HAVANA, APR 19 (DNA) –  Cuban Communist Party stalwart Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced Raul Castro as president on Thursday, a new chapter for the island after nearly sixty years of rule by the Castro brothers but a change that is aimed at preserving Cuban socialism.

The National Assembly swore in Diaz-Canel, with 603 out of 604 lawmakers present voting for the 57-year old, marking a generational shift from 86-year old Castro.

The transition, while a historic shift from an era that started with Fidel and Raul Castro’s 1959 revolution, was not expected to herald sweeping changes to the island’s state-run economy and one-party system, one of the last in the world.

Diaz-Canel is seen as a loyalist of the Communist Party, which is designated by the constitution as Cuba’s guiding political force, and he has worked his way up the party’s ranks over three decades.