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Slideshow The autistic mind Scenes from a home with two autistic children. Slideshow Raul Castro turning 81, trying to preserve communism Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Daughter of Cuban leader Raul Castro to visit U.S. Wed, May 16 2012 Chavez shows strength after Cuba cancer treatment Sat, May 12 2012 Analysis & Opinion Pope’s top aide Bertone at the centre of Vatican furore A post-Chavez Venezuela is no investment bonanza Related Topics World » Cuba » Cuba's President Raul Castro attends the May Day parade in Havana's Revolution Square May 1, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Desmond Boylan By Jeff Franks HAVANA | Sat Jun 2, 2012 8:33pm EDT HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro turns 81 on Sunday, another year on in his race against time to reform Cuba's economy and try to assure the survival of communism after he and his elderly colleagues are gone. Their task, he has said, is to correct mistakes made during their 53 years of leadership, which will require "days and years of work" that he intends to finish. "The generation that made the (Cuban) revolution has had the historic privilege, few times seen, of being able to direct the rectification of errors they themselves committed," he told a Communist Party conference in January. "Despite the fact that we are not so young, we don't plan to waste this last opportunity." Raul Castro's No. 2, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura is 81 and his No. 3, Ramiro Valdes is 80. Older brother Fidel Castro, who led Cuba for 49 years before age and infirmity forced him to leave office, is 85 and still a behind-the-scenes player. The average life expectancy for a Cuban male is about 76 years. President Castro has said his health is good and he feels young, plus there is a history of longevity in his family. His sister Angela died in February at the age of 88 and his eldest brother Ramon is 87. If he is worried about time, Raul Castro does not let on publicly. He has fretted publicly about not having groomed younger leaders to succeed the current group, but there are no obvious candidates waiting the wings. He has said on several occasions that the remaking of Cuba's economy will be done "without hurry, but without pause" so that the mistakes of the past are not compounded by more mistakes. SPEEDIER REFORMS Many people think he needs to move faster, regardless of his age. Since officially succeeding older brother Fidel Castro in 2008, he has launched reforms to encourage private initiative and reduce the role of the state, which controls 90 percent of the economy. He has put more agriculture in private hands, opened the doors for small private businesses and begun giving state companies more autonomy. He wants to cut a million jobs, or about 20 percent of the workforce, from the government's payrolls. He has allowed Cubans to buy and sell cars and homes, privileges denied to them for five decades. But there are questions about whether President Castro is doing enough to modernize the struggling Soviet-style economy and accomplish his goal of saving the communist system put in place after the 1959 revolution. The Communist Party affirmed at a congress in 2011 that central economic planning would continue and the accumulation of property not allowed. Many people think Cuba needs to open up its economy in the style of fellow communist-led countries China and Vietnam. "The challenge for Raul Castro and the leadership of the Communist Party continues to be the orderly implementation of a transition to a mixed economy and a society open and integrated to the world," said Cuba expert Arturo Lopez-Levy at the University of Denver. Serious problems loom that may force deeper and faster change on Cuban leaders. The economy is swimming in debt, sources of foreign income are limited - partly due to the longstanding U.S. trade embargo against Cuba - and the island is heavily dependent on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for oil and investment. Chavez, 57, is battling cancer and facing re-election in October. His death or political demise could end Venezuela's special relationship with Cuba, which would deal a serious economic blow to the island. (Additional reporting by Rosa Tania Valdes; Editing by Anthony Boadle) World Cuba Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (3) renumeratedfrog wrote: Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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