| Communist Party of Cuba Partido Comunista de Cuba |
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|---|---|
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| First Secretary | Raúl Castro |
| Second Secretary | José Ramón Machado |
| Founded | 3 October 1965 |
| Headquarters | Havana, Cuba |
| Newspaper | Granma |
| Youth wing | Young Communist League |
| Membership (2011) | 800,000 14% |
| Ideology | Communism Revolutionary socialism Marxism–Leninism Martísm Left-wing nationalism Castroism Guevarism |
| International affiliation | Foro de São Paulo |
| Colours | Red and Blue |
| Website | |
| http://www.pcc.cu/ | |
| Politics of Cuba Political parties Elections |
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Contents[hide] |
History
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 and 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.
Structure
Congress
The Communist Party of Cuba held its first Party Congress in 1975 and has had additional congresses in 1980, 1986, 1991 and 1997. It was announced in July 2009 that the Sixth Party Congress, originally scheduled for late 2009, has been postponed[2] due to the economic crisis.[3]- 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)
Central Committee
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 6th Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was elected by the Central Committee on 19 April 2011 in the aftermath of the 6th Party Congress.| Rank | Name (birth–death) |
Member since | Duration | Party position(s) | State position(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elected at the 1st plenum of the 6th Central Committee (19 April 2011) | |||||
| 1 | Raúl Castro Ruz (born 1931) |
3 October 1965 | 47 years, 117 days |
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| 2 | José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 1930) |
3 October 1965 | 47 years, 117 days |
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| 3 | Ramiro Valdés Menéndez (born 1932) |
3 October 1965 | 47 years, 117 days |
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| 4 | Abelardo Colomé Ibarra (born 1939) |
7 February 1986 | 26 years, 210 days | ||
| 5 | Esteban Lazo Hernandez (born 1944) |
7 February 1986 | 26 years, 210 days |
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| 6 | Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada (born 1937) |
10 October 1997 | 15 years, 110 days |
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| 7 | Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez Mario (born 1960) |
10 October 1997 | 15 years, 110 days | ||
| 8 | Leopoldo Cintra Frías (born 1941) |
14 October 1991 | 21 years, 106 days | ||
| 9 | Alvaro Lopez Miera (born 1943) |
10 October 1997 | 15 years, 110 days | ||
| 10 | Ramón Espinosa Martín (born 1939) |
10 October 1997 | 15 years, 110 days | ||
| 11 | Lázara Mercedes López Acea (born 1964) |
19 April 2011 | 1 year, 284 days |
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| 12 | Salvador Valdés Mesa (born ?) |
10 October 1997 | 15 years, 110 days |
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| 13 | Adel Izquierdo Rodríguez (born 1945) |
19 April 2011 | 1 year, 284 days | ||
| 14 | Marino Alberto Murillo Jorge (born 1961) |
19 April 2011 | 1 year, 284 days | ||
| Elected at the 5th plenum of the 6th Central Committee (11 December 2012) | |||||
| 15 | Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla (born 1958) |
11 December 2012 | 0 years, 47 days | ||
[edit] Secretariat
The 6th Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was elected by the Central Committee on 19 April 2011 in the aftermath of 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 | 6 years, 211 days |
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| 2 | Esteban Lazo Hernandez (born 1944) |
1 July 2006 | 6 years, 211 days |
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| 3 | Abelardo Álbarez Gil (born 1945) |
1 July 2006 | 6 years, 211 days |
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| 4 | Víctor Fidel Gaute López (born 1960) |
1 July 2006 | 6 years, 211 days | ||
| 5 | Olga Lidia Tapia Iglesias (born 1962) |
1 July 2006 | 6 years, 211 days | ||
| 6 | José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera (born 1932) |
19 April 2011 | 1 year, 284 days |
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| 7 | Misael Enamorado Dáger (born 1953) |
19 April 2011 | 1 year, 284 days |
[edit] Others
The Communist Party of Cuba has a youth wing, the Young Communist League (Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas, UJC) modelled on the Soviet Komsomol[citation needed]. It also has a children's group, the José Martí Pioneer Organization.Ideology
| Communist parties |
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The Cuban party is more deeply committed to the concept of socialism than other ruling parties[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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.[4][5] This led to the withdrawal of intervening forces and, in the following peace agreement, the independence of Namibia from South African rule.[6]
It has largely been forced to retreat from this policy due to a lack of funds resulting from the halt of material aid from the Soviet Union. However, 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 Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.
References
- ^ Raul Castro to lead Cuba's Communist Party by Shasta Darlington, CNN, April 19, 2011.
- ^ "Cuba postpones Communist Party Congress". CNN.com. 2009-07-31. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/07/31/cuba.party.congress/index.html. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ Carroll, Rory (2009-07-31). "Cuba suspends Communist party congress due to economic crisis | World news | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/31/cuba-communist-party-economy. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ Michael Evans. "Secret Cuban Documents on History of Africa Involvement". Gwu.edu. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB67/. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "South Africa Namibia Independence War 1966-1988". Onwar.com. http://www.onwar.com/aced/data/november/namibia1966.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
