57-year-old bureaucrat Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel replaced Raul Castro as the president of Cuba on Thursday, launching a new political era. The National Assembly announced that Diaz-Canel had been approved as the sole candidate for president. However, the 86-year-old Castro will remain head of the Communist Party, which is designated by the constitution as “the superior guiding force of society and the state.” As a result, he will still be the most powerful person in Cuba for the time being.
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