Next in line for Cuba's presidency wants to modernize the country
Miguel Diaz-Canel
HAVANA (Reuters) - With revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dead and his brother Raul vowing to step down as president in 15 months  it will soon be the hour of heir apparent Miguel Diaz-Canel  an advocate for modernizing Cuba's state-run media and abysmal internet access.
 Diaz-Canel  was elevated to the position of first vice-president in 2013  putting  him  next in line for the presidency.
At 56   he  is a relative youngster in the ruling Communist Party's leadership and will need to appeal to younger generations if Cuban communism is to thrive beyond the Castro brothers.
 He  has already established press and internet freedom as signature concerns  a potentially disruptive change in a one-party state that has monopolized the media for nearly 58 years.
Otherwise  however   he  has a much weaker public profile than the Castros and it is not clear what policy changes  he  would push through.
Until now   he  has held to the party line or avoided public comment on key issues such as economic and political reforms or relations with the United States  which were overhauled by Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama over the past two years.
Still  experts say  his  position as heir apparent is solid and that  he  would have to stumble badly for someone else to leapfrog  him  and become the next president in Cuba's arcane system for choosing its leader.
Born after the Castros took power in 1959   Diaz-Canel  is a child of their revolution who rose through the Communist Party by cultivating relationships within the political elite while avoiding the show-boating that ended the careers of other pretenders.
" He  has the advantage of having outlived  his  predecessors (as heir apparent) " Christopher Sabatini  a Cuba expert at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs  said on Monday.
 Diaz-Canel  has been careful not to eclipse Raul Castro and is so cautious as to come off as dull and gray   his  public statements largely unmemorable.
" He 's sublimated any ambitions  he  may have had  so the question is what  his  role and power will be among the old guard. Most people try to imagine  him  bridging the new generation and the historic one. That should be challenging " Sabatini said.
That reserved behavior and the government's secretive nature make  Diaz-Canel  largely a mystery to all but Cuba's political elite.
U.S. officials say they know little about  him   and most Cubans outside  his  hometown of Santa Clara know even less.
If  he  does take over in 2018   Diaz-Canel  will be following 59 years of rule by the Castro brothers  one who was gifted with abundant charisma and the other who commanded the absolute respect of top military and political figures.
" He  will be the first civilian president of the revolution and that will require the confidence of the military " said Arturo Lopez Levy  a former political analyst for the Cuban government whose mother taught Diaz-Canel at university.
 Diaz-Canel  chose to pedal.  He  would navigate the provincial capital Santa Clara  vying for space on narrow streets clogged with horse-drawn carts  motorcycle taxis and pedestrians.
HAVANA (Reuters) - With revolutionary leader Fidel Castro dead and his brother Raul vowing to step down as president in 15 months  it will soon be the hour of heir apparent Miguel Diaz-Canel  an advocate for modernizing Cuba's state-run media and abysmal internet access.
 Diaz-Canel  was elevated to the position of first vice-president in 2013  putting  him  next in line for the presidency.
At 56   he  is a relative youngster in the ruling Communist Party's leadership and will need to appeal to younger generations if Cuban communism is to thrive beyond the Castro brothers.
 He  has already established press and internet freedom as signature concerns  a potentially disruptive change in a one-party state that has monopolized the media for nearly 58 years.
Otherwise  however   he  has a much weaker public profile than the Castros and it is not clear what policy changes  he  would push through.
Until now   he  has held to the party line or avoided public comment on key issues such as economic and political reforms or relations with the United States  which were overhauled by Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama over the past two years.
Still  experts say  his  position as heir apparent is solid and that  he  would have to stumble badly for someone else to leapfrog  him  and become the next president in Cuba's arcane system for choosing its leader.
Born after the Castros took power in 1959   Diaz-Canel  is a child of their revolution who rose through the Communist Party by cultivating relationships within the political elite while avoiding the show-boating that ended the careers of other pretenders.
" He  has the advantage of having outlived  his  predecessors (as heir apparent) " Christopher Sabatini  a Cuba expert at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs  said on Monday.
 Diaz-Canel  has been careful not to eclipse Raul Castro and is so cautious as to come off as dull and gray   his  public statements largely unmemorable.
" He 's sublimated any ambitions  he  may have had  so the question is what  his  role and power will be among the old guard. Most people try to imagine  him  bridging the new generation and the historic one. That should be challenging " Sabatini said.
That reserved behavior and the government's secretive nature make  Diaz-Canel  largely a mystery to all but Cuba's political elite.
U.S. officials say they know little about  him   and most Cubans outside  his  hometown of Santa Clara know even less.
If [TGT][TGT]  does take over in 2018   Diaz-Canel  will be following 59 years of rule by the Castro brothers  one who was gifted with abundant charisma and the other who commanded the absolute respect of top military and political figures.
" He  will be the first civilian president of the revolution and that will require the confidence of the military " said Arturo Lopez Levy  a former political analyst for the Cuban government whose mother taught Diaz-Canel at university.
 Diaz-Canel  chose to pedal.  He  would navigate the provincial capital Santa Clara  vying for space on narrow streets clogged with horse-drawn carts  motorcycle taxis and pedestrians.