Díaz-Canel: Unity is Forged Through Participation, Seeking Consensus

Unity is forged through participation, seeking consensus; because unity is not an abstract concept, and it is "the guarantee that Cuba will continue to be free, independent, and sovereign," assessed the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, during his address this Saturday at the XI Plenum of the Central Committee.

His reflections were motivated by the debate that followed the presentation of the Report on compliance with agreements adopted since the 8th Party Congress, held in April 2021, to date, and the accountability report of the Political Bureau to the XI Plenum. These two agenda items converge on strategic themes for the nation's economic and social development.

Hence the emphasis by the Head of State on the need to continue intensifying "the ideological, cultural, and communicational battle, defending Cuba's truth against manipulation and disinformation," two elements the enemy has assumed with "very perverse practices."

In this sense, he referred to the harmful content against Cuba that fills social media and must be confronted more proactively, demonstrating what is done in the country. Because with the economic and media war imposed on us, "here every day of the Revolution is a victory, because we are facing the most powerful enemy and we are facing it with tremendous dignity."

The amount of pressure and situations caused by the tightened U.S. government's economic, commercial, and financial blockade, and the media intoxication, is extremely high, he stressed.

"Only a heroic people who defend a Revolution, who have the example of the history of that Revolution, is capable of enduring what we have been living through all these years," highlighted the president, who insisted on the importance of this being accompanied by "a different style of work in the Party."

A style of work—he considered—characterized by a frontal struggle against bureaucratism, simulation, and double standards, one that promotes participatory collective leadership, and where officials are increasingly prepared, "because the problems are very complex and we cannot be improvising."

Associated with this, he referred to the essential need to promote a work style that fosters frank debate, constructive criticism—including self-criticism—and the constant practice of rectifying errors, because "the Revolution has never been afraid of making mistakes; the issue is that when we make mistakes, we recognize and rectify them."

In his remarks, Díaz-Canel also called to "confront corruption more decisively and effectively," an aspect in which, as recorded in the accountability report, he acknowledged that a series of steps have been taken. "That shows there is intensity in the fight, but it must continue, and above all, learn from each event," he noted.

The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party also spoke about the Revolution's capacity to convene, organize, and move forward amidst the most diverse obstacles, for which history has shown the participation of the entire people is fundamental.

Associated with this, the dignitary commented on the complex epidemiological situation the country is going through, and the manner of confronting it, based on the population's and the country's enormous confidence in our Health System due to its historical record.

Regarding what happened in recent months as a consequence of the Chikungunya epidemic, the president considered that, being initially focused on the dengue response, when the new virus manifested in Cuba, the disease spread more rapidly across the country.

And while it is true that there is currently a scenario of very objective limitations in the National Health System, he acknowledged, there are also subjective problems of organization, follow-up, and control of certain situations.

That objective situation affecting the sector, he said, leads us to the need to act with more lead time and to have faster alert systems, as the population's vulnerability is greater for any type of disease that appears.

Because the truth is—he specified—that "life does show us that we know how to do what must be done at each moment," as soon as alerts began about the magnitude of cases, action was quickly taken in Matanzas, which in a few weeks passed almost to a situation of normality regarding the epidemic.

He also referred to how initially there was a lack of focal and adulticide treatment, as well as fumigation due to a lack of resources at certain times, but when we provided the resources, there was a shortage of personnel to carry it out. Hence his insistence on relying more on popular participation to carry out such actions, as when medical sciences students and youth from other sectors were called upon for fumigation, there was a response.

This is how we will solve problems, he emphasized, later adding that it is a practice that should be transferred to "all scenarios where we face problems and adversities, which we know are mostly motivated by the blockade, but in which we also have to be self-critical."

Referring specifically to the work that corresponds to the Party under current conditions, he insisted that we cannot allow "bureaucratism, formalism, and inertia to continue being brakes on the Party's will and our population's needs."

Associated with this, he commented on the work that must be carried out to strengthen control mechanisms and ensure accountability is deep and systematic in all spheres of our society.

What we discuss in this Plenum, he signaled, would remain empty words if the Party does not demand of itself a different way of functioning in these times, which implies constantly being in contact with the population and giving them participation in everything we project, in everything we do.

Specifically regarding the analysis process of the Government Program to correct distortions and re-energize the economy, the President of the Republic insisted on the priority with which work must continue so that the population knows it, participates in the debate, and strengthens the content with their views.

We must be closer to people's real problems, be more demanding of officials, and more transparent in the relationship with our society, he expressed.

And once again in this Plenum it is ratified—he noted—that to achieve everything we have set out to do, we must continue defending unity, and have well-defined how the membership and the party organization should act in neighborhoods, workplaces, and study centers, to be active listeners, mobilizers, and personal examples.

And if we want to move things forward—he reflected—the first thing we must achieve is that "the Party's grassroots organizations in each place are strong and demanding, and that the membership is at the forefront in all tasks; and that we do not always achieve."

None of these themes is new, he acknowledged; they have been discussed within the Party. What happens is that each must be seen in the moment we are living, and we must be capable of advancing on them as they are discussed.

That way of acting, he added, is very associated with how the Party acts and is capable of leading, promoting, and helping everything we have proposed, both in the ideological battle and the economic battle, to advance, as it is what gives the people confidence in their institutions.

If our institutions do not have results, nor a marked sensitivity to the population's problems, if they do not fulfill their plans, if they do not address the problems for which they were designed, there cannot be people's trust in the institutions, he assessed.

Finally, he mentioned key themes that must continue at the center of the Party's work, such as strengthening political unity and the Organization's role in leading processes in the country, with priority on the ideological, economic, and communication battles we are called to wage every day.

Likewise, he highlighted the need to continue prioritizing the containment of ideological subversion, analyzing the new tactics the enemy employs against us.

He also referred particularly to the focus that must be given to youth, because "young people in our society not only have the guarantee that they are beneficiaries of the public policies we apply, but they are also participants in the process of the Revolution."

There will be no economic re-energizing, nor strong ideology, if we do not take young people into account, if we do not guarantee their comprehensive preparation, if we do not manage to link them to study and work, and have them contribute to society, "so they feel a part and see their future possible in socialist Cuba," he reflected.

In the final minutes of his address, he presented a set of proposals and directives for party work that were approved by the XI Plenum of the Central Committee.

NO TOPIC IS FOREIGN TO THE PARTY'S WORK

The necessary recovery of the National Electro-energetic System and the efforts being made to achieve this prioritized objective, as well as the complex epidemiological situation Cuba faces, were topics of analysis as part of the Political Bureau's accountability to the XI Plenum.

Food production, still far from satisfying the population's needs, was also at the center of the debate led by Political Bureau member and Secretary of Organization, Roberto Morales Ojeda, who presented the aforementioned report.

This document contains a detailed exposition of what has been done amid the complex scenario characterizing the current national context, where multiple political, ideological, and social factors converge.

The country's life and its citizens' daily lives, said Morales Ojeda, have been marked by insufficient capacity to generate foreign exchange income, fuel deficits, difficulties in ensuring water supply, limitations in national production, particularly of food, shortages of essential products, transportation problems, the complex epidemiological situation, and high prices.

"If there is more food production, that will also impact another of the main concerns, which is prices, and the purchasing power of our own salaries will grow," noted the Central Committee's Secretary of Organization.

Later, he reasoned that speaking of food production, there are data that can be encouraging, "but far from resolving the needs, far from solving the problem of territorial self-sufficiency, far from being able to substitute the importation of many products that are today part of the family basket."

In his presentation, he also referred to actions carried out by the National Defense Council to confront the impacts of Hurricane Melissa, while specifying the topics analyzed by the Political Bureau associated, among others, with the study process of the Government Program to correct distortions and re-energize the economy.

Specifically regarding the review of agreements from the period, he explained there are ten, two of which have already been fulfilled and the rest are in process.

As part of the debate generated from both topics, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, invited to the XI Plenum, commented on multiple actions that have been developed to advance the country's Electro-energetic Stabilization Program, in which the Political Bureau has been involved at all times.

This year, he assured, progress has been made on some objectives of the Program, such as the installation of solar photovoltaic parks and the recovery of distributed generation.

Recent days, he recalled, have been marked by extremely high blackout hours, which is fundamentally associated with the loss of generation, due to the lack of fuel and installed technology.

Specifically regarding the complex epidemiological situation our country has had to face since the second half of the year, due fundamentally to the increase in diseases transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, Central Committee member and Minister of Public Health, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, explained that the complexity has been due not only to the magnitude of the epidemic but also to its direct impact on our population's daily life.

The circulation of several arboviruses, mainly dengue and chikungunya, he reported, has become a challenge for the National Health System, among other elements, due to the intensity of transmission, accumulated vulnerability, and the coexistence of various risk factors in our population. That reality—he acknowledged—has increased the healthcare burden and the clinical and epidemiological management complexity of both viruses.

After referring to the behavior of the chikungunya epidemic in our region, he commented that the introduction of the virus in Cuba was a real risk, associated especially with international and regional mobility, and not as the result of an isolated event. Its expansion across the country has represented an extraordinary challenge for the National Health System, not only due to the volume of cases but due to the conditions in which the epidemic has had to be confronted.

Associated with this, he explained that in certain places, problems have manifested in the organization of vector control actions, causing little effectiveness of applied treatments, in addition to the persistence of objective resource deficits, as well as limitations in fumigation equipment, insecticides, medications, and laboratory reagents, among others.

This is compounded by a complex environmental scenario, characterized by difficulties in water supply, sanitation problems, waste accumulation, and unfavorable hygienic-sanitary conditions in numerous communities.

Even though we are not satisfied with what we have been able to do, he indicated, in the current context the National Health System has responded, among other measures, with the reorganization and creation of new service capacities; the reinforcement of Primary Health Care; the increase in febrile case screening; and the deployment of intensive vector control actions in higher-risk areas, according to available resources.

Despite dissatisfaction with what has not been achieved, the Minister of Public Health acknowledged the effort carried out by sector workers, who have sustained a response in extremely difficult conditions, with extended workdays and limited resources, but with admirable dedication and responsibility.

Also as part of the debate, Political Bureau member and Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Bué, mentioned how follow-up has been given to observations made by the VIII Party Congress related to the organization's functioning, especially in its grassroots structures.

She also referred to the need to address with greater priority incidents of violence against women in communities, because even though the country has robust norms to confront them, necessary progress is not being achieved.

It is in the community, she said, where the first assessment of vulnerabilities should be made, to truly reverse existing problems. In this sense, she acknowledged the role women play in society, engaged in the country's main tasks.

On the other hand, regarding work being done to achieve compliance with different food production programs, Félix Duarte Ortega, national president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) and Central Committee member, said that what has been done is "far from satisfying our people's needs."

Among the work priorities they have set, he highlighted follow-up on contracting agricultural productions; differentiated attention to the 262 cooperatives that maintain functional problems; and unpaid debts to peasants.

Other interventions were related to attention to social policies; the comprehensive formation of youth in classrooms; the need to strengthen economic performance; fostering institutionalism; and the need to expand our population's knowledge of the real impacts of the U.S. government blockade on our society.