HAVANA -- The Cuban government on Wednesday selected 57-year-old First Vice President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez as the sole candidate to succeed President Raul Castro in a transition aimed at ensuring that the country's single-party system outlasts the aging revolutionaries who created it. The 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, designated by the constitution as “the superior guiding force of society and the state.” As a result, Castro is almost certain to remain the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being. Raúl Castro, 86, is expected to step aside as Cuba’s president Wednesday less than two years after Fidel Castro’s death,

“This is an important moment for Cuba, but the truth is, nobody knows what to expect,” said Camilo Condis, general manager of Artecorte, a community project in Havana.
Miguel Díaz-Canel is named the new President of Cuba. It is the first time in six decades that a Castro family member is not leading Cuba.