The essential point emphasized at meetings of the Party Central Committee Secretariat, led by First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and Roberto Morales Ojeda, secretary of Organization and Cadre Policy, with leaders in the provinces of Pinar del Río and Artemisa, was that the guidelines, ideas, concepts and agreements of the Communist Party of Cuba 8th Congress must be incorporated into regular work at all levels, as will be discussed in meeting of this type across the country.

Díaz-Canel insisted that the ideas, concepts and guidelines approved at the Congress, in April, must produce concrete results and recalled in Pinar del Rio that the epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19 prevented public debate before the paramount gathering of Party members.

He specified that the 8th Congress was distinguished by two themes: continuity and unity. In this regard, he noted that in order to continue strengthening unity, maintaining the moral authority of the Party is key.

“This authority was built by the historical generation on the basis of its merits. No one can deny the role that the Party plays in society, but now it is up to us to maintain and enrich this based on the prestige we earn with our work, confronting the country’s problems alongside the people”, he emphasized.

He stressed the need for the Party to be increasingly democratic, encouraging the participation of Cuban men and women, members and non-members.

“How do we defend this unity? By eliminating dogma, fighting prejudice, confronting any vestige of discrimination,” he said, reiterating the will to “advance by resisting” based on our own efforts, consolidating socialism to develop a prosperous society.

(Taken from Granma)

During the last meeting of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee Political Bureau, presided by its first secretary, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, a document was presented summarizing the ideas, concepts and guidelines outlined in the Central Report to the 8th Congress, the closing remarks and documents approved by working commissions. Introduced by Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, Secretariat member and head of its Ideological Department, the text served as the axis of the virtual meeting held by the national leadership with some 2,600 key Party cadres across the country.

The gathering’s closing comments, delivered by First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, constituted essential reflections on the work of the Party and the defense of the Revolution in these times.

He insisted that in the process of debate now opening among the membership and the entire people, it is imperative that for everyone interpret for themselves “what continuity is and what unity is, and how unity is defended and how continuity is defended.” If we do not do this, we have not understood the 8th Congress, he added.

Unity, he argued, has been forged, defended, and consolidated by the historic leadership over the course of years of Revolution, but it now poses new challenges.

The gradual process through which the historic generation has conferred on new generations central responsibilities in the Party, the state and government requires the moral authority of the single party, which is called upon to guarantee this unity, representing the nation, he stated.

“It is very important to maintain unity – and this is a concept of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz – that a single party must be more democratic, give more participation, reach more consensus, work more collectively.”

The single Party, Díaz-Canel said, “must represent the interests of the entire population.”

The moral authority of the Party is essential to maintaining unity, he reiterated, and a large portion of this moral authority depends on the exemplarity of the membership, a value shared by all revolutionaries and our entire population.

Díaz-Canel emphasized another essential concept: continuity, insisting that we must defend it with a broad vision that includes consolidating the authority gained by the accomplishments of the historic generation.

“We must preserve the leadership and moral authority of our organization, that is what gives continuity,” and this also includes exemplarity, in our conception of being the political vanguard. “Generational continuity is a fundamental part of unity, that is why the Party must work hard with youth,” he stressed.

The First Secretary went on to address a number of issues and tasks related to the work of the Party, including its internal life, and reiterated that the development of the national economy, along with the struggle for peace and ideological firmness, constitute the main missions of the organization, and therefore are today’s priorities.

The present and future of the country, the defense of the Revolution and our progress depend on what we are capable of doing with our own efforts, without renouncing solidarity with other peoples, he added.

(Taken from Granma)

During the meeting – also attended by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and the Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau – a report was presented on efforts by the each of Uneac’s art-form associations since the Congress, in the midst of a pandemic that has limited all interaction, and a fruitful discussion of national culture and recent attacks on the country’s institutions.

The President asserted that culture is being attacked because it is the very essence of the Revolution, and the goal of colonizing platforms is to destroy our identity, in hopes of dominating us. But in the history of Cuba, with rare exceptions, intellectuals and artists have always supported the most advanced causes, that is why the Revolution, he reiterated, “has been sung and recounted by its artists.”

Díaz-Canel emphasized the unity that characterizes Cuba’s intelligentsia and rejected attempts to portray it as fragmented. He advocated continuing, and making visible, the dialogue taking place every day with the country’s cultural institutions.

Prestigious writers and artists spoke of their commitment to Cuban cultural institutions; their defense of the nation’s cultural policy which, despite the errors made at times, has allowed for an explosion of artistic expression since the triumph of the Revolution; and of the critical nature of Cuban art, promoted precisely by institutions, thanks to ongoing, permanent dialogue.

At the same time, calls were made for more rapid progress in making transformations needed in several cultural institutions, as has been legitimately demanded; as well as better application of knowledge emerging from the social sciences; and deeper study of the Constitution in the country’s educational system.

For more than two hours, the intellectuals and artists discussed various topics with the President. First of all, they addressed the most recent media lynchings of those who defend the Revolution on social networks and in public events, and the courage of those who insist on doing so, despite the cost; the need to strengthen our organizations, some of which are still mired in old patterns, and the need to counterpoise the nation’s authentic cultural heritage to the apocalyptic picture our enemies attempt to present as reality.

The consistently revolutionary discourse of the Cuban intelligentsia was once again present at the Presidency of the Republic’s headquarters, in a now customary discussion with the President, who, in December of 2019, called on Uneac to be more proactive at the grassroots level and actively challenge the lost cause of our enemies, referring to Don Quixote’s battle against windmills, “as old as they are harmful.”

(Taken from Granma)

The meeting began with a minute of silence in honor of Vice Admiral Julio César Gandarilla Bermejo, member of the Party’s Central Committee and Minister of the Interior, who died in the early hours of the day.

On this occasion, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented several documents related to the economic and social life of the country, which will be analyzed during the upcoming VIII Congress of the organization. The agenda included a review of the economy’s performance over the five-year period 2016-2020; and a report on the status of implementation of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution.

Proposals were presented to update the Conceptualization of the Cuban Economic and Social Model of Socialist Development, as well as the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines, for the period 2021-2026.

(Taken from Granma)

Díaz-Canel noted that the proposal is a result of these meetings now conducted on a weekly basis, since the idea emerged during the first exchange with representatives of the scientific community and outstanding farmers.

Telce González Morera, general director of the Grain Research Institute, stated that the policy will strengthen the leadership of municipal governments and local food systems, and that three fundamental objectives were established: update the centers that support the agrarian extension system as a process that facilitates the development of the sector, with priority at the local level; establish concepts and principles for the structural, managerial and functional organization of the system, with a participatory and multi-stakeholder approach; and establish indicators to monitor and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of work done, he said.

During the meeting, also attended by Vice President of the Republic Salvador Valdés Mesa; Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; as well as Deputy Prime Ministers Inés María Chapman Waugh and Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, Díaz-Canel commented, “This is an important step forward for something that has produced results; it is one of the lessons we have learned during this period, which is perfectly linked to agro-ecology and sustainable development.”

(Taken from Granma)

This update, he explained, includes measures to be taken during each stage of the epidemic; a definition of what will be the new normal; and a code for everyday life to be followed in the future.

Beginning his remarks, the President recalled that, with the arrival of the COVID-19, the difficult world context we were facing became even more uncertain and discouraging. Cuba was obliged to face a challenging national reality, marked by the pandemic, an increasingly aggressive U.S. blockade, as well as the effort to advance in implementing Party agreements and the country’s approved economic and social strategy.

He recalled the three fundamental fronts on which our work is focused: containing the pandemic; confronting, resisting and denouncing the blockade; and implementing agreements reached at the last Party Congress, especially those related to our economic and social strategy.

Given what has been done in this regard, Díaz-Canel stated that, although we are not satisfied and may have criticisms, we have results to show and can set goals.

Addressing one of these fundamental arenas, the COVID-19 battle, the President emphasized the effectiveness of the strategy followed, which was conceived based on the experience of the Revolution in health, enriched with the participation of collaborators who have worked around the world; the contributions of Cuba’s scientific community; the work of political and mass organizations; and of course, the public health system.

Reviewing the months of confrontation, he pointed out that all elements foreseen in initial evaluations of the country’s situation were borne out in reality, and noted the effectiveness of work done.

Early in the epidemic, he commented, when we did not know much about the disease, our knowledge and learning allowed us to overcome the April peak and achieve a degree of stability. Nonetheless, our mathematical models predicted the possibility of the resurgence we are experiencing.

At the peak of the pandemic, Diaz-Canel noted, some 2,000 PCR tests were administered daily; but with the resurgence, which has lasted over a longer period, testing has been increased significantly. The effectiveness of our treatment protocols has also been demonstrated in this second wave, with a lower lethality rate, which today stands at 2.079 per 100 cases.

Regarding the current situation, he noted the tendency of hospital discharges to surpass the number of new cases; greater control of propagation of the virus in Havana; and the positive trend seen in Ciego de Avila and Sancti Spíritus; as well as the number of provinces reporting no cases over several months.

Around the world, the President recalled, the number of deaths has surpassed one million, with more than half a million in Latin American, while in Cuba, we have lamented the loss of 123 patients. Thus, the worldwide lethality rate is 2.9%; that of the Americas is 3.3% and 2.079% in Cuba.

Across the planet, 75% of the sick have recovered, in the Americas 65%, and in Cuba 91%. The percentage of active cases as compared to the population in Cuba is seven, while in the world it stands at 21.8% and in Latin America, over 31.4%.

- More than 36 million cases in the world

- 17 million in Latin America

- 5,917 cases in Cuba

ASPIRING TO A NEW NORMAL WITH A MINIMUM OF RISK

With such indicators, Diaz-Canel questioned the logic of maintaining strict restrictions, stating that the more intelligent strategy is to learn to live with the disease, to reinitiate economic and social activities, strengthen prevention and treatment protocols, and aspire to a new normality with a minimum of risk, with things done well.

Referring to changes made to the strategy, he emphasized the need to explain these modifications in depth, to ensure confidence and support from the people and, above all, to increase risk perception, since the virus is present, ready to take advantage of any violation of established measures or protocols.

The President insisted that now is the time to move toward greater participation by the people and shared responsibility, on the individual, family, community and societal levels, in particular, in schools, factories, stores, and public places.

Discussing another of the results attained that show the scope of the COVID battle in Cuba, the President noted that 100% of confirmed cases and their contacts have been treated in hospitals. Moreover, our intensive care units never collapsed.

There have been no deaths of children, pregnant women or health personnel within the country, the President stated, although we lament the deaths of four medical collaborators working outside of Cuba.

Regarding other praiseworthy results, he highlighted the 700 research projects and 16 clinical trials underway, involving 13 bioproducts. At the same time, the President recalled, 52 medical cooperation brigades are combating COVID-19 around the world, and professionals already working in these nations have joined them.

Similarly, he praised the work of doctors, nurses, scientists, laboratory technicians and all those who have participated in the confrontation; as well as the role of young people and students, along with the participation of provincial and municipal governments, political and mass organizations, and the people.

In his remarks, Díaz-Canel also called attention to the importance of planning, an element of our system, much-criticized at times, which has guaranteed, in the midst of this situation, the availability of basic subsidized food items, the regulated provision of additional foodstuffs, cleaning and personal hygiene supplies, in a context of closed borders, contraction of the market, and fierce economic and financial persecution by the U.S. government.

It is almost a miracle, he said, the truth is that behind this miracle is an idea to defend, a people, experiences, principles and the thinking of Fidel and Army General Raul Castro Ruz.

In Cuba, Díaz-Canel stated, life is our principal treasure. Thus, we are all called upon to change some ways of behaving, to live with the disease with the least possible risk.

It is time to raise the level of responsibility we assume, he insisted, to maintain social distancing, wash hands frequently, abide by sanitary measures, wear face masks, avoid closed spaces and crowds, and facilitate everything that helps us take care of each other.

Our main strength, he reiterated, is our human capital, which has placed us in the vanguard of those in the world seeking a cure for the disease through a vaccine; but given what’s available at this time, we must use the only vaccine that has proven to be effective: discipline, personal and social responsibility.

(Source:Granma)

…I have the profound conviction that the existence of a party is, and must be, the form of political organization of our society, over a lengthy historical period, that no one can predict how long – Fidel Castro.

Ex-CIA agent Philip Agee stated, in March of 1987, in an interview with Ground Zero magazine, quoted by Alfredo Grimaldos on page 150 of his 2006 book La CIA en España, published in Cuba in 2007: “Within the Democracy Program, developed by the Agency, special attention is given to the foundations of the German political parties, mainly the Friedrich Ebert, of the Social Democratic Party, and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, of the Christian Democrats. These foundations had been established by German parties in the 1950s and were used to channel CIA money to these organizations as part of ‘democracy building’ operations after World War II.

“Later, in the 1960s, German foundations began to support sister parties and other organizations abroad and created new channels for CIA money. By 1980, German foundations had programs running in some 60 countries and were spending some $150 million. They operate in almost total secrecy… The operations of the Friedrich Ebert, of the SPD, fascinate the Americans, especially their training programs and the subsidies they gave to Social Democrats in Greece, Spain and Portugal, shortly before the fall of the dictatorships in those countries and immediately afterward…

“In Portugal, for example, when the Salazar regime, which had lasted 50 years, was overthrown in 1974, the entire Socialist Party barely has enough members for a poker game and was located in Paris, with no followers in Portugal. But with more than $10 million from the Ebert Stiftung, and some other remittances from the CIA, the Portuguese Socialist Party grew rapidly and soon became the ruling party.”

One would imagine that the end of a dictatorship should not be followed by this type of shell game that allows the same powerful ruling forces inside and outside the social and national sphere (Fidel dixit), organized in electoral parties, to continue the same domination by other means, as has happened not only in the Southern European countries mentioned by Agee, but in the model “transitions” of Chile and other Latin American countries where this has occurred, After assassinating a sufficient number of leftists, the conditions were created to ensure that a project of true popular democracy would never again take government power. If this should occur and attempts were made to reform the system without breaking what Lenin called “the machine of the bourgeois state,” bankers, the corporate media and the judicial apparatus could put things in “their place,” as has happened in Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay. Plus, as in Honduras and Bolivia, at the ready are the army and the police with U.S. trained officers, as well as more than a few judges and journalists, leaders of the now-widespread Latin American lawfare battle, disqualifying politicians and parties whose only crime is to have a chance of winning elections. In Greece, the cradle of Western democracy and culture, the popular vote meant nothing to the banks when they imposed a plan dictated by the European Union, totally contrary to the national will expressed by citizens at the ballot box.

From North to South and East to West, electoral results are respected only as long the continuity of capitalism is not endangered, otherwise, financial coercion, economic sanctions and coups take charge of the correction.

The much talked-about first circus performance by the two candidates for the U.S. Presidency presented by the parties that control politics in that society – always in agreement on the essentials, whether it be the preservation of capitalism or the need to change Cuba – was nothing more than part of the show with which the negotiation of disagreements between powerful economic groups is sold as democracy. For all to see are the emails leaked by Wikileaks in which Michael Froman, a senior executive at Citibank, “proposes” those who would eventually occupy every Cabinet position in the first Obama administration, making clear exactly how things work. It is not Trump’s party, but rather Biden’s, which has twice rejected a program like that of Bernie Sanders, proposing a capitalism more attuned to social concerns. Imagining that Sanders had been nominated and won, and remembering what happened in Greece, what real capacity would he have had to govern?

The Cuban Revolution did not ban the pre-existing political parties because of their alliance with the Batista regime or their complicity with imperialist aggression. In the first months of 1959, they lost all popular support and most of their leaders left the country, to wait for the United States to return them. In a process not exempt from tension and disagreement, the three revolutionary groups that contributed to defeating the dictatorship worked to establish unity, with Fidel’s leadership and political pedagogy, culminating in the announcement of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, October 3, 1965

Fifty-five years later, we still have a Party in Cuba not run by bankers, with a membership that does not include journalists, military men or judges trained to serve foreign interests. Most of its members, including a good number of the men and women who lead it, were born after 1959 and were recognized and approved for membership by an assembly of workers in their workplaces, schools or military units, where they were considered exemplary. It is true that, over the years, there have been opportunists and pretenders in its ranks, but it is the loyalty, sacrifice and discipline of the immense majority of its membership that has made it possible for more than 86% of Cubans to approve a Constitution that recognizes the Communist Party of Cuba as the “organized vanguard” of the nation.

These are the people we have seen these days leading the search for the solutions with which Cuba has astonished the world, abandoning no one to their fate to face a hurricane or a pandemic.

They are members of a Party that gives every citizen a voice in debates on the future of the country, as made evident during the nationwide discussions, (and amendment) of Policy Guidelines for the indispensable transformation of our economy to achieve greater efficiency and the sustainability of our socialism, and the new Constitution. When did liberal democracies ever do such a thing?

Deeply rooted political culture, permanent contact with social reality and the capacity for mobilization and ideological production, with de-bureaucratized communication, are the demands of a society that is increasingly diverse and complex, in which what President Díaz-Canel has called an annexationist horde, financed by the United States, seeks to articulate a political project that, with the combination of economic blockade and promotion of an oppositional civil society, through a coordinated system of private media, seeks to restore capitalism in the country. The foundations denounced by Agee are ready to take advantage of our fissures and have dedicated their efforts in Cuba to events financed by organizations such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. Offered during these affairs is their “experience in transitions,” promoting the pattern seen in Eastern Europe, where more than a few regimes that have returned to liberal democracy and multiparty politics have imposed bans on Communist parties and symbols.

But once again, what is decisive is not what our enemies do, but what we ourselves are capable of doing. Army General Raúl Castro has succinctly described the Party we are building, one that is increasingly democratic; one that, under new circumstances, continues to guarantee the political power of workers; a forger of the people’s unity around the principles of social justice, national sovereignty and internationalist solidarity in which Fidel educated us. Nothing less would adequately reflect the standards of the Party’s founders, the membership’s commitment to the ethics of Martí and Fidel, or the heroism of the people with which it has nourished its ranks.

(Source: Granma)

The agenda included analysis of several laws that will be submitted to the National Assembly of People’s Power for approval, among these were the Law of the President and the Vice President of the Republic; one governing Revocation of elected members of People’s Power bodies; the law establishing Organization and Functioning of the Provincial Government of People’s Power; as well as the Law of Municipal Administration Council Organization and Functioning.

A proposal to update the COVID-19 Confrontation Plan was also presented and will be announced to our people shortly.

In addition, preparations for the VIII Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, to be held in 2021, were evaluated.

(Source: Granma)

The strategy for recovery from the effects of sars-cov-2 is designed to promote a new model of socio-economic development, based on regional self-sufficiency and complementarity between economies of ALBA countries.

In this regard, Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla – who was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz – noted, “In the face of these challenges, ALBA-TCP countries have the instruments that will allow us to confront them effectively and emerge victorious.”

During the meeting, agreement was reached to reactivate PetroCaribe, 15 years after its creation, and to re-launch the ALBA Bank, considered the two fundamental pillars of the Alliance, according to Tareck El Aissami, Venezuelan Economic Vice President and Minister of People’s Power for Industries, National Production, and Oil.

With respect to PetroCaribe, a new operational and cooperation regimen was conceived to allow for regional energy sovereignty, while the ALBA Bank will have new mechanisms for compensation, financing and technical support. In this regard, one proposal is directed toward use of crypto currency.

Agreements reached include the reactivation of important programs addressing health and food; the creation of an alba-tcp humanitarian fund for support in any dangerous situation that may arise, such as health emergencies and natural disasters; the technical office for economic complementation; and the alba-tcp health observatory to monitor the evolution of the new coronavirus and its impact on health systems.

Other noteworthy initiatives include the establishment of a reserve supply of vaccines, medicines, equipment and supplies to deal with the pandemic and the holding of cooperation forums with other international actors including Russia, China and the African Union.

While in other parts of the world self-interest is prevailing, in our region the complementary economic zone alba-PetroCaribe is to be promoted as a true model of productive and technological development based on the values of solidarity and complementarity.

ALBA-HEALTH

Cuba would provide advice and contribute to controlling the pandemic with its medical brigades; promote and expand collaboration; and continue training of human resources.

BANK OF ALBA

New mechanisms of compensation, financing and technical support would contribute to the establishment of a regional financial system that promotes the use of crypto-currency.

PETROCARIBE

The organization’s operational and cooperation regimen is to be renovated, to consolidate a new energy framework that allows for greater sovereignty and better quality of life for the peoples of the region.

ALBA FOOD

Promote projects for the agricultural recovery of member countries, ranging from seed production, to guarantee of fertilizers, food distribution and prices.

HUMANITARIAN FUND

Funds to provide assistance in any dangerous situation that may arise in nations of the area.

(Source: Granma)

Honorable Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott, Justice of the Peace, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Barbados;

Dr. June Soomer, Secretary-General of the Association of Caribbean States;

Distinguished delegates and guests;

Excellencies:

First of all I would like to welcome the initiative of the government of Barbados, as chair of the Association of Caribbean States Council of Ministers, of convening this online meeting.

COVID-19, the epicenter of which has now moved to our region, generating a health crisis of huge proportions, is threatening all our lives, thus confirming the need for cooperation and solidarity to confront the pandemic, as well as the increasing challenges resulting from the situation that has been created

The Association has taken action to coordinate our work to protect the health of our peoples. Particularly worth mentioning are those resulting from the First Extraordinary Meeting of Foreign and Health Ministers on COVID-19 and the First Regional technical Meeting of ACS member states and associate members on the pandemic.

These are times to express solidarity and understand health as a right, a principle that motivates our country’s cooperation, given the emergency. In keeping with this strong belief, Cuba has responded to requests from several countries to combat COVID-19, in virtue of which Cuban health professionals and technicians have travelled specifically to provide health care and advice to 16 Association member states, and joined medical brigades already serving there, thus increasing to 20 the number of ACS member states which are benefitting from medical cooperation offered by Cuba.

Added to the challenge of preserving human life under the conditions imposed by the pandemic is the need to reactivate the economies of our nations, after a drastic reduction of productive, economic and commercial activities, which were already hit hard by the international economic crisis, the negative effects of climate change, the occurrence of natural disasters and the terrible and unsustainable burden of foreign debt that is inherent to the unjust international financial system.

Excellencies:

Even under the present circumstances, unilateral coercive measures continue to be imposed, which are causing humanitarian damage and making impossible government acquisition of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals necessary to treat the sick.

In the case of Cuba, the blockade has been further tightened; and the politically motivated campaign against our medical cooperation – meant to damage these services currently benefitting thousands of persons – has been further escalated.

I would like to thank the Association and all member states for opposing the irrational, illegal and cruel blockade policy against our people.

We salute the election of the Dominican Republic as President of the Association’s Council of Ministers Executive Board and appreciate the able work of this body by Barbados, as well as the effective performance of Dr. June Soomer.

We likewise welcome the new Secretary-General, confident that he will use his vast experience to successfully fulfill the mandates received from our heads of state and/or government.

To those who initiate their terms in such important positions, we express our willingness to continue contributing within the ACS. To those who conclude their mandates we express our gratitude.

We are sure that this important meeting will decisively contribute to advancing the Association. Cuba will continue working in favor of unity and for the consolidation of our Association.

Thank you, very much!