CUBAN PRESIDENT Raul Castro has abruptly removed some of the country’s most high-profile officials from top government posts in what he said was an effort to streamline his administration.
Monday’s overhaul also seemed designed, at least in part, to allow Mr Castro to put his stamp on the country’s leadership by promoting officials close to him and sidelining those most associated with his brother Fidel.
Mr Castro replaced his ailing sibling as president a year ago.
“This is the first time Raul Castro has undertaken a really major reshuffling of the leadership since taking power,” said Daniel Erikson, a senior associate at Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank. “This is his chance to put the team he wants in place.”
In all, Mr Castro swapped eight ministers, according to state television. In addition to fusing some ministries, Mr Castro removed or demoted three men intimately associated with the 49-year reign of Fidel Castro.
Two of them, foreign minister Felipe Pérez Roque and council of ministers secretary Carlos Lage, had been mentioned frequently as potential successors to Fidel.
Mr Pérez Roque (43) was one of Cuba’s youngest senior officials and had served as Fidel’s personal secretary after starting as a leader in university youth organisations.
No new position for Mr Pérez Roque, who was replaced by his deputy, Bruno Rodriguez, was announced.
Mr Lage (57) had held his powerful position for almost two decades; he retained the vice-presidency of the council of state.
Brig Gen José Amado Ricardo Guerra, who served as Raul Castro’s secretary at the defence ministry, replaced Mr Lage.
Mr Lage had been seen as an economic reformer, credited with rescuing Cuba’s economy in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Raul Castro also removed José Miguel Miyar, another Fidel Castro confidant, from his position as secretary of the council of state, shifting him to the vacant seat heading the science and environment ministry. – ( LA Times-Washington Postservice)