After 49 years, Fidel steps down:
Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the country, retiring as head of state 49 years after he seized power in an armed revolution.
Good riddance.
UPDATE:
Fidel Castro Resigns Cuban Presidency
“I will not aspire nor accept—I repeat I will not aspire or accept—the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief,” read the letter signed by Castro and published quietly overnight without advance warning in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma.
The new National Assembly is meeting Sunday for first time since January elections to pick the governing Council of State, including the presidency Castro holds. There had been wide speculation about whether he would accept a nomination for re-election to that post or retire.
The 81-year-old Castro’s overnight announcement effectively ends his rule of almost 50 years over Cuba, positioning his 76-year-old brother Raul for permanent succession to the presidency.
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