"Cuba inaugurates a new president of the Republic after 43 years."

The National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba will elect this Thursday the president and vice president of the Republic, positions that had disappeared from the island's political nomenclature since 1976.

That step complies with what is established by the newly approved Constitution, which not only dusted off those old positions but also mandated changes regarding the scope and functions of other responsibilities and government figures.

Indeed, the new Law of Laws introduces changes to the Executive branch and also to the Legislative branch that, while some analysts believe are heading in the right direction, will not entail a substantial change in the Cuban government apparatus, which is based on a verticalist one-party system.

In this way, some essential ideas previously expressed by Raúl Castro are given substance, and these ideas were analyzed and discussed at the social level before receiving the unanimous approval of the Assembly.

That these new positions are now chosen also complies with the new Electoral Law, which was also approved by the deputies last July.

Although there are changes from a nominal perspective, such as naming the leader as President of the Republic, having a vice president, and also choosing a Prime Minister, essentially this does not imply significant changes regarding the necessary democratization of the country, explained a professor from the Law School of the University of Havana to Directorio Cubano.

However, the country is formally left in the hands of a younger generation of politicians, and significant changes are introduced to the executive branch. Among the most important is the term limit, as the main government figures will only be able to serve two five-year terms.

This break with the personalist government model established by the 1976 constitution, which granted full powers to the late Leader Fidel Castro Ruz, also breaks with the Soviet-style government framework since it proposes the division of functions, as for the first time all leadership positions of the State and the Council of Ministers will be held by different individuals.

The National Assembly of People's Power, one of the largest parliaments in the Western Hemisphere, will also reduce its number of members from the current 614 to about 400. Additionally, the Cuban legislative body will return to session at the historic seat of Congress: the newly restored National Capitol.

While the statesman, now appointed President of the Republic, will take the reins of the State, the Armed Forces, and International Relations. The Prime Minister proposed by this President of the Republic, after receiving approval from the Assembly, will preside over the Council of Ministers.

So the position of President of the Councils of State and Ministers disappears, a role held by three people in Cuba: Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, and now finally Díaz Canel.

However, for several analysts, these are only formal changes since the current Cuban constitution, in effect since April of this year, recognizes supraconstitutional powers for the Communist Party (the only one permitted in the country), and consequently for its First Secretary, a position currently held by Raúl Castro.

In fact, it is precisely because of that unquestionable authority recognized by the constitutional text itself that Cubans have no doubts or expectations regarding the election of a new President of the Republic since the Army General has given his full support to Miguel Díaz-Canel, and even, in previous speeches, almost proclaimed him as his natural successor as Secretary of the Communist Party when he himself steps down in 2021.