From the People and for the People: 45 Years of the Organs of People's Power

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 25 (ACN) The 7th Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People's Power in its Ninth Legislature coincides this year with the celebrations for the 45th anniversary of the organs of People's Power.

It is essential to recall the origins of these bodies and their achievements four and a half decades after their birth on May 3, 1974, as per Act 1269 of the Council of Ministers.

Its results were reflected in the resolution of the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, which described the experience as a major step on the road toward the institutionalization of the country and proved that popular governance at community level improves the management and real control of state activities.

Significant events followed: on October 10, 1976, the first elections of delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power were held; the Provincial Assemblies were established on November 7; and the National Assembly of People's Power came into being on December 2.
Homero Acosta Álvarez, Secretary of the National Assembly of People's Power (Cuban Parliament), said that we best honor this process by exercising critical judgment and discussing ways of improvement.

“We need to keep strengthening these structures and increasing social work in our communities, supporting the local delegates and taking part in the meetings where they render accounts as an exercise of democracy,” he pointed out.

“The system of the People's Power organs relies on the Marxist-Leninist theoretical principles of State organization, the experiences of the socialist countries, and the knowledge we have gained in the exercise of the revolutionary government,” the official continued. “The People's Power is not there to honor a slogan or an abstract phrase. It has something to do, and it is not only enshrined in the Constitution, but it also works in practice.”

He also hailed People’s Power as the true realization of the socialist and democratic character of the Cuban State, based on the principle of Popular Sovereignty recognized in the Constitution of 1976.

“Our people elect those who will later be direct candidates to the structures of the municipal assemblies, and they permanently participate through multiple channels such as consultations, constitutional reforms and, above all, the implementation of changes at grassroots level,” he remarked.

Acosta Álvarez emphasized that our main challenge today is how to eliminate many existing formalities, promote decentralization and effective autonomy, and empower the municipalities to help them solve their own problems.

It is also essential, he added, to increase young people’s engagement in the People's Power structures, a permanent achievement of the Revolution.