Suppress the excessive secrecy
Respect private workers
By the Staff of Progreso Semanal
Many are the clues provided by Raúl Castro Ruz in his closing speech to the Cuban Parliament, which we promise to examine in future editions of Progreso Weekly. For now, a look at the core of his pronouncements will have to suffice.
Those who prefer the good news first should know that, despite the gloomy predictions voiced hither and thither, Cuba grew this year by 2.1 percent of the GDP, a figure that’s projected to rise to 3.1 percent in 2011. One of the positive data was that it was possible to honor a 30 percent retention of foreign assets; the total commitment will be met in the 12 months ahead.
“Regarding the economic plan and the budget, we have insisted that the old story of non-compliances and overdrafts must come to an end,” Castro said, delving into a delicate subject. “From now on, the plan and the budget will be sacred; they were drafted to be complied with, not to make us feel content with justifications of any sort or even with imprecisions and lies, whether deliberate or not, when the goals previously set are not met.”
To clarify his criteria, he stated that sometimes some officials or cadres, even without intent to defraud, are inaccurate or do not check the data they supply, and this leads to bad decisions at a national level. These individuals, as well as others who commit serious irregularities, should be removed from office.
The Cuban leader reiterated his insistent call for everyone to think about the Guidelines for the VI Congress of the CPC, a compendium upon which are projected the key strategies to transform the economy of the island and many concepts about its operation “with the purpose of making socialism in Cuba sustainable and irreversible.”
That document, which is being debated at all levels of society, was the work of eleven committees of economists, accountants and other specialists for just over a year.
“We have to put on the table all the information and arguments behind every decision and also suppress the excessive secrecy to which we became used to during the more than 50 years that we have lived under enemy siege,” Castro said.
He also announced that the National Party Conference will be held next year, the framework to study, inter alia, “the modifications of the working methods and styles of the Party since, as a result of the deficiencies found in the performance of the Government administrative bodies,” the Party assumed functions that are not inherent to it.
“The Party should lead and supervise and not interfere with the activities of the Government at any level: it is the Government that governs. Each body has its own norms and procedures, depending on its mission in society,” he said.
“It is just about transforming the erroneous and unsustainable concepts about socialism that have been deeply rooted in broad sectors of the population over the years, as a result of the excessively paternalistic, idealistic and egalitarian approach instituted by the Revolution in the interest of social justice,” he explained, warning that “many of us Cubans confuse socialism with freebies and subsidies and equality with egalitarianism […] that equally benefits those who work and those who do not.”
As an example, he cited the ration book, which provides subsidized products both to those in need and those not in need, “thus generating bartering and resale in an underground black market, among others, etc, etc.”
Along that line, the president referred to strengthening the role of wages in society, which “will only be possible if – at the same time that freebies and subsidies are reduced – labor productivity and the supply of products to the population are increased.”
Acknowledging the fear of the announced changes, Castro said that both “on this matter and on the reduction of overstaffing, the Socialist State will not leave any citizen unprotected and via the social welfare system it will ensure that people who are unable to work will receive the minimum required protection. In the future, there will be subsidies, but not to products, but to Cuban men and women who, for one reason or another, really need them.”
Turning to particular topics that serve to illustrate some of the statements made, he referred to the urgent need to produce in the country what we want or need.
“If we want to keep on drinking pure, unrationed coffee, the only solution is to produce it in Cuba, where it has been proven that all the required conditions for its cultivation exist, and where we can produce enough quantities to satisfy the demand and even to export it with the highest quality.
“These decisions, and others that we shall have to apply, even though we know they are not popular, are obligatory in order to be able to maintain and even improve the free public health, education and social security services for all of our citizens,” he explained. Clarifying concepts, he specified that “planning, not free market, shall be the distinctive feature of the economy.”
Regarding narrow views on self-employment, he said that if it is an alternative to permanent work, capable of increasing the supply of goods and services and ease the burden of the state, the Party and the Government should “facilitate [entrepreneurs’] work rather than generate stigmas and prejudices against them. Therefore, it is fundamental that we modify the existing negative approach that quite a few of us have toward this form of private employment.”
To eliminate any unfounded questions or comments, he assured that it is something well studied and irreversible.
As part of the new times, Raúl referred to the existing fiscal ignorance: “From the point of view of society as a whole, we have to encourage among all taxpayers the civic values of respect for and compliance with tax payments; we should […] reward those who comply and sanction tax evaders.”
Regarding agriculture – which in projects, debates and practice has an outstanding value – Raúl Castro said that “another area where there is still much to do, in spite of the advances made, is the attention to the different production modalities in agriculture to remove the existing obstacles to the promotion of productive forces in our rural areas so that, along with the savings in the import of foodstuffs, farmers can receive just and reasonable revenues for their hard work. However, this does not justify the fixing of extremely high prices to the commodities consumed by the population.”
At various times he was critical: “We were lacking cohesion, organization and coordination between the Party and the Government. In the midst of the threats and the daily emergencies, we neglected mid- and long-term planning; we did not act strongly enough against the economic violations and the errors committed by some leaders and we also stalled in correcting decisions that didn’t have the effect we expected.”
He mentioned the young people to whom a military parade will be dedicated next April 16 on the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs victory, because “this Revolution has been the result of the sacrifices made by the Cuban youth: the workers, farmers, students, intellectuals, military, all the youths from all the times when they have lived and struggled. This Revolution will be carried forward by the youth, full of optimism and with an unshakable faith in victory.”
Some of the many topics left out of this summary are the laws that support the structural changes or will be approved in the future. The provision of state not to allow investments if they are not well founded, the successive cancellation of procedures and prohibitions that are a nuisance to the public or facilitate criminal offenses, and a number of other aspects, including foreign relations, which, as we have promised, we’ll break down for you with specialized and clear criteria.
After the Christmas break, the journalists of Progreso Semanal/Weekly will write about those issues.
(The official English-language translation of Castro’s speech can be found here:
http://www.cadenagramonte.cu/english/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3659:raul-castro-speech-at-the-national-assembly&catid=2:cuba&Itemid=14)
