Latinnews Daily - 22 December 2006

 Significance: Earlier this week Raúl, 75, hinted at some of the differences between his style of government and that of his brother Fidel. Speaking to students in Havana on 20 December, he called for greater debate on public policies. “Sometimes people fear the word disagree, but I say the more debate and the more disagreement you have, the better the decisions will be," he said. At another point during his speech, he said, “When you try to imitate, you fail".

For the past week parliament has been debating the fight against dengue fever, the restructuring of the sugar industry, the construction of houses, transport, and the battle against corruption. With 609 members the parliament comprises three generations of Cuban leaders, from the old guard who rose up with Fidel in the 1959 revolution to the newest generation of 30-40 year olds. Since its creation in 1976 the parliament has been Fidel's venue for laying out in detail Cuba's direction. His long speeches dominated debates and usually led to unanimous votes backing his views.

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