Castro Steps Down

Well this is big news indeed.

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the country as president, retiring as head of state 49 years after he seized power in an armed revolution.

Castro, 81, said in a statement to the country that he would not seek a new presidential term when the National Assembly meets on Feb. 24.

"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent days of electing me a member of parliament ... I communicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept -- I repeat not aspire to or accept -- the positions of President of Council of State and Commander in Chief," Castro said in the statement published on the Web site of the Communist Party's Granma newspaper.

The National Assembly or legislature is expected to nominate his brother and designated successor Raul Castro, 76, as president in place of Castro, who has not appeared in public for almost 19 months after being stricken by an undisclosed illness.

Castro, of course, is one of the remaining boogeymen for the right, so they'll have to transfer that energy to Chavez or somebody else. I do hope Cuba can modernize and reform their economy and their human rights situation. But I also hope that a new, preferably Democratic President, with Castro out of the way, can take another look at the embargo and how it has been painful for both sides. Rationing in Cuba has had some paradoxical benefits (they can't afford junk food so they're generally healthier), but overall the people have suffered. And Raul is in power for now, but there really is no credible replacement after Fidel's 46-year reign. So this could turn messy.

I'm not entirely qualified to comment further on this, but promise to link to someone who is!

And of course, the real question here is, will he retire to Gitmo, and all that delicious food?