Some predicted that life in Cuba would worsen under Raul Castro, noting that he lacks the intellect and magnetism of his brother.
"It's the same dog with a different collar," said Yolanda Salvador, 67, who has been in the United States for 37 years. "Fidel may be decrepit physically, but until his last breath he will make all the decisions in Cuba."
In Havana, Cuba's most respected dissident, Oswaldo Paya, called the election "tragicomic" and insisted that the changes "were not the choice of the people."
Although sweeping reforms are unlikely, Raul Castro has talked about the need for "structural change" to combat widespread corruption and theft from state enterprises. Cuban economists blame those problems for a dysfunctional economy that leaves most Cubans to survive on less than $20 a month and a meager ration of staples.
Outside analysts say excessive state control stifles incentive and hampers Cuban productivity.
Recent debate about how to boost agricultural output has raised hopes for greater autonomy, at least in the agrarian sector. Some tinkering with agricultural policy is expected, as even the most conservative leaders are concerned about the island's dependence on imports for about three-quarters of the island's food needs. Since the United States cleared the way for the sale of food and medicine to Cuba in 2000, U.S. farmers have become the island's biggest supplier of agricultural products.
The new president made passing reference to the need to decentralize decision-making in the agricultural sector but said specific changes would be discussed later. A University of Havana professor who asked not to be identified said that decentralization might be slow but that it is coming.
Cubans eager to open small businesses and improve their living standards had been hoping that yesterday's gathering would usher in more reform-minded figures, such as former Vice President Carlos Lage. The 56-year-old physician was credited with guiding the Cuban economy out of the crisis that ensued in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and an end to Moscow's subsidies.
Machado, a physician who fought with Fidel Castro's guerrillas and treated their wounded, has served in the Communist Party hierarchy for decades and is known to be a close ally of Raul Castro's. He was responsible in recent years for infusing revolutionary principles into education.
