Speech delivered by Miguel M. Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, during the closing of the first period of ordinary sessions of the Ninth Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power, held in Havana’s International Conference Center, July 22, 2018, Year 60 of the Revolution.
(Council of State transcript – GI translation)
Dear Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Party Central Committee; Compañeros Machado and Lazo;
Deputies;
Compatriots:
This historic session of the National Assembly of People’s Power is being held precisely in the year in which we will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of Cuba’s wars of independence, and as an expression of our current work to continue the revolutionary struggle that had distinguished us for more than a century and a half.
In addition to voting on the close-out report for last year’s state budget, this meeting has great significance for two reasons: the approval of the proposed Constitution of the Republic and the presentation of the nation’s Council of Ministers.
A bit more than three months ago, in this same hall, I assumed before you and the Cuban people the most honorable and challenging of the missions I have had: the presidency of the Councils of State and Ministers, a responsibility that only two other men have held, whose personal histories are at the same time the history of the Revolution.
Fidel, from the eternity where he now resides, was the recurring image during the minutes in which the solemn event took place that April 19. In those moments, I thought of him many times: I understood better his insuperable stature as a continental and world statesman, recalled some of his innumerable political and humanistic lessons, reconsidered his “qualities as a revolutionary conductor,” and assumed as my own the Martí credo, the profound conviction that all the glory in the world fits within a kernel of corn.
Raúl, raising my arm, was then the conformation that we had a guide, whose support I have not been without a single day. I am, therefore, a fortunate president, not only because of the extraordinary people who I have the duty to serve, but because of the exceptionality of those who have preceded me. So how can I fulfill this mission?
Everything we have done and tried to do over these months is directed toward the primordial goal of serving Cuba, with ears to the ground and eyes wide open, as Raúl has asked of us, and with the spirit captured in a phrase stated by Fidel in February of 1959, when he spoke to the humble people of the country’s east, asking, “What would you do, those who are making these demands, if you were in power… you resolve the problems, since you are us and we are you, we are in power.”
Do you know what the demands of those people were? Houses, jobs, schools, teachers, hospitals, doctors…
The Revolution was barely a month old and plans were already underway to confront the rampant poverty that excluded millions of Cubans from the elementary benefits of a modern society.
All efforts seem insignificant in comparison to the accomplishments of those years. The road was no bed of roses. It had to be constructed, with all the risks implied by living, working, creating a country growing under threat. But we were able to do so. With all our shortcomings, needs, and errors, we surpassed nations with similar economic possibilities in practically all indices of human development. And we’re going for more!
This is what we are seeking with the deep reform of our Constitution, obliged to undergo an update so that institutionality is strengthened, and with this, the economic and social model approved by the Sixth and Seventh Party Congresses. A welcome opportunity that obliges us to rethink ourselves as a nation and dig into the heart of our essence, with the participation of all, inspired by the men and women who immortalized Guáimaro, a Camagüey road town, which Martí declared sacred because the first Cuban Constitution was written in its territory.
We have debated the proposed Constitution of the Republic during several sessions. The prior study was very useful and worthwhile, and the debate held over these days. An impassioned, committed, critical, patriotic, and supportive debate, based on the humanism of Fidel and Raúl, the revolutionary sensibility and historic, cultural, and scientific arguments in the essence and fiber of the nation, which has recognized the work of the commission charged with the drafting and presentation of the Proposed Constitution, led by the Army General.
Debate also supported by a vibrant aché, as proposed by a deputy.
Once again, with healthy pride, we feel that in this Assembly we are also Cuba.
We can affirm that we have before us a proposal that will contribute, after the popular consultation and referendum, to strengthening the unity of Cubans around the Revolution.
Over the next few days, preparation will begin of selected compañeros in each one of the provinces to conduct the popular consultation process. This exercise of direct participation has great political importance and will be another reflection of the fact that the Revolution is based on the most genuine democracy.
Active, conscious participation in discussion of the proposed Constitution of the Republic constitutes a weighty responsibility for all of our people.
All Cubans will be able to freely express their opinions and contribute to developing a constitutional text that reflects the present and future of the homeland.
To those who laid the foundation in the heat of battle for freedom with more morality and conscience than weapons to confront the adversary, and thanks to that won, because it was more important to be than to have, we owe this national civic act to develop a renovated Constitution, as an exercise that will unify, morally uplift, and invigorate the country’s soul.
It is up to us now, institutions, educational and training centers, to take on the new task so that our boys and girls, adolescents, youth, and not-so-young delve into the history of constitutions, so that the people become more familiar with the Law of laws.
We must facilitate and insist on knowledge, among all components of current Cuban society, of this fundamental law, to corroborate and assert the conviction that we are a people who, along the arduous path through the most difficult years of our economy, did not lose our compass, the values that have sustained us for 150 years.
Compañeras and compañeros:
It is my responsibility, as agreed in the April constitutive session, to present a proposal for the Council of Ministers’ members, of whom more than 30% are new.
Among the Council of Ministers vice presidents, maintained are cadres of experience and merit, recognized for the work they have done for decades in the service of the Revolution, and promoted to this position are Inés María Chapman Waugh, a courageous, intelligent Black woman, and Roberto Morales Ojeda, a firm, capable compañero, who assumed the responsibility of leading an institute and a ministry, respectively, with good results, despite the complexity and great demands placed on these two institutions.
The rest of the membership is completed with men and women who are retained in their positions, given the results they have obtained during these difficult years, which assures the necessary experience and continuity of this leadership body, while at the same time it is rejuvenated and renewed with the promotion of young cadre with proven track records, developing in their work as leaders.
Likewise, the Council of State agreed recently to designate a young, mixed race woman, compañera Yamila Peña Ojeda, to head the Attorney General of the Republic’s Office.
As can be noted, changes in the composition of the Council of Ministers reflect the precepts of the cadre policy approved by the Party.
We congratulate all those who were promoted or reconfirmed to assume important responsibilities, and at the same time, I think it is only just to recognize, before the Parliament, the devotion to work and attitude maintained in fulfilling their duties by those who were relieved today of their positions and will take on new tasks.
The highest government body must carry out its work in this difficult juncture marked by a complex international panorama, in particular that of our region, analyzed extensively during the recently concluded São Paulo Forum, held in Havana, as well as the country’s economic situation.
The performance of the economy in the first half of the year produced a discreet 1.1% growth of the Gross Internal Product, which is no less encouraging for being discreet, given the many adverse factors.
The situation of our external finances remains tense, as a result of the failure to achieve planned income from exports, tourism, and sugar production, in addition to damages caused by Hurricane Irma and the later occurrence of heavy rainfall, all of which had an impact on the delivery of raw materials, equipment, and supplies.
This situation obliges us to adopt additional control measures in regard to elements of the 2018 Plan, in the second half of the year, directed toward working with greater precision on decisions regarding imports and other hard currency expenditures. To achieve these goals, we must appeal for taking maximum advantage and making efficient use of the resources available.
In these circumstances, we must redouble efforts, and not renounce reaching the principal objectives established in the Plan, fundamentally those linked to guaranteeing basic services to the population and development, which presupposes directing work toward the strict control and rational, efficient use of all material and financial resources we have, saving here and there, wherever we can, eliminating any waste. This attitude must become a rule of thumb for government cadres in all arenas, in the first place among those of us on the Council of Ministers.
Addressing this juncture here will allow us, starting now, to lay the foundations for defining an economic plan for 2018 that is objective, realistic, and sustainable, based on solid, attainable foundations, and that prevents, despite difficulties, any slowdown in prioritized activities directed toward growth and progress, while at the same time contributing to the gradual reestablishment of the nation’s financial credibility.
The Council of Ministers which you approved will devote itself fully to the people and the Revolution, with a collective leadership and direction style, acting tirelessly, creating, and working to respond to needs and demands, in permanent and close collaboration with our humble, generous, honorable people to facilitate their participation in revolutionary tasks and decision-making.
We will encourage the practice of a style of work that brings the work of the central government closer to local governments, favoring the elimination of obstacles and bureaucratic mechanisms that delay decisions; we will maintain accountability reports by leaders and government institutions and systematic reviews of development programs, and defend public health, education, and the national culture, social communication, computerization, research and innovation as pillars of our governmental work.
We will maintain and at the same time call for the unleashing of an ethical battle against corruption, illegalities, addictions, and anti-social behavior.
We know we can count on the unconditional support of citizens when we confront the pernicious impunity of delinquent groups that hoard scarce products and resell them at speculative prices to enrich themselves without scruples or limit, using resources subsidized by the state, to the detriment of the needs of those who have the least, who are those who most support the Revolution.
The struggle against any manifestation of corruption and poorly done work must not be seen as an effort to be undertaken by the government alone, or the police; the resolute response to this phenomenon is the task of the entire society as a whole, which cannot allow a few to snatch from us the great accomplishments won by the Revolution for all.
I reaffirm what I said during this legislature’s constitutive session: “We must continually work to uphold unity, discipline, comprehensive analysis, and rigor in all organizations, bodies and institutions; in order to ensure that the great potential and opportunities that exist in our society are sustained and expressed in concrete results for growth, development, and prosperity.”
Thus, there is not much more to say, but, yes, much to do - a great deal to resolve, correct, strengthen, and create.
Our commitment is to return before you with results, as the country is entering its first 60 years of Revolution.
It will not be easy, because the principal obstacle to our development, the economic, commercial, financial blockade, and its enormous extraterritorial impact, are still here, like Monterroso’s dinosaur.
But, wasn’t it more difficult for the patriots who 150 years ago went into the scrub, even burning their own homes to oust the colonial empire, and for those who 65 years ago attacked a fortress practically without weapons or combat experience? And for those, who beat but not defeated, came out of prison and into exile, from exile to the Granma, from the Granma to the Sierra, and from the Sierra and the underground to the victory of hope, which we have spent 60 years defending?
Cuban men and women:
With such a history, all we can do is persist… struggle and struggle, always onward to victory.
Homeland or death! Venceremos!