In February of this year Cuba’s President, Raul Castro, said that he will step down in 2018. The announcement, made to the Cuban National Assembly, took many by surprise although he had previously made clear that no one in Cuba’s leadership should serve more than two five year terms in office.
Despite this, little attention has been paid to the impetus this is providing to Cuba’s economic reform process; the possible impact it may have on relations with the US; or the longer term implications for the Caribbean region.
As is well known, Cuba has embarked on a series of reforms that aim to liberalise aspects of its economy to
