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1 (August 23, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsuntaaccj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22228 August 23, 2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Cuba after Fidel Castro: Issues for U.S. Policy Mark P. Sullivan Specialist in Latin American Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary Over the past few years, there has been increased speculation about Cuba's future without Fidel Castro, who has ruled the country since the 1959 Cuban revolution. Castro turned 79 on August 13, 2005, and while over the years news of his imminent demise proved premature, his advanced age makes the date of his departure from the political scene all the closer. The U.S. government has begun to plan in various ways for Cuba without Fidel at the helm. This has included examining transition issues and appointing a State Department Cuba Transition Coordinator. Some observers, however, question the adequacy of the transition planning, in part because it does not recognize the likelihood of a successor communist government headed by Fidel's brother Rail. This report first examines various transition scenarios for Cuba after Fidel Castro. It then examines implications of the transition for U.S. policy, including U.S. government preparation and current legislative conditions for dealing with a new government. This report will not be updated. For further information on Cuba, including current legislative initiatives, see CRS Report RL32730, Cuba: Issues for the 109th Congress; and CRS Report RL31139, Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances. Transition Scenarios Despite the introduction of limited economic reforms since the early 1990s, Cuba under Castro has remained a hard-line communist state since 1959. Soon after ousting the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista from power, Castro laid the foundation for an authoritarian regime by consolidating power and forcing moderates out of government. In April 1961, Castro conceded that the Cuban revolution was socialist, and in December 1961 he proclaimed himself to be a Marxist Leninist. From 1959 until 1976, Castro ruled by decree. In 1976, his government adopted a constitution, later amended in 1992 and 2002, which set forth the Communist Party as the leading force in the state and society. The 2002 amendments stated that socialism and the revolutionary political and social system in the Constitution ... are irrevocable, and Cuba will never again return to Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress

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