotion of many of his countrymen. Still, since Fidel’s departure, Raúl has been loosening Fidel’s iron grip, granting Cubans some new rights and privileges.

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