LAURA JANE KENNY | staff writer
WITH AP SOURCES.

The head of military of Cuba resigned after almost 50 years in power.

Fidel Castro announced his resignation on Tuesday after nearly a decade in power.

Aside from monarchs, Castro had been in office longer than any other Cuban head of state.

Castro placed his younger brother Raul, 76-years-old, temporarily in power as president on July 31, 2006 due to intestinal surgery. Castro had rarely been seen in public since that time.

There has been much speculation about the 81-year-old leader stepping down soon due to age and his diminishing health.

The National Assembly will meet on Sunday to decide on a new governing Council of State, which is to include someone to fill the presidency left open by Castro. However, it is most likely the younger Castro brother who will run in his brother’s absence.

“My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath. It would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more mobility and dedication than I am physically able to offer,” Castro wrote in a letter on Tuesday.

Castro started his rule on Jan. 1, 1959 and has ruled through the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Missile crisis, the break-up of the Soviet Union and a financial crisis. Castro ruled the communist nation even after the fall of the Soviet Union and communism in Eastern Europe.

President George W. Bush does not support either Castro brother, and hopes that this can begin a democratic transition. Presidential candidates are also hopeful this change of power will promote a change for the country.

“[Castro’s resignation] should mark the end of a dark era in Cuba’s history...Fidel Castro’s stepping down is an essential first step, but it is sadly insufficient in bringing freedom to Cuba,’’ Illinois senator Barack Obama said.

Communism conflicts with many of democracy’s ideals and freedoms.

Supporters of Castro and his implemented communism praise the ability for high level of health care and education for all citizens. Those who do not support communism disagree with its lack of individual freedom. They criticize the system because citizens are denied civil liberties like speech, movement and assembly.

Detractors of Castro believed him to be a dictator who ran a totalitarian government that denied people their natural rights.

“It was an uncomfortable situation for me vis-à-vis an adversary that had done everything possible to get rid or me, and I felt reluctant to comply,” Castro said in reference to the United States.

President Bush is skeptical of any change happening in Cuba due to Raul’s similarities in policy and belief.

Castro will also remain a member of the parliament and is likely to be elected to the 31-member Council of the State. He will hold his status as the first secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party.

“The adversary to be defeated is extremely strong. However, we have been able to keep it at bay for half a century,” Castro said, in reference to the United States.