Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular de Cuba
Alarcón took over the office of President of the National Assembly of People's Power in 1993 in what Ben Corbett, a historian, considered a "demotion" from his earlier post as Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, William E. Ratliff and Roger W. Fontaine, in their book, "A Strategic Flip-flop in the Caribbean: Lift the Embargo on Cuba", ranks Alarcón as third-most powerful figure in Cuba.