Raul Castro succeeds his brother, becomes king of Cuba

Wasn’t Communism supposed to be a revolution of the proletariat that would do away with class and privilege? Then explain why two of the last surviving Commie museums on the planet, North Korea and now Cuba, have become hereditary monarchies in all but name.

Cuba’s Communist Party elected President Raul Castro on Tuesday to succeed his older brother Fidel Castro as head of the country’s highest political body and only legal party.

Other than that little throwback, it sounds like Cuba is finally moving into the modern world. A bit.

The congress approved more than 300 economic and political proposals made by Raul Castro, including massive layoffs in the public sector and an expansion of the private sector to soak up some of the unemployed.

The delegates also approved changes under which Cubans would be able to buy and sell homes and cars for the first time in decades but would see their ration books gradually eliminated.