After Fidel: A Guide to the Players

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Carlos Lage: The pediatrician-turned-economist and a Vice President of the Council of State, he is the architect and ambassador of Raul's more market-oriented economic blueprint. "He projects the image of a younger, more collegial, civilian and modern leadership," says University of Miami Cuba expert Brian Latell, author of After Fidel. Widely expected to receive the Council of State's First Vice President post.

Ricardo Alarcon: The leader of the National Assembly and former ambassador to the United Nations could be competition for Lage. But Alarcon's stature took a significant hit this month when a video surfaced showing him flummoxed by a university student publicly hectoring him with questions about Cuba's economic dysfunction. Alarcon may well be kicked upstairs to a largely ceremonial Vice President's post.

General Abelardo Colome: A Council of State Vice President and Interior Minister, Colome, 68, is a military hero and Raul's right-hand man. Like Valdes, he has served the Castro brothers since the early 1950s. Nicknamed "Furry," he may replace Raul as Defense Minister.

Felipe Perez Roque: Cuba's 42-year-old Foreign Minister is widely considered a Fidel pit bull — a leader of the young, ideologically zealous Fidelista cohort known as "los Taliban." But Raul is said to distrust, if not dislike, the electrical engineer. Still, as one of Fidel's favorites, Perez is likely to remain a player for now, and could win a Vice President's spot.

General Alvaro Lopez Miera: Like Colome, the 63-year-old armed forces chief of staff Lopez is a fiercely loyal Raulista. He is also widely touted as the next Defense Minister, particularly since he's relatively younger than other top generals.

Mariela Castro: Raul's daughter, 45, heads the National Sex Education Center and is a strong proponent of social liberalization in Cuba — for example, she favors reversing the official harassment of homosexuals that her Uncle Fidel long condoned. She is considered a critical link to Cuban youth.

Colonel Luis Alberto Rodriguez: Also in his 40s, Rodriguez is Raul's son-in-law (married to his eldest daughter Debora), and analysts believe he's being groomed to eventually take over GAESA, Cuba's multibillion-dollar, military-run business conglomerate.

Abel Prieto: The popular, long-haired Culture Minister, 57, has positioned himself with Raul and become an outspoken backer of stepped-up public debate on Cuba's political system. Another key ally in charisma-challenged Raul's efforts to reach the island's youth.

General Julio Casas: As Raul's Defense Vice Minister, Casas, 72, runs GAESA, whose dealings with foreign investors have kept Cuba's post-Cold War economy afloat. He's Raul's second-in-command, but is said to be ill, and will probably stay atop GAESA rather than take over the Defense Ministry.