Castro announcement retirement

  • 11 years ago
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Cuban President Raul Castro announced Sunday he will step down from power when his current term is over in 2018.

Castro made the announcement during a national assembly meeting, and left no question about his goals while in office.

I was not elected to restore capitalism, he said, I was elected to continue perfecting socialism.

But since taking office from his sick brother Fidel, 81 -year old Raul did make some changes.

He loosened restrictions on travel and personal property and moved the economy in a more market-friendly direction.

In another surprise announcement, parliament named 52-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel as Castro's vice president, and likely successor when he steps down in 2018.