Fidel Castro has stepped down as leader of Cuba, 49 years after coming into power in an armed revolution.

His dictatorial reign was one of the longest in the world, and kept the island nation among the handful of communist states to survive the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Today's announcement comes before a meeting on Sunday of Cuba's National Assembly to select the president of the state council.

In a statement published in the official state newspaper Granma, Castro said, "I will neither aspire to nor accept, I repeat, I will neither aspire to nor accept the positions of president of the state council and commander in chief."

The announcement paved the way for Fidel's brother, Raúl, who took over temporarily in July 2006 when Fidel Castro underwent surgery, to be proclaimed the next Cuban leader.

Referring to his health problems, Fidel Castro, 81, said in the statement that he was able to recover to the point where he could write for many hours.

"On the other hand, when referring to my health I was extremely careful to avoid raising expectations since I felt that an adverse ending would bring traumatic news to our people in the midst of the battle. Thus, my first duty was to prepare our people both politically and psychologically for my absence after so many years of struggle."

Any immediate change is unlikely under Raúl, who is 76. The country continues to suffer from inflation and low wages and remains under a United States economic embargo.

Still, Frances Robeles of the Miami Herald says that Castro's "absence from the political scene raises many new possibilities for the revolution, particularly considering that nearly two-thirds of the country's 11.2 million people were born after 1959 and have known no other leader but Fidel."

President Bush said that Castro's resignation should be the beginning of a transition toward democracy.

"The international community should work with the Cuban people to begin to build institutions that are necessary for a democracy, and eventually this transition ought to lead to free and fair elections," he told reporters in Rwanda, according to the BBC.

While Castro may be out of office, he is not out of power completely.

"I don't believe someone as narcissistic as him will be absolutely removed from power," Andy Gómez, of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies, told the Miami Herald. "He will continue to be consulted. What you may see now are some newer, younger faces."

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