Havana - New Cuban President Raul Castro on Sunday asked the country's National Assembly for permission to consult his brother and predecessor, Fidel Castro, on "decisions of particular transcendence."In his first speech as president, Raul said: "Sure of expressing the feelings of our people, I ask this assembly ... to allow me to continue to consult the leader of the revolution, comrade Fidel Castro Ruz, on decisions of particular transcendence for the future of the nation - above all those linked to defence, foreign policy and the country's socio-economic development."
The request was unanimously accepted and applauded by the National Assembly, which was elected on January 20. Both Raul and Fidel Castro still hold National Assembly seats.
Raul said that his brother was "irreplaceable" as leader. There is "just one" commander in chief of the Cuban revolution.
"Fidel is Fidel, we all know that well," Raul said. "The people will continue his work when he is no longer physically there, but his ideas will always be there."
In his speech, the new president stressed his will to maintain the country's socialist path and spoke of economic reform without specific commitments.
"The country will have as its priority to satisfy the basic needs of the population, both material and spiritual, based on the sustained strengthening of the national economy and its productive base, without which development would be impossible," Raul said.
Among the measures that he said are being "evaluated," he cited the re-evaluation of the Cuban peso. Raul ratified a proposal that he already made last year for Cubans' living standards to be in line "with the income that they legally obtain."
He stressed that any changes will need "time" and planning.
"A mistake motivated by improvisation, superficiality or hurry would have considerable negative consequences," he said.
Castro also addressed what he last year termed an "excess in prohibitions," but cautioned that only the "simplest" restrictions will be scrapped in the short run.
"The suppression of other regulations ... will take longer," he said, "due to the fact that they require an integral evaluation and changes in certain legal norms."
