Another Castro at the helm in Cuba

Carlos Lage, 56, a physician close to the elder Castro who engineered the economy after Soviet aid dried up in the 1990s, remains in the same role he had before, one of five vice presidents.

The foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, 42, was also passed over for promotion.

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged the new government "to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing all political prisoners, respecting human rights, and creating a clear pathway towards free and fair elections."

In a statement, she said Cubans had a right "to choose their leaders in democratic elections."

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Cuba's main foreign benefactor, called Raul Castro on Sunday to congratulate him and invite him to Venezuela.

"Nothing is going to change," Chavez said of Venezuela's support of Cuba, "because we will only advance by being united."

Perhaps the most important challenge facing the new president is the struggling economy. Since becoming acting president in July 2006, when his brother became ill, Raul Castro has raised expectations among Cubans that he might make it easier to earn a decent salary within the state-run system.

In his speech, he said he would to lift some of the regulations that strangle private enterprise and that he would gradually revalue the Cuban peso, which is nearly worthless, to allow people on miserly state salaries to earn a better living.

"The country has a priority to satisfy the basic needs of the population, both physical and spiritual," he said.

But many Cubans greeted the news with a shrug, doubtful that after years of brutal economic conditions, Raul Castro would improve their lives anytime soon.

"Fidel was here, now the brother comes," said Jose Clemente Calvo, 58, a retired janitor, who was sitting on a park bench in Havana. "There is no difference."

"The same nonsense continues, there's no doubt," said Jolando, 79, a former driver who asked his last name not be used. He said he fought in the revolution but long ago became disenchanted with the Castros. "What they need to do is hold elections."

The ballot before the Assembly contained 31 names for the top positions in the country, with only one name for each position.

Although they had no alternatives, several delegates said they were satisfied with the selection of Raul Castro as their next president.

"He has had the career path that goes all the way back to the Granma," said one delegate, Teovaldo de la Paz Venega, a garbage collector, referring to the yacht on which the Castro brothers arrived with their ragtag rebel force in 1956. "He has the confidence of the people."