• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 05 / 25 / 2011

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Setting political reform into motion after ratifying a 313-point economic reform package, the Communist Party scheduled a national conference for Jan. 28.

The central issues of the meeting will be “to evaluate the Party’s work” and “determining necessary transformations” to Party statutes and structures, an announcement in the Juventud Rebelde newspaper said.

The party that is formally the leading state institution has played a tag-along and low-profile role, and the historic leadership sees reviving the institution as a crucial last task before leaving the stage. In April, the party’s rank-and-file had their first congress since 1998, eight years after they were supposed to meet, according to Party statutes.

Raúl Castro, who was confirmed as first secretary of the party during the April congress, criticized the inability of the country’s political elite to rejuvenate itself and be more reflective of the population at large. He also criticized the lack of appointments on the basis of “merits and personal qualifications.”

“It’s really embarrassing that we have not solved this problem in more than half a century,” Castro said during the opening speech of the congress. “This will weigh heavily on our conscience for many years. Today, we are faced with the consequences of not having a reserve of well-trained replacements with sufficient experience and maturity to undertake the new and complex leadership responsibilities in the Party, the state and government.”

Castro also announced an end to the tacit requirement of being a Party militant to obtain public posts. “Membership in a political organization should not be a precondition for holding a leading position with the state or government,” Castro said.

Topics to be treated during the conference, according to the announcement in Juventud Rebelde, include:

•”Modifications in methods and style” of the party’s work;

•”the promotion of women, blacks, mestizos and young people to leading positions, always based on merit and personal circumstances.”

•”establish term limits for mandates to occupy leading responsibilities in the Party organisms, on all levels.” Castro has suggested five-year term limits;

•”strengthening internal democracy;”

•reaching out to the self-employed and workers in the private sector;

•inclusion of the Union of Young Communist in the discussions.

The party is also expected to ratify new appointments to the Central Committee and Politburo. Although the Party conference will be a landmark moment, Castro said that the rejuvenation and minority appointments would happen “gradually, in the course of five years.”


Source: www.cubastandard.com/2011/05/24/communist-party-sets-date-for-conference/