Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba; Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Councils of State and of Ministers, and Party Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura, presided during the closing session of the Federation of Cuban Workers 21st Congress.
Inertia, justifications, and defeatism are always harmful, but especially now given the pressing need for savings, substituting imports, developing exports, and combating theft and illegalities, as well as ordering the monetary environment, salaries, and benefits, said José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, during the closing session of the Federation of Cuban Workers 21st Congress (CTC).
With the presence of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Party, and Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, on the last day of the gathering, the newly elected Secretariat of the CTC was announced, with Political Bureau member Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento reelected as general secretary.
In his remarks, Guilarte recalled the challenges the trade union movement faces in continuing to contribute to economic efficiency and urged delegates to make a reality of the trade union movement’s watchwords this year: Unity, commitment and victory.
The coming May Day, he said, “We will shake the earth’s core with the firm steps of millions of Cuban men and women.”During the closing ceremony, works by the artist Maikel Moret, bearing the words of Fidel, Raúl and Camilo Cienfuegos, were awarded to Raúl, Díaz-Canel, and Machado Ventura, in recognition of the revolutionary work of these leaders and their contributions to the trade union movement.
Also present were members of the Political Bureau, Salvador Valdés Mesa, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, and Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, as well as other Party and government officials.