Buying Patience

Daisy Valera

In 1962, the formation of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) began, employing rigorous standards of individual selection.

It was back then when Fidel pointed out what would be the characteristics of those people who would form the nuclei of the party:

“They will have to be exemplary workers, but they will also have to accept the Socialist Revolution, they will have to accept the ideology of the Revolution, and they have to of course want to belong to this revolutionary nucleus.”

The PCC was finally founded October 3, 1965, with an ideology that was “Martiano” (based on the thinking of Jose Marti) and Marxist-Leninist.

However, it was not until 1975 that the first congress of this party was held, and it was agreed upon that in the future they would be convened every five years.

Subsequent congresses were held in 1980, 1985, 1991 (in Santiago de Cuba) and the Fifth Party Congress took place in 1997 in Havana.

In all, there have only been five congresses over the 45-year life of the PCC.

One could suppose that a larger number of congresses were not held owing to difficult situations that the island experienced.

However, history reminds us that parties like the Bolsheviks carried out one and even two annual congresses in the middle of a civil war.

Ultimately, we cannot use the excuse of economic difficulties to explain the lack of a Party congress for the past 13 years.

In addition, according to what is outlined in Article 5 of the Cuban Constitution:

“The Communist Party of Cuba, Martiano and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the leading and highest force of society and the state.  It organizes and guides the common efforts toward the lofty goals of the construction of socialism and the advance toward communist society.”

With all of this, one cannot understand why in July 2007 the leaders of the Communist Party called on people to merely debate and reflect instead of calling a congress of the PCC, which has among its ranks the most advanced thinkers in society.

Nor is it is acceptable that we have to patiently wait for the holding of the Sixth Party Congress, which was then supposed to have been held in November 2009.

A congress is needed today, without any more waiting – a congress where the voice of working Cubans is heard.