Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the party is always right.
Castro era in Cuba to end as Raul confirms he's retiring
Leaders, heroes, models, symbols: forever grateful for their anti-imperialist stance and the unparalleled freedom and prosperity they gave to their people in general and their inner circle in particular
Raul Castro confirmed he was handing over the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party to a younger generation at its congress that kicked off on Friday, ending six decades of rule by himself and older brother Fidel.
In a speech opening the four-day event, Castro, 89, said the new leadership were party loyalists with decades of experience working their way up the ranks and were "full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit".
Castro had said at the last party congress in 2016 it would be the last one led by the "historic generation" who fought in the Sierra Maestra to topple a U.S.-backed dictator in the 1959 leftist revolution. He already handed over the presidency to protege Miguel Diaz-Canel, 60, in 2018.
"I believe fervently in the strength and exemplary nature and comprehension of my compatriots, and as long as I live I will be ready with my foot in the stirrups to defend the fatherland, the revolution and socialism", Castro told hundreds of party delegates gathered at a convention center in Havana.
Raul Castro confirmed he was handing over the leadership of the Cuban Communist Party to a younger generation at its congress that kicked off on Friday, ending six decades of rule by himself and older brother Fidel.
