Communist Party of Cuba holds Plenary
Does the Party have the full backing of the people?
The Ninth Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was held on December 12-13, 2024. The event was covered on Cuban television by means of selected videos of the proceedings for three hours. And there were numerous articles in the daily Granma, the Official Organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.
The Economic Plan
There can be no reasonable doubt that the Party and the government have a comprehensive and scientifically informed plan to respond to the economic and social crisis provoked by the intensification of the US blockade since 2019. The question is whether the Party and the government have sufficient backing by the people to make the plan a reality. To be sure, no alternative plan has been put forth, and none can be imagined, other than the recipes of neoliberal capitalism and/or surrender to U.S. neocolonial domination, for which there is virtually no support among the people. For this reason, there is political consensus and political stability in Cuba, in spite of a profound economic crisis. Nevertheless, it also is the case that the Party and the government are involved in an economic and ideological battle against corruption, abusive pricing by the private sector, and alienation, all of which undermine the implementation of the plan. Victory in this battle will ensure a socialist future for Cuba, but its outcome is not yet known.
The government has made clear its economic and social plan to the people. Increasing domestic agricultural and industrial production through creativity at the local community level, high levels of participation by the people, and foreign investment in strategic areas, especially energy. Reducing the state deficit, which when combined with an increase in production, will reduce inflation and promote greater macroeconomic stability. Combatting abusive pricing and corruption through both preventive and punitive measures. And maintaining a social safety network for those most in need.
In the closing speech of the Plenary, Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of Cuba, reminded the delegates of the central components of the Plan, in which they, as militants of the Party, have a special responsibility in leading the people at the local level toward creative implementation. Of primary importance is breaking dependency on importation through an increase of national agricultural and industrial production, importing only raw materials and inputs that are necessary for productive processes.
The more the economy responds to the fundamental material demands of the people, the Cuban President declared, the more the people will have faith and confidence in socialism.
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A double discourse
At the Plenary, a double discourse could be observed. On the one hand, some stressed that greater productivity is unfolding in the economic enterprises, in spite of fuel shortages. Significant steps in the implementation of the plan have been taken, and more progress will be made in 2025. But on the other hand, sometimes the discourse seems to be saying that the plan must be brought to concrete reality, implying that little progress has been made in its implementation. To some extent, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz gives emphasis to the latter approach, whereas Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as well as provincial first secretaries from some provinces tend to take the former perspective. Because of the complexity of the situation, it can be said that there is truth in both perspectives.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz is known in Cuba for his forthright denunciations of non-compliance with the plan of the Party and the government. He declared during the Plenary that greater coordination, dynamism and resolution are required in the implementation of measures. He asserted that the highest leaders of the Party are dissatisfied, inasmuch as “the necessary results have not yet been attained, despite all the actions carried out.” He declared that there exists a reserve capacity to achieve the objectives, but “greater coordination, dynamism, decisiveness and objectivity are required.”
The Prime Minister further declared that “we are dissatisfied that progress has not been made with the necessary speed, especially on those issues that the population demands the most.” The expected results in production in part were not attained because of limitations with respect to inputs, fuels, and energy, but also because “subjective problems still persist.”
Marrero observed that “progress was made in controlling the great imbalances in budgetary, fiscal and financial matters, but the expected results were not attained.” He noted that the low level of national agricultural and industrial production causes delays in the delivery of the products in the government’s regulated food basket, because of difficulties in financing imports.
Non-compliance was also seen in the sugar harvest. The Prime Minister declared that "it is vital to identify innovative solutions that allow the reversal of the deterioration of the sugar agribusiness, which should not be measured only by the production of sugar, but also by its consumption of energy, its production of products derived from sugar, and the generation of employment.”
These limitations do not imply, for the Prime Minister, that the plan ought to be abandoned. He declared that “this transcendental task, led by the Government, and under the guidance and control of the Party, will continue to be the common thread of our work, aware that it is the most viable alternative to face the challenges of recovery and the revival of the economy, in conditions of economic war and a worsening of the economic and financial crisis worldwide.”
We must continue on the road and learn from errors made. “The mistakes made, and the experiences acquired, put us in a position to move on to another stage, with greater results and favorable results for the population," said the Prime Minister.
On the other side of the same complex truth is the discourse of Cuban President and Party First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel, who declared at the Plenary that “we will overcome the current difficulties with creativity, empowering development programs on the basis of talent, innovation, work, and creative resistance.” This hopeful projection has a basis in the current reality, in that mobilization for production and development, with concrete results, has been observed among the people, especially in the last few months, which “have left us with evidence that it is possible and that there is a thriving spirit of resilience in our people.”
Díaz-Canel noted three areas in which positive signs can be seen. First, in food production, the situation is more favorable than preceding periods. “The planting levels of the spring and cold seasons of 2024 are the highest in the last ten years; more than 985,000 hectares were planted in the fiscal year, representing a growth of more than 137,000 hectares over the previous year.” The key factor in the expansion of land under cultivation “was the mobilization and commitment of farmers and agricultural collectives.”
Secondly, even though the results are not immediate, Cuba is advancing in the solidification of its national electrical system. Investments are proceeding in renewable energy, above all the installation of solar parks, which means that fuel today used to generate electricity will be dedicated to economic production. At the same time, recuperation of the thermoelectric generation system is proceeding.
Thirdly, Diaz-Canel noted, Cuba is advancing in reducing the fiscal deficit. The state budget will finish the year with a projected deficit of 90 billion pesos, far less than the planned 147 billion. Reducing the state budget deficit, along with increasing production, are key factors in controlling prices.
Díaz-Canel observed that an error was made in the expansion of non-state economic actors, in that the expansion was approved without sufficient legal guidelines and solid regulation, so that the non-state economic actors have not been sufficiently integrated with the state companies and with the national economic plan. This error is being corrected, he noted. Norms are now being established, such as those requiring and regulating payment of taxes by private companies. Such regulations exist everywhere in the world, except that, in the case of the Cuban government, the taxes are destined to purposes that are primarily social.
In addition, inspections are being carried out, with the intention of confronting illegalities and controlling prices. It is not a question of persecuting private enterprises, the First Secretary declared, but of ensuring compliance with the law, for the good of society, and attaining a real integration between the private and the public sectors. As noted in the plenary debate, the people are being called to actively participate in the campaign against abusive prices, making their own denunciations to relevant entities.
During the Plenary debate, Díaz-Canel observed that, if we do not attain the effective regulation and integration of the private sector, “we will have a non-state sector that is not with the Revolution, that is not contributing to the Revolution, that is thinking only of itself and not of all.”
Why is it, Díaz-Canel asks, that some are able to overcome the challenges, while others have not? He responded that the key is leadership by party members who are among those who work in productive enterprises, who exemplify conviction, political firmness, and commitment to the people. The responsibility for mobilizing the people lies not with the people, but with the leaders of the local party cells. Therefore, the First Secretary noted, the Party must work to attain better growth, not only in quantity but also in quality, improving the process of identifying and selecting persons capable of responding to the challenge of being a militant in the Party.
Díaz-Canel has undertaken visits to 101 communities throughout the nation, and that experience is a factor in his relatively hopeful perspective. Díaz-Canel has undertaken the visits in his capacity as First Secretary of the Party, accompanied by Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Party. During the Plenary debate, Díaz-Canel observed that “every time we visit a municipality, we see things that show us the potential we have. . .. There are producers who have done wonderful things with agroecology, which show that we can produce the food we need. There are examples, it is not a slogan, it is being demonstrated by groups that have leadership, that have done things differently.” The goal, he says, is to generalize from those experiences. Party leaders from the provinces indicate that the visits of the First Secretary have been a factor in stimulating a productive movement among the people, in spite of fuel shortages and other difficulties.
During the Plenary debates, several party leaders from the provinces took the floor to describe the productive movement among the people in their particular provinces. Their interventions demonstrated what has been done in many places to advance in producing goods for the satisfaction of the needs of the population.
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The Cuban dual structure of governance
The Party and the government form a dual structure of governance that is the foundation of long-standing political stability in Cuba. The Party, whose militants are selected by the Party itself on the basis of their good citizenship qualities, possesses educational, moral, and spiritual authority among the people. The National Assembly of People’s Power, elected directly and indirectly by the people, is the highest power of the government, possessing legal and constitutional authority. The Party guides and educates; the National Assembly decides.
Political conflict has not emerged from the Cuban dual structure of government, because the people elect Party leaders to the highest positions in government. The phenomenon is illustrated by Miguel Díaz-Canel, who, as noted, is the President of the Republic (elected by the National Assembly) and the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Therefore, consensus is normal in Cuba. But the consensus will be maintained only as long as the Party continues to enjoy the respect and support of the people, on a foundation of scientifically based policies that are understood by the people. The highest Party leaders fully understand the conditioned basis of their authority, and they therefore work with boundless energy to formulate sound policies, to explain them, and to convoke the participation of the people in their implementation. The highest Party leaders have cast their lot with the people.
As is his custom, Díaz-Canel spoke of the heroism of the people, who have ignored the calls of the enemies of the Revolution to take to the streets in protest; who have endured the economic difficulties, helping one another as much as possible; and who “are building a bunch of solutions to everyday problems, fighting with the weapons of work, and demonstrating, once again, that you get out of the fences by fighting!”
An important factor in the final outcome of the war between the Cuban Revolution and its powerful global enemies is the decadence of capitalism itself, and the emergence in recent decades of a worldwide anti-imperialist movement, consisting of socialist and social democratic states that seek to construct an alternative world order based in mutually beneficial trade among nations and respect for the true sovereignty of nations. These governments support Cuba, for they see Cuba as an important example, showing the possibilities for small nations that confront a neocolonial situation. Cuba is not alone.
Díaz-Canel has confidence in the future of Cuba, a future both socialist and prosperous. Many of the people have confidence in him, as is seen by the enthusiasm with which he is received by the people as he visits the urban neighborhoods, small towns, and rural communities of the nation.
Does the Party have the full backing of the people? No. There is not a political opposition, except for online opposition generated in the United States. But there is an opposition in a different form, consisting of corruption, illegalities, and lack of commitment to the socialist project. This social opposition is a threat to the Revolution.
The Cuban Revolution has a good possibility of prevailing against this social threat, taking into account the high quality of its leadership and its formulation of a politically intelligent and scientifically informed economic plan, and taking into account that the Party and the government have the committed backing of a significant part of the population, with a majority supporting it in a least a limited form. And taking into account that the world offers no viable alternative to a socialist project for Cuba.
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