Cuba’s Communist Party inaugurated its first Congress in 14 years on April 16, exactly 50 years since Fidel Castro confirmed his embrace of socialism, the adoption of a centralised Soviet-style economy and one-party rule. Details are still emerging from the four-day meeting but for those attempting to analyse the process of change under President Raúl Castro, it would perhaps be advisable to consider the symbolism of the anniversary, the formal resignation of Fidel during the Congress as First Secretary of the Communist Party and from all his posts, and the incremental approach taken thus far by Raúl since he took over from his elder brother in 2006.
True, Raúl Castro has been overseeing a process of structural change aimed at economic recovery. But as radical as some of his reforms have appeared in the context of the state’s iron grip on the economy, there has been a strong sense that he has simply been tweaking the system to ensure its survival rather than doing anything to roll back the Revolution.
Thus it was that Raúl announced to the Congress his determination to make whatever changes were necessary to reform the economy at the same time that he would work “to defend, preserve and continue perfecting socialism and never permit a return to the capitalist regime”. He acknowledged that this would be an arduous and lengthy task.
Faced with a worsening economic crisis, the Congress approved some 300 proposals, including a decision to allow people to buy and sell their homes for the first time since the Revolution. There were no details as to how the new system would work apart from a warning that property speculation and accumulation would not be allowed. The rationing of subsidised food will also be phased out, as will the country’s two-tier currency system which allows for a convertible peso, recently devalued to be on par with the US dollar, and the standard peso used for most domestic transactions. A system of credit for the increasing numbers of self-employed workers will be introduced as the government seeks to boost productivity and the process of agrarian reform and ensuring food security will also be speeded up.
There is now conjecture that there may be a relative acceleration towards a mixed, planned, decentralised, market-oriented economy. However, unpopular socio-economic measures, such as the cutting of jobs from the state sector and the removal of subsidies, may be slowed down to allow the rest of the reforms to catch up and so cushion the transition.
The Congress also accepted President Castro’s proposal that the most important political positions should be limited to two five-year terms although his call for the “systematic rejuvenation” of the government did not lead to the ushering in of a new generation at the top.
Raúl, as expected, was chosen to replace Fidel as leader of the Communist Party; he will be 80 in June and stated that this would be his “last task”. First Vice President José Machado Ventura, 80, a veteran revolutionary and party ideologue was appointed Second Secretary. Another Vice President and revolutionary commander, Ramiro Valdés, 79 next week, was selected as Third Secretary. There are no surprises either in the composition of the politburo of the Party, which has been reduced from 24 to 15 members and continues to be dominated by the gerontocracy of revolutionaries and military men, the traditional defenders of the Revolution and a country that has lived in a state of siege for five decades. Given the advanced age of the leadership, the whole question of term limits is obviously moot. But as far as “systematic rejuvenation” is concerned, it seems from the president’s statements that this will have to wait until the National Party Conference in January 2012.
In this respect, the changing composition of the Central Committee may be instructive. Of its 115 members, it has been reported that 48% are women, 31% are blacks or mixed race, and there are many youths and soldiers. These cadres are clearly the future of the Party, especially if the rest of the old guard, by the time of the Party Conference, follow the example of Fidel. This would be the “systematic” element of the rejuvenation process reflecting the preferred gradualist approach not only to economic reform but also to the transfer of power from the country’s ageing leadership to the next generation.
It is, of course, hugely significant that Raúl’s proposals were strongly endorsed by Fidel. This support and that of the Congress are seen as critical to the whole process of reform, serving to marginalise those within the Party and the government opposed to change. However, it seems that the process of controlled change management continues, with political order and continuity, as embodied by the old – or rather, the oldest – blood of the Revolution, being the priority. And in spite of a call by Fidel for the younger generation to accept change unhesitatingly, the whole issue of transition is seen as best managed by the old guard.
