Raul sacks ministers, elevates the military

The Miami Herald reports that Raúl Castro has sacked as many as ten Cabinet ministers in his government, including long-time heir apparent VP Carlos Lage.  Gone are Fidel loyalists Felipe Perez Roque and others, replaced by Raúl loyalists, mainly from the army, which Raúl commanded for decades.  It looks less like the housecleaning than a consolidation of power for the man now undoubtedly in charge:

Cuban President Raúl Castro on Monday gave his Cabinet an unprecedented, wide-sweeping shake-up that experts say shows the Cuban leader is moving toward doing things his way — efficiently, and surrounded by the military brass he trusts.

Among those who lost key posts were longtime Fidel Castro loyalist Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and Vice President Carlos Lage, the youngest and most visible members of Castro’s team.

Although he will remain as vice president of the more important council of state, Lage was replaced as secretary of the council of ministers by a military general who last served as Castro’s chief of staff at the defense ministry. A brigade general was also named minister of the Iron and Steel Industry.

Lage’s departure from the council of ministers and the recent promotions of three others close to Raúl Castro leaves the Cabinet leadership in the hands of members of the armed forces and people in his closest confidence. Some Cuban exile leaders in Miami fear that the dozen personnel moves announced on Cuban television’s midday newscast after the sports and weather reports show Castro is closing ranks and consolidating power.

Raúl came to power a year ago, but just now made these changes — which begs the question: why now?  Why did he feel the need or the opportunity to consolidate power in this fashion, especially since it involved pushing out his brother’s henchmen?  I wonder whether Fidel suddenly achieved room temperature over the last week or two.  If so, Raúl would likely keep that to himself long enough to make it appear that he has his brother’s blessings on the moves taken today.

Fausta Wertz thinks this may have something to do with a change in foreign policy:

Recent Cuban news point to stresses between the Fidel and Raúl factions. According to Chilean newspaper La Tercera’s editor Cristián Bofill, the brothers don’t agree on Cuba’s foreign policy. During Michelle Bachelet’s visit to Havana last month, Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist party, published an article by Fidel stating that Chile should grant Bolivia access to the Pacific. Bachelet was displeased, but Pérez Roque insisted that there would be no retraction over Fidel’s article, even when Fidel is a retired head of state.

All of this, of course, makes the news ripe for speculation, particularly coming after last week’s Lugar report on changing US policy on Cuba and the visit of French envoy Jack Lange to Havana. In the wake of Lange’s visit, Pierre Rigoulot, director of the Institute for Social Studies had predicted big changes in Cuba.

Again, these don’t sound like changes Fidel would endorse if he were still alive.  The (slightly) younger Castro may have a different vision of Cuba’s future than his older brother, and given his own advancing age, Raúl may want to arrange the chess pieces for his own departure.  Lage apparently doesn’t quite make the cut, even though many saw him as the logical successor to the Catro brothers — and perhaps an instrument of real reform once taken off the leash.,

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