Fidel Castro retired after nearly 50 years as the President of Cuba in 2008, and now it seems that his successor and brother, Raul, will do the same in 2018.

Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday, Feb. 24 that he would step down from power in 2018, after his second term as president ends.

He stated, “I would like to make clear…this will be my last term,” during a nationally televised speech after a session of the Cuban National Assembly.

The announcement was made shortly after lawmakers re-elected Castro to a second five-year term. Last year, Castro emphasized that all Cuban officials should be limited to two terms in office.

The younger Castro was officially elected president of Cuba in 2008, and by 2018 will be 86 years old. He took over from his ailing brother, Fidel Castro.

Raul Castro quoted from his brother in his speech on Sunday, saying, “"I quote: 'Revolution is the sense of the historical moment, to change everything that must change. It is equality and freedom. It is to treat and treat others as human beings. It is to emancipate ourselves with our own efforts. It is to defy powerful forces in and out of the social and national context ... It is to fight for our dream of justice for Cuba and the world, the fundamentals of our patriotism, and socialism, and our internationalism.' May this marvelous definition serve as a guide for the new generations of patriots and Cuban revolutionaries.”

Raul does seem to be preparing new generations to take over after his planned 2018 retirement.

On the same day he announced his coming retirement, Castro and Cuban lawmakers elevated Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, 52, to the first vice president position. This move puts Diaz-Canel in line to succeed Raul Castro.

He is the first person of the generation born after the Cuban Revolution to reach the Vice Presidential position.

Diaz-Canel previously served as one of five second-vice-presidents and as minister of higher education. He was trained as an electrical engineer and has a reputation as a problem solver among the Cuban people.

Raul Castro has spoken very well of Diaz-Canel, proclaiming that his rise marks a “definitive step in the configuration of the future leadership of the country, through the gradual and organized transfer to the new generation taking over the main roles.”

Last month Diaz-Canel headed a Cuban delegation that attended a large pro-government demonstration in Venezuela.

That event celebrated Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s swearing-in for a new term, but Chavez missed the ceremony due to a cancer treatment he received in Cuba.

In another major announcement, Castro promoted Esteban Lazo Hernandez, 68-year-old former second-vice-president, to the president of the National Assembly.

It seems that Raul Castro is attempting to fortify his existing government with a new generation of young politicians well versed in the ways of the communist administration.

While the party plans to eventually open Cuba to more foreign investment, Cuba faces a U.S. administration intent on restoring democracy and capitalism to the Caribbean island.