• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 04 / 26 / 2011

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14:11, April 26, 2011. The Cuban Workers Union (CWU) on Monday called on all Cubans to participate in a grand Labor Day parade slated for Sunday to show support for current leader Raul Castro's efforts to reform the economy.

"Cubans have many reasons not to miss the parade and to fill the streets and squares of the island to show the support of workers and the people to the conclusions of the Sixth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and to reaffirm the unity around the Party, the Revolution, Fidel and Raul," the CWU said in a statement.

"On May 1, the Cuban workers will express their decision to defend and to reaffirm the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution and its irreversible continuity," the statement said.

Raul Castro was appointed first secretary of the PCC's Central Committee at the party's sixth national congress, which concluded last Tuesday.

The Sixth Congress of the PCC closed with Raul Castro elected as the first secretary, replacing Fidel Castro as the party's leader.

In recent months, Raul Castro has proposed a program of political and economic reform with an aim to "update" the country's economic model.

The reform aims to create a more efficient economy based on some modern principles while still preserving the socialist model of the Caribbean island nation's political administration.

Under the proposed program, Cuba is expected to slash some 500,000 jobs from bloated state-run companies and institutions, ease restriction on small private enterprises, allow free selling and buying of property and cars, and encourage foreign investment in Cuba.

Source: Xinhua   http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7362045.html