A Programmatic Document That Charts the Country’s Course

This Saturday, delegates to the 8th Party Congress analyzed, in their commissions, the Central Report presented by Army General Raúl Castro on opening day

Author: Yaima Puig Meneses | informacion@granmai.cu

Author: Leticia Martínez Hernández | informacion@granmai.cu

Author: Walkiria Juanes Sánchez | internet@granma.cu

Author: Liz Conde Sánchez | internet@granma.cu

Author: Yudy Castro Morales | internet@granma.cu

April 18, 2021 15:04:23

Photo: Juvenal Balán

"Courageous, critical, a guide." This is how Political Bureau member Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, general secretary of the Federation of Cuban Workers, described the Central Report to the 8th Congress, presented by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.

In his opinion, the text, in a clear and objective manner, reiterates that the performance of the economy will continue to be one of the Party’s fundamental missions, one which requires changes in methods of acting and thinking, to identify untapped potential for greater efficiency, a key aspect of workers’ responsibility to find those new ways of generating wealth, with the efforts of all.

Our members, he added, must hold the enterprise system accountable, ensure, as the Report states, that it is shaken.

It is true, he said, that the people demand more efficiency from the Cuban economy. Thus, in spite of the objective limitations, subjective problems must be solved immediately.

The Report hit the bull's eye in terms of the problems we have, making its analysis in all Party locals essential, stated Political Bureau member and Deputy Prime Minister Inés María Chapman.

Members, she continued, must fulfill their responsibilities in each of their own positions and, at the same time, be active in the community, in the neighborhood and, in all areas, defend socialism.

For his part, Central Committee member and delegate from Holguín, Rafael Santiesteban Pozo, president of the National Association of Small Farmers, cited Raúl’s words highlighting his call to for action to produce more with the resources we have.

To achieve this, he said, it is necessary to promote best practices, make concrete contributions, with the introduction of science and technology.

In relation to the diversification of agricultural production, in line with proposals made in the Report, it is imperative to take advantage of available land, he said.

He expressed farmers’ appreciation of recently approved measures, which imply more commitment and desire on their part, to continue transformations.

The report, noted Camagüey delegate Ariel Santana, "serves us for the future, hand in hand with Fidel's thinking and Raúl's consistent discipline and high expectations."

But not everything can be left to documents, he continued, because if we do not seek alternatives and solutions, adapted to conditions in each location, if we do not strengthen ties and work with the population, we cannot speak of victory.

Likewise, Central Committee member and Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca emphasized that the document inspires commitment, and its analysis makes clear where problems exist and where we cannot make mistakes. It shows us the way to the future.

He noted that the Army General has called for creative, timely political-ideological work and, at the same time, conveyed his confidence that we can move forward, in close contact with the people, on the basis of example, systematicity and results, which is how the population undoubtedly evaluates us, he emphasized.

Among the core ideas presented in the Report, Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Planning, Alejandro Gil, emphasized the deep analysis of the need to generate real change in the efficiency of the state enterprise system.

We can expand self-employment, expand non-agricultural cooperatives, approve micro, small and medium enterprises; but the state enterprise is the fundamental economic actor, he said.

In this endeavor, he noted, steps have been taken with the Economic and Social Strategy, the Reordering Task, the implementation of Guidelines and, in this way, we continue to make progress in the economy.

He also highlighted another strategic approach emphasized by the Army General: "We must get used to living with what we have, not spending more than what we are able to generate in income, and we do not always act this way."

We have before our eyes a programmatic document that charts the course and the attitude cadres must assume, stated Central Committee member and Party first secretary in Havana, Luis Antonio Torres Iribar.

Gladys Bejerano Portela, Central Committee member and Comptroller General of the Republic, highlighted the privilege of having, for over 60 years, the leadership of Fidel and Raul, who taught us to turn setbacks into victories and to have confidence in the capacity of human beings.

Teaching by example, discipline and respect for legality constitute essential premises for Party members, she concluded.

This is a historic document

The commission headed by the Second Party Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura, charged with analyzing the functioning and ideological work of the organization, also discussed the Central Report.

As part of the debate, Alexander Valdés Valdés, member of the Provincial Party Committee’s Executive Bureau in Artemisa, stated that self-employment is one of the specific issues the enemy is attempting to manipulate, and that ideological work by the Party with this sector should be addressed in a different manner.

Not all the municipalities have Party or Young Communist League locals in this sector which, in a very short time, will include large numbers of workers, Valdés commented.

For his part, Alfonso Noya Martínez, president of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, who was invited to the Congress, said that when interpreting the contents of the Report, we should not reduce media work to that of the press, seen only from the point of view of information. In order to reflect the breadth and depth of a country, communications cannot be seen only from the informative aspect, but must be viewed comprehensively, in dramatizations, in music, in any of the dimensions the media provides.

He stressed the importance of informing that reality by all means, to connect more with the people, to recover audiences and gain new ones.

Criticism of the media’s work is insufficient. We must seek solutions to reflect the people in the media, Cubans who are constructing the country every day, making history, building their present and future, concluded the delegate.

Yailin Orta Rivera, delegate from Havana and director of the newspaper Granma, highlighted the historical importance of the Central Report, which she described as a capital text, of obligatory study, a speech addressed to the people of Cuba and the world.

She noted that the words of the Army General are a transcendental synthesis of what has been lived and decisions that will also have an impact on the lives of coming generations of Cubans.

Raul's criticism of the media goes to the root, with the intention of encouraging us to improve and rethink our daily offerings, responding to the intellectual challenge we face in developing socialist consciousness, the delegate stated.

I don’t think any other press outlet has been subjected to greater demonization than Granma, she asserted, with constant lynchings of our professionals, persecuted on social networks. "This is done because, by attacking Granma, they are attacking the Party, and by attacking the Party they are attacking the Cuban Revolution, and the power of unity in our nation," Orta insisted.

In our media, she said, information is not a commodity; the message is not subordinated to any foreign power or anyone… but to the people of Cuba. Every line reflects that commitment to the truth, to the people and to our Revolution.

Given this historical reality, in Granma one learns what it means to honor the commitment to our newspaper of the Comandante en jefe, of Raúl and the Party leadership, she said.

"Every day we must rethink the content of our media, which have suffered a material deterioration that has generated ethical dilemmas, and which have been eroded by very complex realities, and migrations toward the enemy's media.

"An effort to reinforcement stereotypes exists, as well, seeking to attack Cuban public media and shame persons, to the point that, for some young people in universities, working at Granma is not attractive, rather than being a great prize, a newspaper that represents the humanist history of the Revolution. Efforts to transform this psychology must continue, she said.

"Granma newspaper must continue accompanying the people as part of the creative vanguard, committed to the truth. What lies ahead is a very long road, and we must do more and better for the Party, for the Revolution and for the people of Cuba," the delegate concluded.