Raúl Castro Announces His Retirement as Head of the CCP | …

Former Cuban President Raúl Castro announced his retirement as first secretary of his country’s Communist Party on Friday.

“As for me, my task as first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba is coming to an end, with the satisfaction of having accomplished and confidence in the future of the country“said Castro, during the first day of sessions of the Eighth Congress of the political group, a conclave which was inaugurated this Friday and will last until Monday.

The historic leader of the Cuban revolution has indicated that he will continue to be a member of the party as “one more revolutionary fighter”, ready to make his “modest contribution” until the end of his life. “Nothing forces me to make this decision. I firmly believe in the strength and courage of example and the understanding of my compatriots; and that no one doubts that as long as I live I will be ready with my foot on the stirrup to defend the fatherland, the revolution and socialism, with more force than ever ”, he underlined in his speech.

Castro was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba for 10 years, having held this post on April 19, 2011.

In his last big speech as the main leader of the country, the first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party called for a “respectful dialogue” between Cuba and the United States. “I ratify from this Party Congress the will to develop a respectful dialogue and to build a new type of relationship with the United States, without renouncing the principles of revolution and socialism”, declared the brother of Fidel Castro.

Raúl Castro was co-author in 2014 of thaw between the two countries with Barack obama, which ended a half-century of strong confrontation and reactivated diplomatic relations, broken off since 1961 and reestablished in 2015. However, the Republican Donald trump He dismantled much of the progress between the two countries and implemented a tightening of the embargo in force since 1962.

To choose Joe biden as President of the United States, he raised great hopes in Cuba. But three months after his inauguration, he has not said a word about the island.

Juan Gonzalez, his adviser for Latin America at the National Security Council, has just affirmed that “Biden is not Barack Obama in the policy towards Cuba”. As he explained, “the political moment has changed considerably, the political space has been very closed, because the Cuban government has not reacted in any way.”

Sixty years after his brother Fidel proclaimed the socialist character of the Cuban revolution, Raúl, 89, also criticized the “economic war” that Washington is waging against the island “with the declared aim of strangling the country and provoking it. a social outbreak. “.

In the chapter on international relations of the report he presented to the conclave, Castro accused neoliberalism of manifestations of social instability in Latin America. “Neoliberalism has once again demonstrated its inability to respond to social problems of the region and, as a result, there are manifestations of social instability, ”he said.

Castro recalled that five years ago – at the previous congress of the communist formation – he warned that the Latin American and Caribbean region was under the influence of a right which was hitting progressive governments.“This counteroffensive was reinforced when US policy fell into grim hands with interventionist pretensions. and the Cuban-American right with a long history of terrorism and corruption, ”he said.

– “Finish my homework” –

The historic meeting at Havana Convention Center, which will last four days and in which they will participate 300 delegates from all over the country, marks the rise of a new generation.

As he entered Congress in his four-star general uniform, followed by his designated successor, President Miguel Diaz-Canel (60), Raúl Castro received long applause from the delegates, according to images broadcast by state television.

Díaz-Canel, who replaced him as president in 2018, will also be the first civilian leader of the party, in which he will have spent his entire career. He is expected to be named first secretary, the country’s highest post, on Monday. It is “the congress of continuity,” he said on Twitter, noting that the directions of the country, one of the last five communist nations in the world, will not change.

Although urgent economic reforms are needed, with the country plunged into a deep crisis, the one-party principle will remain. “The Party constitutes a guarantee of national unity and a synthesis of the ideals of dignity, social justice and independence of the generations of patriots who have preceded us and of those who have defended us in all these years of struggle and victory” , he declared at the inauguration of the congress. Joseph Ramón Machado Ventura, 90, number two in the party which should also be removed.

– “People need more” –

After Fidel Castro’s death in 2016, Raúl’s retirement turns a historical page on the island, where most locals have encountered no other ruling family other than well-known revolutionaries. “Raúl will not be responsible for the Party, but (for) any problem Raúl is there, Raúl is not dead,” he reflected. Ramón Blande, communist activist 84 years old.

In the streets of Havana, without tourists due to the pandemic, Cubans seem more concerned about the food shortage, the long queues in front of supermarkets and the inflationary spiral that triggered the recent unification of the two currencies that the country had. “I hope that with the congress it will improve, because the prices are very high, the salaries have increased (…), but (…) ultimately the money is not enough”, laments -he. María Martínez, 68-year-old pensioner.

In recent months, Cuba has experienced unprecedented social unrest, the recent arrival of mobile internet, with demonstrations by artists, protests by dissidents and mobilizations from other sectors of civil society such as animal rights activists.

“The exit of Raúl Castro from the active political scene, logically leading to a historical reversal more or less visible in the immediate future”, he underlined. the novelist Leonardo Padura, in a recent article. “But people need more. Not only to speak, but to live better. I think that after so many sacrifices, we Cubans deserve it,” he added.