Cuban President Diaz-Canel expected to win second term despite crises

FILE PHOTO: Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the 7th Heads of State and Government Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel is widely expected to be chosen this week by assembly lawmakers to lead the country for another five years, despite a rocky first term marked by the coronavirus pandemic and a near-unprecedented economic crisis.

Diaz-Canel, 62, heads the Communist Party, to which all 470-members of the legislature elected by Cubans last month either belong or are sympathetic to. Cuba argues its one-party system promotes unity and limits financial interference in the assembly elections.