Entering office as Cuba’s new president, Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday that he would focus his leadership on ensuring that “the revolution continues its course”—promising the modernization of the island nation’s economy but making clear that he would fiercely defend its socialist system from outsiders who have pressured Cuba to change.

“In Cuba there is no space for those who aspire for a restoration of capitalism,” Diaz-Canel told the National Assembly in his inauguration speech. “The mandate given by the people to this house is to give continuity to the Cuban revolution in a crucial historic moment.”

Diaz-Canel, who was born a year after the revolution led by Fidel Castro which overthrew the U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, has risen in the Communist Party’s ranks over the last three decades. He served as vice president for five years under Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, after Fidel handed over power to him due to poor health.