HAVANA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's newly-elected
President Raul Castro said Sunday that he would bring about changes in the
country to make its government more efficient and economy stronger.
In his first address as president to Cuba's
legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), Raul said the
country needs "a smaller number of central administration bodies and a better
distribution of their functions."
 |
|
Raul Castro (L) enters a meeting of the
National Assembly in Havana Feb. 24, 2008. Cuban army general Raul Castro
was elected on Sunday as president of Cuba during a legislative session
held at Cuba's Palace of Conventions in the nation's capital
Havana.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
"We have to make our government more efficient," he
said in the speech after being unanimously elected by Cuban lawmakers to succeed
his elder brother Fidel as the country's leader.
He also said the government will focus on satisfying
citizens' basic needs "both spiritual and material, starting by boosting
sustained economic growth."
Local media said the new leader also indicated that
he was reviewing the possibility of a gradual reevaluation of the Cuban peso and
some "small restrictions" on Cuba's economic system could be removed in the
coming weeks.
Raul also pledged to loosen control over some social
activities.
"We must not fear disagreement in a society like
ours, in which due to its very essence there are no antagonistic contradictions
because there are no social classes that create such things," he said.
Raul has headed Cuba's caretaker government for 19
months, after Fidel needed emergency intestinal surgery and provisionally ceded
power in July 2006.
Fidel announced on Feb. 19 that he would retire as
Cuba's leader, after nearly 50 years in power. However, the 81-year-old retired
leader pledged to continue communicating his thoughts to the Cuban people
through media articles.
Despite the promises of change, Raul emphasized that
he would take on the legacy of his elder brother and consult him on "decisions
of fundamental importance for the nation's future, including defense, foreign
policy and socio-economic development."
"Fidel is irreplaceable and the people will continue
his work even when he is not physically here, because his ideas will always be
present," Raul said.
He said he would be on guard against any U.S.
"meddling" in Cuba's internal affairs, after several U.S. presidential
candidates cried for change in Cuba days ago.
Raul, who served as Cuba's defense minister before
the election, also found himself a successor, Julio Casas Reguiero, who
previously served as first vice minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and
No. 2 in the Defense Ministry.
Apart from the new president and defense minister,
Cuba also embraces a new Council of State, a 31-strong body that will make the
most important decisions in Cuba in the next five years.
Cuba's new leader pledges to
streamline gov't
HAVANA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Cuban army general Raul
Castro, who was elected Sunday as president of Cuba, vowed to streamline the
government and make it more efficient in his first speech to the legislature as
the nation's leader. Full story
Ricardo Alarcon reelected Cuban
assembly president
HAVANA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Cuban National Assembly of
People's Power reelected here on Sunday Ricardo Alarcon as its president in the
7th session. Full story
Rice calls for transition to democracy
in Cuba
WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice urged Cuba to have "peaceful, democratic change" on Sunday
after Fidel Castro said last week he would not accept another term as president.
Full story
Fidel Castro rebuts U.S. call for
change in Cuba
HAVANA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Retired Cuban leader Fidel
Castro on Friday lashed out at U.S. presidential hopefuls' calls for change in
his country, saying the only change needed is in the United States. Full story
U.S. says Cuban embargo to remain
despite Castro's resignation
WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State John Negroponte said Tuesday that the decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba
will remain in place despite Cuban leader Fidel Castro's resignation. Full story
