Cuba (merged thread)

[Tom Odom]

Interesting list of candidates beyond Raul

Raul Castro not the only possible successor

BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com


Fidel Castro stepping down after nearly 50 years Cuban leader Fidel Castro has long referred to his brother Raúl as his designated successor and ''temporarily'' ceded power to the defense minister when he got sick in 2006. But there are others considered possible candidates to succeed Castro:

RAUL CASTRO, 76

Fidel Castro's younger brother and most likely heir is widely seen as a hard-liner and master organizer who forged Cuba's military first into one of the world's best fighting machines and later into the island's main economic engine.

Cuba's long-serving defense minister again showed his leadership when the ailing Castro ''temporarily'' ceded power to him in July 2006, successfully steering the nation through the potentially risky hand-over and adopting a handful of changes designed to ease the island's many economic woes.

[Steve Blair]

BBC has some coverage on this as well. Here is a link to a summation of Raul and other contenders.