Communist Party of Cuba
Coordinates: 20°59′27.7″N 77°25′41.5″W / 20.991028°N 77.428194°W
Communist Party of Cuba Partido Comunista de Cuba | |
---|---|
First Secretary | Raúl Castro |
Second Secretary | José Ramón Machado |
Founder | Fidel Castro |
Founded | 3 October 1965 |
Preceded by |
26th of July Movement Popular Socialist Party |
Headquarters | Havana, Cuba |
Newspaper | Granma |
Youth wing | Young Communist League |
Women's wing | Federation of Cuban Women |
Workers' wing | Workers' Central Union of Cuba |
Farmers' wing | National Association of Small Farmers |
Pioneer wing | José Martí Pioneer Organization |
Armed Wing | Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces |
Membership (2011) | 800,000 |
Ideology |
Communism Marxism–Leninism Castroism Guevarism Socialism of the 21st century Anti-capitalism Patriotism |
Political position | Far-left |
International affiliation |
International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, International Communist Seminar |
Regional affiliation |
Foro de São Paulo, COPPPAL |
Colors | Red Blue |
Slogan | ¡Hasta la victoria siempre! |
National Assembly |
612 / 612 |
Website | |
www | |
The Communist Party of Cuba (Spanish: Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the political party that rules in Republic of Cuba, although others exist. It is a Communist party of the Marxist-Leninist model. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the Party to be the "leading force of society and of the state." Since April 2011, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba has been Raúl Castro, the President of Cuba, younger brother of the previous First Secretary and President of Cuba, Fidel Castro who died on 25 November 2016, and the Second Secretary has been José Ramón Machado Ventura.[2]
History
Cuba had a number of communist and anarchist organizations from the early period of the Republic (founded in 1902). The original "internationalised" Communist Party of Cuba formed in the 1920s. In 1944 it renamed itself as the Popular Socialist Party for electoral reasons. In July 1961, two years after the successful overthrow of Batista and the creation of a revolutionary government, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI) was formed from the merger of:
- Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement
- the Popular Socialist Party led by Blas Roca
- the student-based Revolutionary Directory led by Faure Chomón
On 26 March 1962, the ORI became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC) which, in turn, became the Communist Party of Cuba on 3 October 1965. In Article 5 of the Cuban constitution of 1976, the Communist Party is "the superior guiding force of society and of the State, that organizes and orients common efforts toward the high goals of the construction of socialism and the advancement toward communist society."[3] The Communist Party is the only recognized political party in Cuba. Other parties, though not illegal, are unable to campaign or conduct any activities on the island that could be deemed counter-revolutionary.
For the first fifteen years of its formal existence, the Communist Party was almost completely inactive outside of the Politburo. The 100 person Central Committee rarely met and it was ten years after its founding that the first regular Party Congress was held. In 1969, membership of the party was only 55,000 or 0.7% of the population, making the PCC the smallest ruling Communist party in the world. In the 1970s, the party's apparatus began to develop. By the time of the first Party Congress in 1975 the party had grown to just over two hundred thousand members, the Central Committee was meeting regularly and provided the organizational apparatus giving the party the leading role in society that ruling Communist parties generally hold. By 1980 the party had grown to over 430,000 members; it grew further to 520,000 by 1985. Apparatuses of the party had grown to ensure that its leading cadres were appointed to key government positions.
Congresses
The Communist Party of Cuba held its first Party Congress in 1975 and has had additional congresses in 1980, 1986, 1991, 1997, and 2011. The Seventh Party Congress took place from April 19 to April 22, 2016,[4] around the 55th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion,[5] concluding with remarks by Fidel Castro.[6]
- 1st Congress (17–22 December 1975)
- 2nd Congress (17–20 December 1980)
- 3rd Congress (4–7 February 1986)
- 4th Congress (10–14 October 1991)
- 5th Congress (8–10 October 1997)
- 6th Congress (16–19 April 2011)
- 7th Congress (16-19 April 2016)
Central Committee
See also: List of members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba
The leading bodies of the party were the Politburo and the Secretariat until 1991 when the two bodies were merged into an expanded Politburo with over twenty members. The Secretariat, however, was re-introduced in 2002. There is also a Central Committee which meets between party congresses. At the Fifth Party Congress the size of the Central Committee was reduced to 150 members from the previous membership of 225. Fidel Castro was the party's First Secretary (or leader) since its inception, while Raúl Castro was the Second Secretary. Upon Fidel's 2008 resignation from the Party and Cuban government, Raúl became First Secretary.
Politburo
The 7th Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was elected by the Central Committee on 19 April 2016 following the 7th Party Congress.
Rank | Name (birth–death) |
Member since | Duration | Party position(s) | State position(s) |
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1 | Raúl Castro Ruz (born 1931) |
3 October 1965 | 51 years, 67 days |
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2 | José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 1930) |
3 October 1965 | 51 years, 67 days |
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3 | Ramiro Valdés Menéndez (born 1932) |
3 October 1965 | 51 years, 67 days |
| |
4 | Esteban Lazo Hernandez (born 1944) |
7 February 1986 | 30 years, 160 days |
| |
5 | Miguel Díaz-Canel (born 1960) |
10 October 1997 | 19 years, 60 days | ||
6 | Leopoldo Cintra Frías (born 1941) |
14 October 1991 | 25 years, 56 days |
| |
7 | Alvaro Lopez Miera (born 1943) |
10 October 1997 | 19 years, 60 days |
| |
8 | Ramón Espinosa Martín (born 1939) |
10 October 1997 | 19 years, 60 days |
| |
9 | Lázara Mercedes López Acea (born 1964) |
19 April 2011 | 5 years, 234 days |
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|
10 | Salvador Valdés Mesa | 10 October 1997 | 19 years, 60 days |
| |
11 | Marino Alberto Murillo Jorge (born 1961) |
19 April 2011 | 5 years, 234 days | ||
12 | Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla (born 1958) |
11 December 2012 | 3 years, 363 days | ||
13 | Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento |
19 April 2016 | 234 days |
| |
14 | Roberto Morales Ojeda |
19 April 2016 | 234 days |
| |
15 | Teresa Amarelle Boué |
19 April 2016 | 234 days |
| |
16 | Miriam Nicado García |
19 April 2016 | 234 days |
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17 | Marta Ayala Ávila |
19 April 2016 | 234 days |
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Secretariat
The 6th Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was elected by the Central Committee on 19 April 2011 following the 6th Party Congress.
Rank | Name (birth–death) |
Member since | Duration | Party position(s) | State position(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 1930) |
1 July 2006 | 10 years, 161 days |
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|
2 | Abelardo Álbarez Gil (born 1945) |
1 July 2006 | 10 years, 161 days |
| |
3 | Olga Lidia Tapia Iglesias (born 1962) |
1 July 2006 | 10 years, 161 days | ||
4 | Víctor Fidel Gaute López (born 1960) |
1 July 2006 | 10 years, 161 days | ||
5 | José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera (born 1932) |
19 April 2011 | 5 years, 234 days |
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|
6 | Omar Fernando Ruiz Martín (born 1963) |
17 May 2013 | 3 years, 206 days | ||
7 | Jorge Cuevas Ramos (born 1962) |
5 July 2013 | 3 years, 157 days |
Youth
The Communist Party of Cuba has a youth wing, the Young Communist League (Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas, UJC) which is a member organization of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It also has a children's group, the José Martí Pioneer Organization.
Ideology
Compared with other ruling Communist Parties, such as the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Communist Party of China and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the Communist Party of Cuba retains a stricter adherence to the tradition of Marxism-Leninism and the traditional Soviet model.
The Cuban party is more deeply committed to the concept of socialism than other ruling parties and has been more reluctant in engaging in market reforms though it has been forced to accept some market measures in its economy due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the resultant loss of economic subsidies. The Communist Party of Cuba has favored supporting revolutions abroad and was active in assisting the ELN in Colombia, the FMLN in El Salvador, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and Maurice Bishop's New Jewel Movement in Grenada. Their most significant international role was in Angola where the Cuban direction of a joint Angolan/Soviet/Cuban force that was involved in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.[7][8] This led to the withdrawal of intervening forces and, in the following peace agreement, the independence of Namibia from South African rule.[9]
Despite the end of the Cold War, the party maintains a policy of sending thousands of Cuban doctors, agricultural technicians, and other professionals to other countries throughout the developing world. More recently the party has sought to support left wing leaders such as Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.
Raúl Castro is campaigning to "renew" Cuba's socialist economy through incorporating new exchange and distribution systems that have been traditionally seen as "market" oriented. This has led to some speculation that Cuba may transition towards a model more similar to that of China.[10]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ "IPU PARLINE database: CUBA (Asamblea nacional del Poder popular), Last elections". ipu.org. Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ↑ Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party by Shasta Darlington, CNN, 19 April 2011.
- ↑ http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Cuba/vigente.html#mozTocId561012
- ↑ http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article72522672.html
- ↑ http://en.escambray.cu/2015/7th-cuba-communist-party-congress-summoned-for-2016/
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/19/fidel-castro-farewell-speech-cuba-communist-congress
- ↑ Michael Evans. "Secret Cuban Documents on History of Africa Involvement". Gwu.edu. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ↑
- ↑ "South Africa Namibia Independence War 1966-1988". Onwar.com. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
- ↑ http://insight.inewsweek.cn/topic.php?tid=626
Further reading
- Barry Carr, "From Caribbean Backwater to Revolutionary Opportunity: Cuba's Evolving Relationship with the Comintern, 1925-34," in Tim Rees and Andrew Thorpe (eds.), International Communism and the Communist International, 1919-43. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998.
- First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba: Havana, December 17-22, 1975 (Collection of Documents)
- Fidel Castro, Main Report, Second Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (December 1980)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Communist Party of Cuba. |
- (Spanish) PCC official website