So, at the age of 79, Fidel Castro has stepped aside to allow his brother Raúl, aged 75, to take over for a while. This has happened before: during foreign presidential jaunts, Raúl has been left in nominal command. But this is the first time illness has laid Fidel so low.
On the bright side, it should be said that the news of his stomach operation was given to the Cuban media by means of a letter Castro had himself written after the surgical operation. He always tries to keep the people properly informed, and it seems that, as usual, he is seeking to make light of his frailty. On the darker side, it has been clear for the past couple of years, ever since a fall in 2004 in which he broke an arm and a leg, that old age is beginning to close in on this legendary fighter.
It is sensible to think about who, and what, comes next, and Castro himself has not failed to address the issue: his brother takes over, together with the team at the top that has been running the country for the past decade or so, and the revolution will continue. That is the official line, and the objective line of well-placed outside observers is not so different. Some Cuba-watchers in Miami may wish for a different outcome, but with the US so occupied in other parts of the world, it is unlikely that anyone is seriously dusting down the Cuba file for Condoleezza Rice to examine.
So attention focuses on Raúl Castro, the reticent brother in the background for the past half century. What kind of man is Raúl? Like his brother, he is a deep-dyed revolutionary. Some say that he was always closer to the Cuban Communist party than Fidel was, and he was certainly the man who watched over the Cuban-Soviet relationship when the two countries were in a tight military alliance. Fidel may have handled the grand strategy, but it was Raúl who looked after the nuts and bolts.
Raúl also has a good, though unofficial working relationship with various official US institutions, including the US coastguards and the drugs agency. As minister of defence, Raúl created and looked after the interests of the Cuban armed forces for 50 years. He is known by every conscripted Cuban who has served in the armed forces, and that means most of the nation.
The Cuban army is the linchpin of the country, the most solid state institution and the one that enjoys the greatest popularity. It is also a powerful economic enterprise, operating many of the country's largest industries, commercial undertakings and banks. So Raúl is no stranger to the intricacies of government and state.
Although a harsh disciplinarian in his youth, some have argued that he is more liberal, in the economic sense, in his old age. Maybe he would be less strict about the socialist ideals of his brother, and look more pragmatically on the growth of incipient capitalism. The well-educated and well-fed Cuban population is certainly ready to take more responsibility on its shoulders.
The Cuban revolution is likely to soldier on for many years to come, but there is little doubt that the Fidel era is drawing to a close. Although little regarded in Europe in recent years, Fidel has enjoyed an Indian summer of popularity in Latin America, where he has achieved a cult status, comparable to that of Nelson Mandela, as the greatest figure in the continent in the 20th century. His pupils, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and many others waiting in the wings, will take up his work and burnish his reputation.
Who will come after Fidel is the question on everyone's lips? And I have heard a senior Cuban official declare: "Hugo Chávez!"