Our
responsibility is to promote greater democracy in
our society, beginning by providing an example
within the ranks of the Party
• Speech by Army General Raúl
Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the
Councils of State and Ministers, closing the 1st
National Conference of the Party, in the
International Conference Center, January 29, 2012, "Year
54 of the Revolution"
(Typecast version: Council of
State)
Compañeras and compañeros:
THE 1st National Conference of the
Party which concludes its sessions today has been
dedicated, in accordance with the call made by the
6th Congress, to objectively and critically evaluate
the work of the Party, as well as to determine, in a
spirit of renovation, the changes necessary for it
to rise to the level demanded by current
circumstances.
Let
us not forget that only the Party, as an institution
bringing together the revolutionary vanguard and a
secure guarantor of the unity of Cubans in all
times; only the Party, I repeat, can be the worthy
inheritor of the confidence placed in the people by
the only Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution,
compañero Fidel Castro. (Applause)
I will not spend time outlining
details of participants in the process of discussion
of the proposed document or the many modifications
which resulted from it, given the report presented
by the Second Secretary of the Central Committee,
compañero José Ramón Machado Ventura in the opining
session of this event which, as everyone knows, did
not start yesterday, but almost immediately after
the closing session of the Party Congress.
After the initial draft of the
document and its subsequent analysis in grassroots
organizations of the Party and the Union of Young
Communists (UJC) during October and November of last
year, the results were discussed in the 3rd Central
Committee Plenum on December 21, 2011.
Likewise, in the first weeks of this
month, Conference delegates and other cadres studied
and discussed the document at the provincial level.
A total of nine versions of the documents were
drafted.
As opposed to the draft Guidelines
of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and
the Revolution, discussion of which included the
entire population, the Conference proposed document,
given its less encompassing scope and its focus more
directed toward the internal functioning of the
Party, was analyzed by all members, while our people
were fully informed of its content by the media.
On the other hand, the Conference
preparatory process included discussions of the role
of members in the interest of improving the Party’s
relations with the UJC, the Cuban Federation of
Workers and other mass organizations so that they
can increase their leadership and influence within
society in the current conditions.
As was to be expected, the
document’s publication produced criticism and
appeals from those who, confusing their most
personal aspirations with reality, had the illusion
that the Conference would devote itself to
initiating the dismantling of the political and
social system attained by the Revolution during more
than half a century, with the support of the
majority of Cubans.
In this context, it was not by
chance that the first objective of the document
states, "The Communist Party of Cuba, the highest
leading force of society and the state, is the
legitimate fruit of the Revolution, while at the
same time, its organized vanguard is the guarantor,
together with the people, of its historical
continuity." This concept, which we shall never
renounce, is fully in accordance with Article 5 of
the Constitution of the Republic, approved in a
referendum by 97.7% of electors, through a free,
direct and secret vote.
Our adversaries and even some of our
sympathizers, the history of constant aggression,
economic blockade, intervention and abstracting
themselves from the media siege expressed in
incessant campaigns by the supposedly free press –
in its majority subordinated to predominant imperial
interests – all of which the Cuban Revolution has
had to confront, are demanding – as if this were a
country in normal conditions and not a besieged
place – the restoration of the multi-party model
which existed in Cuba under United States colonial
rule.
Renouncing the principle of one sole
party would simply be equivalent to legalizing the
party or parties of imperialism in our homeland and
sacrificing the strategic weapon of Cuban unity,
which has made real the dreams of independence and
social justice for which so many generations of
patriots have fought, from Hatuey to Céspedes, Martí
and Fidel.
Toward the end of organizing the
struggle for the independence of Cuba and Puerto
Rico, Martí conceived the creation of one sole
political party, the Cuban Revolutionary Party,
according to his own words, "To foment a revolution
so that…all Cubans of goodwill can enter into it…
all those who love Cuba, or respect her."
After 30 years of war, when the
victory over Spain was already imminent, the U.S.
intervention arrived, and one of its first measures
was to dissolve this party, as well as the glorious
Liberation Army, in order to make way for what came
afterwards, the multi-party nature of the bourgeois
republic and the creation of a new army with its
repressive rural guards included, as a guarantee of
the absolute domination of all the nation’s wealth,
which was appropriated during the four years of the
first military occupation.
That was the sad end of the two
pillars of the pro-independence revolution, the
Party and its Liberation Army, revived exactly 60
years later under Fidel’s leadership, inspired by
the teachings of Martí. We will never allow that
history to repeat itself.
It is not my intention in this
speech to recall the historic evolution of the term
"democracy," from its conception in Ancient Greece,
as "the power of the people," although the enslaved
majority did not count at all. Neither will I
attempt to philosophize about the validity and
utility of so-called representative democracy which,
in real terms, has invariably become, as is all too
well known – the concentration of political power in
the class which holds the economic and financial
hegemony of each nation, where the majority
similarly do not count at all and when they protest,
as is happening at this very moment in many
countries, are brutally repressed and silenced with
the complicity of the corporate press, also
transnationalized, in its service.
The best argument is the one
provided for us by U.S. democracy, designed to be
imposed as a model on everyone, in which the
Democratic and Republican parties alternate in
power, defending, without major differences, the
interests of that same big capital, to which both
are subordinate.
To cite just a few examples, the
Guantánamo Naval Base, illegally occupied by the
United States against the will of the Cuban people
and which has remained as such for more than 100
years, independent of whichever party is in power.
The country which constantly proclaims its defense
of human rights has concurrently maintained there,
for more than 10 years, despite promises by the
current President, a prison in which more than 170
foreign citizens are being subjected to torture and
humiliation in a legal limbo.
The second example is the Playa
Girón [Bay of Pigs] invasion, conceived and planned
by a Republican President, Eisenhower, and
undertaken by President Kennedy of the Democratic
Party barely three months after being inaugurated;
and finally, there is the economic blockade which
has lasted for half a century, no matter whether a
Republican or Democrat is occupying the White House.
Without the least disrespect for any
other country with a multi-party system and in
strict adherence to the principle of respect for
free determination and non-interference in the
internal affairs of other states consecrated in the
United Nations Charter, in Cuba – on the basis of
its experiences throughout the history of its
struggles for independence and national sovereignty
– we will defend the single party system in the face
of demagogic games and the commercialization of
politics.
Given that we have chosen, in a
sovereign manner, with the participation and support
of the people, the Martí option of one sole party,
it is our responsibility to promote the greatest
democracy in our society, starting with providing an
example within the ranks of the Party, which also
presupposes fostering a climate of maximum
confidence and creating the conditions required at
all levels for the broadest and most sincere
exchange of opinions, both in the heart of the
organization, as in its interactions with workers
and the population, and working to promote
differences being addressed naturally and
respectfully. This includes the mass media,
mentioned on a number of occasions in the objectives
approved in this conference, which must involve
itself in this undertaking responsibly and with the
strictest veracity – not in the bourgeois style,
full of sensationalism and lies – but with confirmed
objectivity and without useless excessive secrecy.
To this end it is necessary to
encourage more professionalism among press workers,
a task in which we are sure we can count upon the
support of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC),
the mass media and the agencies and institutions
which must provide them with reliable and
appropriate information, so that, among all of them,
with patience and coherent criteria, they can
improve and increase the efficacy of messages and
orientation provided to our compatriots.
At the same time, the formation of a
more democratic society will also contribute to
overcoming feigned and opportunistic attitudes which
have emerged from an environment of false unanimity
and formalism in dealing with different situations
in the life of the nation.
We need to accustom ourselves to
expressing truths face to face, looking each other
straight in the eye, to disagree and argue, to even
disagree with what leaders say, when we believe that
we are in the right; logically, in the right place,
at the right time and in the correct manner: that
is, in meetings and not in corridors. We have to be
prepared to confront problems by defending our ideas
and resolutely facing what has been poorly done.
We have already said on a number of
occasions, and the point was included in the central
report to the 6th Party Congress, that the only
thing which could lead to the defeat of the
Revolution and socialism in Cuba is our inability to
eradicate the errors committed during the 50-plus
years which have passed since January 1, 1959, and
new ones we could occur in the future.
A revolution without errors has
never existed and never will, because they are the
result of the actions of imperfect human beings and
peoples, faced moreover with new and colossal
challenges. For that reason, I believe that we need
not be ashamed of errors; it is more serious and
shameful not to have the valor to delve more
profoundly into them and analyze them in order to
extract the lessons from each one and correct them
in time.
In this context, given their
continuing relevance, it is opportune to recall the
words of compañero Fidel on September 28, 1986,
closing the 3rd Congress of the Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution (CDR): "The battle against
negative tendencies and the battle against errors
committed will inexorably continue, because we have
the sacred duty to improve everything we do, to
improve the Revolution; we have the sacred duty to
never be satisfied, not even when we consider that
we are doing things well, and much less should we be
satisfied when we know that not everything is being
done as well as it should be."
The generation which made the
Revolution has had the historic privilege, not often
seen, of being able to lead the rectification of
errors they committed, an eloquent demonstration of
the fact that these did not have strategic
repercussions; otherwise we would not be here today.
We are not thinking, despite the fact that we are no
longer that young, of wasting this last opportunity.
Referring to this issue, I feel
bound to warn that we should not fall into the
illusion of believing that the decisions adopted in
this National Conference or even the decisions of
strategic scope adopted by the 6th Congress,
constitute a magical solution to all our problems.
In order to prevent the directives
of the Party from once again going down the drain,
the Political Bureau decided – as was stated at the
time in relation to the progress of updating the
economic model and meeting annual plans and budgets
– that Central Committee plenums should analyze
twice-yearly the implementation of the Party working
objectives approved at this conference. Likewise,
provincial and municipal Party committees will
proceed in the format and frequency established by
the Central Committee.
Experience has taught us that what
is not effectively supervised is not fulfilled or is
executed superficially.
It is imperative to work and
persevere with order, discipline and resolve to
concretize the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines
of the Party and the Revolution, as well as the
objectives approved at this event, so as to leave
behind the burden of the old mentality and to forge,
with transformational intent and much political
sensitivity, the vision of the present and future of
the homeland, without for one second abandoning
Marti's legacy and the doctrine of Marxism-Leninism,
which constitute the principal ideological basis of
our revolutionary process.
In order to succeed in this
endeavor, it is essential, as expressed in Objective
No 37 of the Party Guidelines, "to strengthen
national unity around the Party and the Revolution,
to strengthen the constant link with the masses and
to consolidate the conviction of preserving the
Cuban nation and socioeconomic achievements, on the
basis of the idea that homeland, revolution and
socialism are indissolubly fused."
Now, the crux of the matter does not
lie in having appropriately formulated this
objective or any other one, but in determining the
ways and means in which we put them into practice,
with maximum resolve, so that we can comprehensively
assess how much and how we are advancing, detect
negative tendencies in time and be capable of
mobilizing members and the people in securing the
objective.
This is also applicable to the resolutions adopted
on cadre development policy, an area which, as
reflected in the central report to the 6th Party
Congress, also suffered the effects of
improvisation, lack of foresight and not being
systematic, with the consequence that we still do
not have a reserve of experienced and mature
replacements, with sufficient training to assume
complex leadership responsibilities in the Party,
state and government, a task which, for obvious
reasons that you will all understand, is of
strategic importance for the Revolution and on which
we are working without haste, but without
hesitation, in order to fulfill Congress agreements.
I will take advantage of this
occasion to reiterate that, as we advance in the
definition of all the necessary adjustments to be
made to the Constitution of the Republic and the
complementary legislative framework, among other
issues, we will implement the decision to limit
tenure in principal political and state positions to
two consecutive five-year terms. In this regard, I
believe that once the relevant authorities have
defined and agreed upon the policies, we can
initiate their gradual implementation without
waiting for the constitutional reform, a resource
which we do not need to resort to; in other words,
to move toward modifying some parts of the
Constitution, even if that is through Parliament,
without the need for a referendum. Likewise, Party
statutes and other relevant documents should be
modified in this context.
In referring to these issues, we
must state the importance of ensuring that the moral
authority of the Party, its members and, in
particular, of its leaders at all levels, is based
on personal example, starting with proven ethical,
political and ideological qualities and constant
contact with the masses.
The Revolution of the humble, by the
humble and for the humble, which has cost so much
bloodshed among our valiant people, would cease to
exist without the enemy firing a single shot, if its
leadership should one day fall into the hands of
corrupt individuals and cowards.
It is highly worthwhile always
bearing in mind these concepts, which are not new,
because of the real and potential damage corruption
poses for the present and future of the nation.
In recent weeks, National Assembly
deputies and many cadres and officials from all over
the country have been given abundant information
about certain corruption investigations being
undertaken by specialized agencies within the
Ministry of the Interior, in close cooperation with
the Attorney General's Office and the Comptroller
General of the Republic. In due time, after
decisions are made by the relevant courts, our
population will be fully informed of these acts.
Not long ago, when I spoke during
the closing session of the National Assembly this
past December, I referred to my conviction that, at
this stage, corruption is one of the principal
enemies of the Revolution, much more prejudicial
than the multi-million dollar subversive,
interventionist campaign of the United States and
its allies within the country and without. I also
said that, from now on, we would not allow measures
taken to confront crime to be short-lived efforts,
which has surely happened on other occasions.
Fortunately, without any desire
whatsoever to discount the seriousness of this
problem, fairly common around the world, I believe
our country can win the battle against corruption.
First put a brake on it; then eliminate it without
hesitation of any kind. We have already announced
that, within the boundaries of the law, we will be
implacable in confronting the phenomenon of
corruption.
On many occasions, those implicated
in cases detected thus far are members of the Party,
who clearly harbored double standards and used their
status within the Party to secure positions in
leadership bodies, flagrantly violating their
responsibilities as Communists set forth in the
Party’s statutes.
Thus, without waiting for the
revision and updating of guiding Party documents
which is underway, the 3rd Central Committee Plenum
held last December determined that the sanction to
be applied to those participating in acts of
corruption could be none other than expulsion from
the ranks of the Party, regardless of the
administrative or penal sanctions imposed. Until
recently, this measure – expulsion – was exceptional
and reserved for cases of treason and very serious
crimes.
There is not the slightest doubt
that the vast majority of citizens and leadership
cadre are honest people, but we know that this is
not enough, it is not enough to be honorable and
appear so. One must fight and confront problems,
move from words to action.
It is true that, for some years now,
the Party has been waging a battle against this
affliction; however, the Party was going one way and
the government another. To ensure success, it is
imperative that the Party definitively assume the
leadership of this process, which in no way means
that it will supplant the responsibilities of any
other institution.
The Party, in the first place, will
demand that all authorities fulfill their
obligations, without interfering in administration,
but, yes, exposing, alerting and struggling, at the
grassroots level, the municipal level, investigating,
thinking, and thinking again, about how to mobilize
all forces in this endeavor. Every time we do this,
we are going to confirm that the relationship of
forces, in all sense, favors us in this effort to
defeat corruption. Priority must be given to the
organization, and the consistency, of this struggle.
Moreover, this is not the exclusive
responsibility of Party members, but also that of
every citizen, Party member or not, who is concerned
about his or her country.
Given their current relevance, it is
worthwhile reconsidering concepts which were defined
in 1973, almost 40 years ago, in the process leading
up to the 1st Party Congress.
The Party must be capable of leading
the state and the government, supervising their
functioning and the fulfillment of policies
established, encouraging, pushing and supporting the
best efforts of government bodies, but under no
circumstances supplanting them. It provides
leadership by supervising and this term must be
understood as confirming, examining, reviewing,
never intervening or giving orders.
Although, it is not in my text, it’s
in everyone’s thoughts, among all of the rank and
file members, that the Party has to put an end to
’bossiness’ – its strength is moral not legal,
that’s why moral authority is required to lead the
Party and take this spirit to the members. It’s
moral strength!
The Party leads by ensuring that its
directives, along with those of the state and
government, are carried out appropriately by those
designated to do so.
The Party supervises through its
structures and all of its members, from the top down
and vice versa, which does not negate the
supervisory role which the government must play in
relation to any administrative activity within its
authority.
This supervision is simultaneous,
but does not imply interference. In a production or
service enterprise, supervision is carried out by
the administration of the entity, by its higher
echelons and by state or governmental bodies, as
appropriate, such as the Comptroller’s Office, the
Attorney General, a bank or a tax administration
office, etc.
The Party’s grassroots organizations
ensure that the administration is strictly complying
with relevant legal norms – through the actions of
their members, be they simply workers or managers,
who lead by example, from which authority is gained
– and by transmitting relevant information to higher
political bodies. The Party supervises economic
plans and ensures that budgets are developed
correctly. Once they are approved by the government
and Parliament, the Party ensures that they are
rigorously implemented.
These concepts have been very clear
for some time, since the 1st Congress, but then we
forgot about those resolutions, those agreements
from that magnificent Congress and we filed them
away. Thus, almost half a century later, we have to
wipe the dust off papers we drafted 40 years ago,
because we devoted ourselves to other things, for
one reason or another. That’s why we are defending
institutionality, that each institution should take
care of its responsibility, not interfering with
others, but rather supporting each other. These
concepts have been updated, making it imperative
that at the grassroots level, within the Party’s
nuclei and the Union of Young Communists local
groups, members are educated about these principles
and how this work is done, each individual within
the framework of his or her own activities; how to
implement what has been approved in different
Congresses or this Conference, that is, how, in this
case, to educate the membership about these
agreements in order to incorporate them into their
daily activity. You don’t have to become a
philosopher; you don’t have to become a philosopher!
This is what we have to teach,
simply, little by little educating ourselves in the
respective meetings, in brief courses or whatever,
so that the members know their function, their role,
but to play this role we must have moral authority,
in every sense of the word. And I would say, in my
humble opinion – and this was an issue discussed in
several commissions yesterday – that this is the
essential element of our so-called ideological work,
not empty slogans or prefabricated phrases.
Before concluding these comments, I
consider it necessary to denounce, one more time,
the brutal anti-Cuba campaigns undertaken by the
United States government and others traditionally
committed to subversion in our country, with the
help of the Western mass media and the collaboration
of their salaried employees within the country, in
an effort to discredit the Revolution, justify their
hostility and the blockade directed against the
Cuban people, to create a fifth column which could
facilitate their aspiration of denying Cuba its
independence and national sovereignty.
As an editorial in Granma
this past Monday, the 23rd, said, actions speak
louder than words. Anti-Cuba campaigns do not affect
the Revolution or the people who will continue to
perfect our socialism. It will again be demonstrated
that a lie, no matter how many times it is repeated,
will not necessarily be transformed into a truth,
because "a just principle, from the bottom of a
cave, can do more than an army."
Compañeras and compañeros:
In less than a year we have held two
Party events, this 1st National Conference and,
above all, the 6th Congress, with agreements of
great importance for the present and the future of
the Revolution and socialism in Cuba. The path
forward has been defined; let us advance with the
same decisiveness, with the same firm ideological
strength, with the courage and serenity shown for
over 13 years by our five Cuban heroes, for whose
liberty we will never cease struggling and to whom
we send fraternal greetings from Cuban communists
and the entire Cuban people.
Thank you very much. (Applause)