Fidel Castro calls it a day

Finally, the news we've been waiting for for almost two years. He's decided 49 years in power is just enough. That's that. In a letter to the Granma party paper published early this morning he announces he's quitting. As I wrote in this week's Lat-Am watch, the coming days would be crucial. In December Fidel announced he might be stepping down and on Saturday he let slip his next message would be an important one.

Coming Sunday is when the National Assembly are set to elect the all-powerful Council of State. Now that Fidel is no longer a candidate as president they will likely pick Raúl Castro. Or maybe they'll skip a generation and pick Vice-President Carlos Lage. Neither, of course, has even a shred of the kind of charisma Fidel could wield. Neither is much of a democrat, either.

So we sit and wait what will happen next. Will the Cuban people run out into the streets to demand freedom - not likely. Dissidents, like Osvaldo Paya, are calling for immediate change. On his website he insists the National Assembly and all those who hold power should work from today on to change the laws so that Cubans can express themselves freely and then organize free and fair elections. Others will just wait and see what the coming days and weeks bring.

P.S.
It's a good thing of course, the US introduced the trade embargo on Cuba when it did in 1961 , because that really forced his hand. A great success. If it hadn't been for that he would probably still be in power next week.