Great-Nephew of Fidel & Raul Castro Promoted to Deputy PM
Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga heads the strategic Ministry of Foreign Trade, a technocrat who combines family legacy, Party discipline and continuity.
HAVANA TIMES – The Cuban government announced this Friday the promotion of Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga to the position of Deputy Prime Minister. The appointment, approved by the Council of State on the proposal of the President and with the approval of the Political Bureau, reinforces the trend that the highest responsibilities in the country are concentrated in figures closely linked to the political and economic power.
At the top of the Cuban regime there is no place for surprises or outsiders. Although official media have omitted any reference to his family ties, Perez-Oliva is the grand-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro, son of biologist Mirsa Fraga Castro and grandson of Ángela Castro, sister of the founders of the Revolution. He is also the nephew of Jose Antonio Fraga Castro, who presided over the powerful company Labiofam until 2014.
His surnames, therefore, are not foreign to the upper power structure. The new generation of technocrats, to which Perez-Oliva belongs, moves within a closed elite that combines family legacy, Party discipline and absence of public questioning of the prevailing model.
With a degree in electronics engineering, Perez-Oliva has spent his entire career within State structures. He headed the Maquimport Company – – one of the key State importers — subsequently took over the Business Evaluation Directorate in the Mariel Special Development Zone and later was promoted to Deputy Minister and First Deputy Minister in the portfolio he has been directing since May 2024. Now, a little more than a year later, he adds the responsibility of Deputy Prime Minister, replacing Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, who died at the age of 88 in mid-September.
The area managed by Pérez-Oliva is strategic. In the midst of the production decline and the collapse of government revenues, the Government has relied on foreign capital as a lifeline. His portfolio is responsible for attracting investment, managing contracts and, above all, controlling the gateway of foreign exchange to a system that desperately needs it. In fact, it is a post with more real power than many social ministries.
An important detail distinguishes Perez-Oliva from most of his colleagues in the Council of Ministers: he is not a member of the National Assembly. In a country where legislative “elections” are closed processes and controlled by the structure of the Party itself, this condition shows that its power does not come from any popular mandate — although symbolic — but directly from the Party leadership.
If this situation is maintained until the “elections” of 2028, Perez-Oliva could become one of the most visible faces of the executive without having passed through Parliament. Nor would it be an isolated case, as several ministers and senior officials have held key positions without being deputies, confirming the practical irrelevance of the legislature in actual decision-making, although being a member of parliament would be indispensable to the office of President.
Perez-Oliva’s promotion does not point to a change of course. The Government maintains a strategy of recycling mid-level cadres who have grown up within State structures, without incorporating external voices or figures with some degree of autonomy. His technical and reserved profile fits perfectly into the logic of “continuity” that has dominated the political scene since Miguel Díaz-Canel took over as president.
During his ministerial tenure, Perez-Oliva has not presented any proposals for significant opening or structural reforms. He has defended the policy of attracting foreign capital under iron State control and has reiterated the official discourse that the US embargo is responsible for domestic economic problems, avoiding any mention of planning errors and the lack of legal safeguards for investors.
In view of the possible renovations in 2028, the leadership is betting on managers who can guarantee the continuity of the model without internal challenges. In this sense, Perez-Oliva is an ideal person: disciplined, with a family pedigree, without his own political base and with experience in a strategic economic area. He is a new face for an old structure that remains immovable.
Translated by Regina Anavy for Translating Cuba.