From one brother to another

Despite the loss of support from the USSR, Cuba’s old revolutionary guard pushed on doggedly. Some measures have been introduced to improve conditions in the country, and tourism has been encouraged to replace the lost revenue. However, there are internal frustrations from citizens locked in what they regard as a weary and run-down Communist state. The international community has also widely condemned the human rights situation, from the tightly controlled media to the arrests of dissidents legally protesting against the one-party regime. Fidel retained power until 2006 when abdominal surgery forced him to hand over the reins to his brother Raul, who officially became president in early 2008. Fidel is thought to have terminal cancer and is not expected to survive for much longer: many feel that a political system and a regime built and dominated for so long by one man will not be able to survive his death, fuelling speculation that Cuba would undergo major economic and political reforms that might lead to the US lifting its trade embargo with the island and attempting to exert its influence over it.

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