It is a fact that the Party is strengthening itself like never before
• Affirms Fidel, presenting the conclusions of the 5th Plenary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party

HEADED by Fidel Castro Ruz, first secretary of our Party, the 5th Plenary of the Central Committee took place on July 1.

The meeting covered different issues related to the functioning of the Party, defense, the incorporation of new members onto the Central Committee and matters related to the development of the country and the convulsed and complex international panorama in which we are living.

In various speeches during the course of the meeting and in making the conclusions of the Plenary, Fidel ratified the Revolution’s decision to confront the serious challenges posed by the complex international situation and our own deficiencies.

He emphasized that it is a fact that the Party is strengthening itself like never before, because it has gained in experience like never before, given the decisive role that corresponds to it in this battle. The Secretariat is being reestablished, he noted, at a point when it is most needed. It is made up of a considerable number of cadres who have worked in the provinces with positive results and have accumulated valuable experience. They can help the Party a lot, he affirmed.

He set out the considerable negative U.S. influence on the international economy, a consequence – among other factors – of the uncontrolled emission of dollars to pay for goods and services beyond peoples’ purchasing power, "bills that people don’t want to hang onto." Given the desolate economic and social panorama that is affecting the poor countries above all, "the world is turning into a kind of volcano that could erupt anywhere," he concluded.

"It is very important," he said, "that all of us have a clear grasp of these grave problems, of the price of each item that the country acquires and of the products that it exports." He warned that the old habit of asking without weighing up the consequences has to disappear, and nobody should limit their knowledge and vision of the tight sphere of operation; everyone is obliged to think, and not be careless for even a second, when any error is becoming more and more unpardonable.

He called for the battle against crime – which will undoubtedly be won – to be waged energetically, using everybody’s ideas. He presented as an example the effective labor in work places of the Party duos over two months, by applying a style and working methods that have become a permanent feature of Party work. He highlighted the important role of criticism, of shaming people in confronting criminal behavior, including the use of the press, particularly on a local basis.

He affirmed that although we have virtually reached military invulnerability, we still do not have the same situation on the decisive front of the economy, where a little more time is needed to achieve that. In that context, he went into details of the many and important tasks that the country is currently undertaking in the economic field and the decisive role of saving as a source of resources, particularly in terms of electrical energy and fuel.

The president spoke of the advances being attained in health and education, without overlooking the deficiencies still present in these vital services; the efforts being made to guarantee people’s alimentation at a time when food prices are noticeably increasing in the world market, including being in a position to confront more complex situations, like the one that could be provoked by an extension of the avian flu epidemic.

"Cuba’s prestige is growing apace," he noted, "because our country is doing things that nobody else is doing. He mentioned as examples Operation Miracle and the cooperation with other countries in spheres like health and education, including the masse training of doctors.

He affirmed that that makes us stronger, as it is not so easy for the empire to destroy a nation that is restoring sight to millions of Latin Americans. He summed that up by saying: "Today we have tremendous forces of support and that are a complement to that almost-won battle."

He observed, however, "The task is not made any easier because the enemy has lost ground; on the contrary, the dangers are greater because an injured beast is even more dangerous. It is necessary to fight with every means at our disposal in the political terrain. To continue strengthening ourselves, within and without, in the political, economic and military fields, in the midst of this great battle that, without doubt, our people will also win.

Another important matter discussed was the report from the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces on the state of the country’s defense capacity, presented by General of the Army Raúl Castro Ruz, second secretary of the Central Committee and Minister of the FAR, and approved by the 5th Plenary.

The document sums up the results achieved since the Extraordinary Plenary of the Central Committee of the Party that analyzed this issue in July 2003, and the principal tasks to be carried out on such a decisive front in the future.

Significant advances were identified in defense planning and organization from the nation to areas of defense with the aim of preparing them – starting from the development of our defense concepts – for the current forms of enemy warfare and the possibilities of their combat means.

Preparation for defense has gained in effectiveness, in terms of both active soldiers and civilian leaders and officials and the population in general, with a more rational and efficient use of the time our people dedicate to such a sacred duty. Equally notable are the results of training in the theater of military operations, as well as in the study of every inch of national territory in the interest of defense, among other tasks of great magnitude and complexity.

Also confirmed were the valuable results in the upgrading and construction of combat means with the aim of incorporating scientific and technical advances in them and, above all, to adapt them to the use intended for them within our defense concepts. The effort made in this context by the collectives of a large group of enterprises and other military and civilian agencies was highlighted.

The Plenary acknowledged the decisive role of the Bastion 2004 Strategic Exercise and in particular, the important decisions adopted by the president during its development and after its completion. These were not confined to strictly military matters, but covered aspects related to the country’s economic and social development with a direct impact on defense.

With a loud ovation the Plenary made its own the ideas expounded by the second secretary of the Party on June 14, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Western Army, in particular when he confirmed:

"We are confronting an enemy whose obstinacy and arrogance frequently leads it to commit errors, but that does not mean that it is stupid. It knows that the special confidence given by the people to the founding leader of a Revolution, is not transmitted, as if it were an inheritance, to those who occupy the main leadership posts in the country in the future.

"I reiterate what I have affirmed on many occasions: the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution is solely and uniquely the Communist Party, as an institution that brings together the revolutionary vanguard and is a sure guarantee of Cuban unity in all times, can be the worthy inheritor of the confidence deposited by the people in its leader. That is what we are working for and that is how it will be, the rest is pure speculation, not to call it by another name.

"Just as we have won all the battles, as much within Cuba as in fulfilling our internationalist duty, we shall overcome the enemy who tries to hide within our ranks, we shall further consolidate the Revolution and we shall make ourselves stronger on all fronts."

As an important step in the process of ongoing improvement in Party work, the Plenary approved the proposal presented by the Political Bureau to reestablish the Secretariat as a leadership body to aid the daily work of the Party and to be responsible for organizing and ensuring the execution and fulfillment of its agreements.

In addition to qualities, experience and the development of comrades, the proposal presented on members of the Secretariat bore in mind the presence on it of both historical leaders and others who have emerged throughout these 47 years of Revolution, and who have moved along a meritorious road from the base to the higher instances of leadership.

In addition to the first and second secretaries, comrades Fidel and Raúl, it was agreed that the following comrades should make up the Secretariat:

José Ramón Machado Ventura.

Esteban Lazo Hernández.

Jorge Luis Sierra Cruz.

Abelardo Alvarez Gil.

María del Carmen Concepción González.

Mercedes López Acea.

Lina Pedraza Rodríguez.

Víctor Gaute López.

Roberto López Hernández.

Fernando Remírez de Estenoz Barciela.

The Plenary agreed with the evaluation undertaken by the Political Bureau in its June 26 meeting on the advances in Party work that have taken place in recent months thanks to changes introduced in the style and working methods, above all the greater emphasis on direct attention to work places.

According to the established Party Statutes that allow for the cooption of new members onto the Central Committee in the context of their outstanding merits, personal conditions and the important responsibilities they have, the Plenary decided to incorporate the following comrades:

Olga Lidia Tapia Iglesias, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Pinar del Río.

Pedro Betancourt García, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Matanzas.

Roberto Morales Ojeda, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Cienfuegos.

Francisco Soberón Valdés, minister president of the Central Bank of the Republic of Cuba.

Omar Ruiz Martín, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Villa Clara.

Julio García Rodríguez, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Camagüey.

Luis Torres Iríbar, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Party in Guantánamo.

In addition to these movements, the Plenary analyzed the case of Marcos Portal León who, in his time as minister of basic industry, was informed of errors in that undertaking, basically related to the development of nickel production and the strategy for electricity generation, errors that he frankly acknowledged.

Bearing in mind that he did not commit errors of principle, the Plenary approved his release from the Political Bureau, while keeping him on the Central Committee. At the same time it recommended to the Council of State that, in line with established procedures, that he should be released from his membership of that state agency, respecting his condition as a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power.