Raul Castro Elected
Cuban President
Cuba's National Peoples
Power Assembly elected
Raul Castro Ruz on
Sunday as president of
the Cuban Council of
State for the next five
years.
The Cuban lawmakers cast
their direct and secret
vote this afternoon,
when they also elected
the nation's first vice
president and five other
vice presidents.
Jose Ramon Machado
Ventura, incumbent vice
president of the Council
of State was elected
first vice president,
while Juan Almeida
Bosque, Julio Casas
Regueiro, Esteban Lazo
Hernandez, Carlos Lage
Davila and Abelardo
Colome Ibarra are the
five vice presidents.
Jose Miguel Miyar
Barrueco was reelected
as Council of State
secretary.
The 31-member ruling
body also includes Jose
Ramon Balaguer Cabrera,
Ramiro Valdes Menendez,
Pedro Saez Montejo, Luis
Herrera Martinez, Iris
Betancourt Tellez,
Roberto Fernandez
Retamar, Francisco
Soberon Valdes, Felipe
Perez Roque, Carlos
Valenciaga Diaz and
Orlando Lugo Fonte.
Thirteen members (41.9
percent) were elected
for the first time -
Yolanda Ferrer Gomez,
Salvador Valdes Mesa,
Juan Jose Rabilero
Fonseca, Julio Martinez
Ramirez and Maria del
Carmen Concepcion
Gonzalez.
Tania Leon Silveira,
Regla Dayami Armenteros
Mesa, Ines Maria Chapman
Bou, Dignora Montano
Perdomo, Zurina Acosta
Brook, Guillermo Garcia
Frias, Leopoldo Cintra
Frias y Alvaro Lopez
Miera were also among
the newly-elected.
According to the
chairman of the National
Candidature Commission
Amarilys Perez, the
Cuban Revolution"s
historic generation and
the Political Bureau of
the Cuban Communist
Party are represented in
the new Council of
State, as are the Young
Communist League,
government and state
leaders and grassroots
organizations.
Lawmakers from the
health, science, culture
and production sectors
were also nominated.
The assembly session
acknowledged the work
performed by those who
were not reelected as
Council of State
members.
The Cuban lawmakers
expressed their support
to the decision taken by
the incumbent Council of
State president, Fidel
Castro, who, they
emphasized "has led us
through the path of
unity and victory." They
referred to Fidel Castro
as "our never defeated
Commander-in-Chief, who
has made Cuba National
Hero Jose Marti's dreams
come true. |
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