"Fidel Castro’s publicly announced resignation today (Feb. 19, 2008) comes as no surprise. His younger brother, Raul, has effectively been running the government for the past 19 months since Fidel became seriously ill. When the National Assembly convenes this Sunday to elect the members of the Council of State Raul will most certainly step into his brother’s shoes officially. At least in the near term this will bring about little to no change for the Cuban people. It is important to note that this in a succession not a transition. Free elections and major reforms are still in the future. Raul will need to convey the image of a seamless transference of power and that the revolution remains intact. To appease critics it is likely that some small personal freedoms may be allowed in the commercial sector while reaching out once again to the United States with an appeal to drop the embargo. Significant changes will occur in Cuba only when Raul eventually cedes power to his successor…who most likely has already been identified.”