Author: Leidys María Labrador Herrera | leidys@granma.cu
April 7, 2021 12:04:17 AM
The Communist Party of Cuba is unique because its relationship with the people is unique, because it exists by and for them, because it has been defining to safeguard its conquests in the most complex moments of the Revolution.
Nothing related to the present and future of the country is alien to the Party. A brief journey through the history of its Congresses proves it.
1st. CONGRESS
December 17-22, 1975
«Arriving today at this Plaza, we have seen the greatest concentration in the history of the Revolution. (…) And what our people feel, experience in this act, is that sense of security, of historical continuity that our Party offers; what our people want to express today is that they feel and understand that the Revolution is stronger and the Revolution is more secure than ever.
Speech delivered by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz at the mass ceremony on the occasion of the closing of the 1st. Congress of the PCC, in the Revolution Square (Plaza de la Revolución), on December 22, 1975.
Milestones:
• The Congress is reached after an arduous work of analysis to delimit the functions of the Party in relation to the State and the mass organizations.
• It involved a broad popular movement, since all the mass organizations in the country proposed commitments aimed at greeting the conclave.
• 3 166 delegates and 86 invited international delegations participated.
• The central report presented a broad and forceful summary that, in the voice of Fidel, described the path followed from 1959 to date, in the economic, political and social spheres, which allowed an accurate outlining of the work objectives for the quinquennium 1976-1980.
• The Programmatic Platform of the Communist Party of Cuba and the draft Constitution of the Republic of Cuba were discussed, as well as resolutions related, among other issues, to the economic projections for the quinquennium 1976-1980.
• In addition, Cuba’s policy of solidarity with the progressive governments and revolutionary movements of Africa, of the brotherly people of Puerto Rico, was approved, and Cuban support for the Movement for the Liberation of Angola was discussed.
• A total of 24 theses and resolutions that responded to the topics under analysis were approved.
They were essential agreements:
1. Hold the referendum on the Constitution and proclaim the Socialist Constitution on February 24, in homage to the 81st anniversary of the Necessary War.
2. Apply the new political-administrative division in the municipal authority in the months of April and May 1976.
3. Constitute the local organs of People’s Power and transfer to them the corresponding production activities and services of local importance, during the months of November and December 1976, and the first months of 1977.
4. Approve the Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the Secretariat, with Fidel and Raúl as First and Second Secretaries, respectively.
2nd. CONGRESS
December 17-20, 1980
«And you have demonstrated today in deeds what we expressed in the Congress, of the solid, deep, indestructible connection of our Party with the masses. This confirms the great truth that the Party is the Party of our people, and that our Party exists for the people and for the people.
Speech delivered by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz at the closing ceremony of the 2nd. Congress of the PCC, in the Revolution Square (Plaza de la Revolución), on December 20, 1980.
Milestones:
• The period that preceded the conclave was marked by what was and would be, from now on, the policy to be followed by the United States against Cuba: hostility, siege, and vile terrorist acts.
• 1 772 delegates attended and, once again, the international representation was remarkable, an undeniable example of which is the presence of 142 communist parties.
• In the report to Congress, presented by the Commander-in-Chief, the analysis of the previous five-year period was carried out, while the Cuban economy and the prospects until the year 2000 centered part of the debates.
• Among the objectives of the global economy that were objects of analysis, was the improvement of the System of Direction and Planning of the Economy.
• The projections for the 1981-1985 five-year period and the general lines of national and international policy were approved.
• A total of 18 resolutions were approved.
Among the essential agreements was the approval of the Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the Secretariat. Fidel and Raúl were confirmed in their positions.
3rd. CONGRESS
February 4-7, 1986
«The Party, this new Party, the Communist Party of Cuba, everyone knows how it was forged, how it was created, how it arises from the union of the different revolutionary forces and develops, overcoming difficult obstacles, mistakes (…). He was also forging, gaining experience, with his active participation in these almost 28 years of revolutionary, selfless and heroic struggle ».
Speech delivered by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, at the closing of the deferred session of the 3rd. Congress of the PCC, at the Karl Marx Theater, on December 2, 1986.
Milestones:
• The proposal of a new Party Program Project, and the necessary popular consultation that it implied, for its enrichment, gave this conclave the peculiarity of being developed in two parts, the first in February, and the second at the end of November of the same year.
• It is worth noting that, as of 1986 itself, the momentous process of rectifying errors and negative trends began.
• The Central Report included the work carried out in accordance with the directives of the 1981-1985 five-year period, with emphasis on their importance for the development strategy up to the year 2000.
• Within the framework of the Congress, the economic and social guidelines for the 1986-1990 five-year period, resolutions on the political-administrative division of the country, modifications to the Party Statutes, as well as the resolution on the improvement of the Management and Administration System were approved. Planning of the Economy.
• For the second session, in this case postponed, the progress of the process of rectification of errors and negative trends, called by Fidel in April of the same year, played a leading role in the debate.
• The first session was attended by 1,784 delegates and around 500 national and foreign guests. 1,723 delegates participated in the deferred session.
• Seven theses and resolutions were approved and, as First and Second Secretaries, Fidel and Raúl were ratified.
From Fidel’s opinion, it was «a historical fact, the approval of our first Program. It is also, of course, an act of great importance in the life of our Revolution and of our Party; expresses our aspirations, projecting towards the future ».
4th. CONGRESS
October 10-14, 1991
“I believe, colleagues, that our most important duty, the first of all, is that we analyze the current situation in our country with great realism, that we understand very clearly that we are living an exceptional period.”
Speech delivered by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, at the inauguration of the 4th. Congress of the PCC, held at the Heredia Theater, Santiago de Cuba, on October 10, 1991.
Milestones:
• It was a conclave that took place in very complex moments for the Revolution and for the world. After the disintegration of the USSR and the collapse of the socialist camp in the countries of Eastern Europe, a scenario arose that made Fidel call it “The Congress in Arms.”
• The application of the measures for a Special Period in Times of Peace was analyzed.
• According to the circumstances in the country, an analysis of the Program approved in the 3rd. Congress determined that it no longer adjusted to the historical moment and, therefore, party activity would be guided by the experiences of the error correction process and the directives for the special period.
• 1,772 delegates attended and there was also a broad representation of guests from other regions of the world.
Decisions according to the historical moment:
1. The delegates granted exceptional powers to the newly elected Central Committee, composed of 225 members, with the supreme goal of preserving the Homeland, the Revolution and Socialism.
2. The Resolution on Economic and Social Development gave the highest priority to food production.
5th. CONGRESS
October 8-10, 1997
«In the world there is knowledge of many people at the service of particular, personal and private interests. That is the rule, and what has been accumulated here in knowledge and experience, is at the service of the people.
Speech delivered by Fidel Castro Ruz, at the closing of the 5th. Congress of the PCC, held at the Palacio de Convenciones, on October 10, 1997.
Milestones:
• The years prior to this Congress were nuanced by the Special Period in times of peace which, in turn, was used by the enemies of the Revolution to intensify the economic blockade while, as part of their desire to sink us, two monstrosities were born: on October 24, 1992, the so-called Torricelli Law, and, given its obvious failure, almost four years later, the Helms-Burton Law.
• Before the celebration of the 5th. Congress was discussed by the population the document “The Party of unity, democracy and human rights that we defend”, subsequently approved as one of its resolutions. In that exercise, six and a half million Cubans participated.
• The circumstances lived determined that the central motto was “This people, this Party, will never give up their unity.”
• The country’s economic situation and the strategies to strengthen it over the next few years were among the objectives of the central report discussed.
• 1,500 delegates attended and three resolutions were approved.
6th. CONGRESS
From April 16 to 19, 2011
Thirteen years mediated between the 5th. Congress and the call to 6th., Although, logically, the Party was never oblivious to the reality of the country, to the urgencies of each historical moment, but quite the opposite.
«What we will never do is deny the people the right to defend their Revolution, since the defense of independence, of the conquests of socialism and of our squares and streets, will continue to be the first duty of all Cuban patriots.
“Days and years of intense work and enormous responsibility await us to preserve and develop, on firm and sustainable foundations, the socialist and independent future of the Homeland.”
Central report to 6th. Congress of the PCC, presented by the then Second Secretary, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers.
Milestones:
• The economic complexities that the country faced during the first decade after 2000, and the deep crisis that the world faced along the same lines, determined that this was precisely the central axis of the conclave.
• The 1st. On December 2010, the discussion of the document Draft Guidelines for Economic and Social Policy had begun. This process concluded in February 2011, with the participation of more than 8,900,000 Cubans.
• 986 delegates and 97 guests attended the Congress.
• Three resolutions were approved that, in addition to the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, also made reference to the improvement of the local organs of People’s Power, the Electoral System and the political-administrative division.
• The 6th. Congress, as the highest governing body of the Party, agreed to convene the National Conference, to which it granted powers to update the methods and style of work, structures and policy of Party cadres, as well as to evaluate and set basic concepts and ideas to modify the Statutes and other internal normative documents.
For the first time in the history of these conclaves, the Commander-in-Chief did not appear on the payroll of the Central Committee of the Party. He thus gave, with personal example first, an unequaled sample of the scope of our concept of continuity.
7th. Congress
From April 16 to 18, 2016
Perhaps this is the last time I speak in this room. I have voted for all the candidates submitted for consultation by Congress, and I appreciate the invitation and the honor of listening to me. I congratulate you all and, first of all, comrade Raúl Castro, for his magnificent effort.
“We will set out on the march and perfect what we must perfect, with meridian loyalty and united strength, like Martí, Maceo and Gómez, in unstoppable march.”
Speech delivered by the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, at the closing session of the 7th. Congress of the PCC, at the Convention Center, on April 19, 2016.
Milestones:
• The implementation of the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution implied that, since 2011, transformations were generated in the various sectors of the economy.
• During the great event, the Conceptualization Project of the Cuban Social Economic Model of Socialist Development was analyzed.
• The debate on the Economic and Social Development Program until 2030 was also a priority on the delegates’ agenda.
• With a critical and in-depth eye, the results of the implementation of the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution were evaluated, as well as their updating for the next period.
• These thematic axes were specified in the approval of five resolutions, which have become an indispensable guide in the effort to build a more prosperous and sustainable socialism.
Although this was the last Congress in which we had the physical presence of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, his ideals, his fighting spirit and his will to face every threat that endangers the sovereignty of the Homeland, remain intact.
8VO. CONGRESS: UNITY, CONTINUITY AND FAITH IN VICTORY
Our glorious Party is approaching another momentous moment in its history. The 8th. Congress is accompanied by exceptional support from the people for our social model, since the institutions, the cadres and each one of the men and women of this archipelago are bastions against the economic siege, the discrediting campaigns and the scourge of a deadly virus .
The complexity of the present has hardened us in the fulfillment of duty, in the will not to let ourselves be crushed by reality and to grow before it.
These, which continue to be times of ¡Patria o Muerte !, confirm for us the validity of socialism, of social justice and, above all, of that powerful force that is the Communist Party of Cuba.
Sources:
Speeches by Fidel and Raúl, in the context of the PCC Congresses.
Theses and Resolutions approved in the conclaves
Summaries of the Press Information Center on Party Congresses.
