Cuba: Delegates Analyze Main Report of 7th PCC Congress

HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 17 (acn) With the debate in the morning session of the Central Report presented on the opening day by Army General Raul Castro, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party (CC of the PCC), work in committees of the 7th Congress continued today at the capital's Convention Center.

The 995 delegates and 280 guests present at the Congress began on Saturday the debate of the main documents in the four working committees.
In the case of the group that examined the performance of the economy in the last five year period and the ongoing implementation of the guidelines approved by the Sixth Congress, Marino Murillo, member of the Political Bureau of the CC of the PCC, gave details about the behavior of the gross domestic product (GDP) and described as poor the contribution of the agricultural sector.
On this, delegates demanded formulas that favor affordable prices for the population in marketing their products.
One of them, Yunier Gonzalez, of Artemisa province, asserted that the approval of the figures of retail and wholesale sellers was necessary at the time in view of the deficiencies of the Empresa de Acopio of the Ministry of Agriculture.
However, he considered that it has lost its value due to the fact that the State contracts up to 80 percent of production, with good prices and advantages for producers.
He considered that at present such wholesalers are part of the complexities that exist with agricultural prices, because they became resellers rather than providers.
In turn, Nestor Barbaro Hernandez, one of the guests, estimated at more than 200 the number of wholesalers approved in the provinces of Havana, Artemisa and Mayabeque, but said that the figure of those illegally exercising this function is higher.
In the debate on the draft report on the results of the implementation of the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy, approved in the 6th. Congress of the PCC, it was explained that retail markets and points of sale have in general maintained high prices, similar to the rest of the establishments.
In addition, indirect measures applied to influence on prices have also been insufficient and control over the activities of the self-employment of wholesalers and retailers of agricultural products has been inadequate.
Meanwhile, another committee examined the draft National Social and Economic Development Plan until 2030: Proposed Vision of the Nation and Strategic Axes and Sectors, which will be submitted to public debate after the 7th Congress and will continue its improvement with a view to completion in 2017.
Esteban Lazo, member of the Political Bureau of the PCC and President of the National Assembly of the People's Power, said the State should devote to produce more materials to build and not mostly to build new housing, pointing out that in the plan of the economy 50 percent of works of this type correspond to the modality of self-effort.
Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdes agreed with that assessment and specified that the housing fund is in very bad condition, so efforts on people's own account should be encouraged as well as solidarity between people who can support these works in each locality.
For example, we should develop local industry and a support of the supply of resources for the completion of these constructions, he added.
The conceptualization of the economic and social development model captured the attention of the corresponding committee, in which Miguel Diaz-Canel, PCC Politburo member and First Vice President of the councils of State and Ministers, addressed participants.
In this regard, he asserted that the non-state sector in Cuba's Socialism is acknowledged as a complement to the state economy; not to oppose Socialism, but to contribute to its development.
As for the socialist property over the means of production, delegate Homero Acosta, representing the province of Mayabeque, suggested to clarify that not all the land is under the definition of this concept, and that those owned by small farmers and cooperatives of agricultural production should be excluded.
Modesto Gomez, a delegate for Havana, expressed his concern about the income approach, particularly in the budgeted sector.
Growth in the ranks of the Party, methods and styles of work, history teaching and working with young people were at the center of debates of the delegates and guests who participated in Commission Four.
While presenting the report on the work of the Party in the achievement of the objectives approved at the First Conference and of the guidelines of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Salvador Valdes, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, noted that the document is the result of extensive and thorough consultation and of a comprehensive system of work.
The decrease in the ranks of the organization was among issues discussed, on which Gladys Martinez, of Pinar del Rio, referred to the experience carried out in her territory, where this trend has managed to be stopped, since there has been a better recruitment work by the grassroots Party organizations.
The 7th PCC Congress will take place until April 19, when the names of the elected to the Central Committee, Politburo members, the First and Second Secretaries, and the Secretariat will be announced.