Original reports from the Times: The Bay of Pigs Invasion | Cuban Missile Crisis starts | Khrushchev backs down

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Fidel Castro has ruled over Cuba for nearly 50 years, surviving an economic embargo, a CIA-sponsored invasion and many attempts on his life. He outlasted nine US presidents — and would have seen off a tenth if he had hung on until November.

Finally, though, he bowed to the inevitable and acknowledged that he was simply too ill to continue as Cuban President, putting an end to one of the longest and most controversial political careers. “My wishes have always been to discharge my duties to my last breath,” Mr Castro wrote in Granma, the Communist Party daily . But, he said, “it would be a betrayal to my conscience to accept a responsibility requiring more dedication than I am physically able to offer.”

The 81-year-old dictator said that he would neither “aspire to nor accept” the posts of Commander-in-Chief and President of the Council of State when they are ratified by the National Assembly on Sunday.

The surprise announcement sent shock waves throughout the world, with allies and foes wondering whether it marked the end of an era in Cuba and the beginning of a new one.

“What does this mean for the people in Cuba?” asked President Bush, in Rwanda on a tour of Africa. “They’re the ones who suffered under Fidel Castro.”

Mr Bush’s comments were echoed by Britain, European leaders, and Cuban dissidents persecuted by Mr Castro’s regime. David Miliband, the British Foreign Secretary, said: “The Cuban people will now be looking to the future, a future which we hope will offer them political progress founded on democracy and human rights.”

Cubans remained calm as official radio spread the news throughout the island. Children went to school in their red and white uniforms and thousands of workers showed up at their jobs, accepting the inevitable with a mix of sadness and hope.

In Havana, a city little changed since the early day’s of Castro’s revolution, people gathered on street corners overlooked by the capital’s delapidated colonial buildings to read Mr Castro’s statement in Granma, the state newspaper.

“He will continue to be my commander-in-chief. He will continue to be my president,” said Miriam, a 50-year-old boat worker. “But I’m not sad because after 49 years he is finally resting a bit.” Alexis, a rubbish collector in Havana, said:“I don’t know what to say. I just want to leave. This system cannot continue.”

For years most people had assumed that the death or resignation of Mr Castro would spell the end of his regime. A renowned micromanager who rarely delegated any task, no matter how small, Mr Castro personified the Cuban regime and gave little thought to his succession. However, the drawn-out manner of his departure has helped Cubans — 75 per cent of whom have known no other leader — to become accustomed to the idea of a world without Fidel. Mr Castro has also dropped regular hints in his newspaper columns that he could retire, promising in December that he would not “cling to office”.

After undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in July 2006, Mr Castro ceded power temporarily to his younger brother, Raúl, and six other officials. Raúl, 76, has run the country effectively, giving Cubans the hope that they will be granted limited new freedoms while damping down any expectations of a change of regime.

During his time as interim leader Raúl has come to be seen as a pragmatist who understands that the regime has to be more flexible if it is to survive. He has criticised the “excessive number of prohibitions” in Cuba and started a national debate about the shortcomings of the system. Many Cubans say that Raúl will have no option but to give Cubans more leeway, economically if not politically. “People here say they are fidelistas, but not necessarily socialistas,” said an analyst in Havana.

Despite the rhetoric of openness he has taken few concrete steps. Analysts expect any changes to be gradual. Cuba-watchers believe that Raúl may extend Cubans’ ability to work for themselves in modest ways, running hostels, restaurants or driving taxis. But, mindful of the Soviet Union’s fate, he is unlikely to remove the most draconian restrictions on travelling abroad or forming political parties.

Over the longterm, some Cuba-watchers say that Raúl wishes to emulate the early phases of the “Chinese model”, opening up the economy while maintaining political control. Cuba’s legislature meets to ratify top leadership posts on Sunday. It is possible that the leadership could go to one of the younger, reform-minded leaders that have risen quickly under Raúl’s interim rule, such as Carlos Lage, Cuba’s de facto prime minister.

Cuba in numbers

3rd of 7 children, Castro is born in Biran, South-eastern Cuba, August 13, 1926

81 fighters travelled with Fidel on board the Granma and landed in south-eastern Cuba. After 25 months of fighting, Fulgencio Batista fled the country

4 hours and 29 minutes after beginning his speech, Castro entered the Guinness Book of Records for the longest speech at the UN. He managed 7 hours and 10 minutes at the 1986 Communist Party Congress in Havana

1,400 US-backed anti-Castro fighters were repelled by Cuban forces when they landed in the Bay of Pigs in April, 1961

162 missiles were deployed by the Soviet Union on Cuban soil in October 1962, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war

1 in 6 of the 500,000 cars on Cuba's roads are US imports from the 1950s

45 years after the US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba it is still in force

1.4 million Cubans have migrated since Castro came to power. Each year, 3,000 attempt to migrate to the US across the 90 mile Florida Straits

1,586 doctors were offered to the US after Hurricane Katrina by Castro. He said he received “no response”

638 attempts were made on Castro’s life

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