Cuban Communist Party

The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) is a Cuban Marxist-Leninist political party, founded in 1965 by Fidel Castro with its antecedents in the First Communist Party of Cuba created in 1925 by Julio Antonio Mella and Carlos Baliño. This party has been in power since the arrival of the Cuban Revolution.

His supporters consider him the guide of the Cuban Revolution and continuer of the revolutionary traditions of the Cubans, against what they consider Spanish colonialism and the imperialist neocolonialism of the United States, and he proclaims himself heir of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, which he founded José Martí in 1892 to fight for the independence of Cuba from Spain.^{[citation required]}

It uses the national flag as its emblem and its logo within a rectangle of oval angles in a red line, it presents two flags that protrude from between the arms and weapons held high by people, represented in black: one is the red flag, symbol of the proletariat and the revolutionary character of the Party, and the Cuban flag, symbol of the country. Additionally, on the black color, the acronym PCC (Communist Party of Cuba) is embedded in red outlined in white.

History

The Cuban Communist Party was founded in 1925 by Julio Antonio Mella, Carlos Baliño, José Miguel Pérez and Alfonso Bernal del Riesgo, the first young student leader. Venezuelan exiles such as Pío Tamayo and Gustavo Machado also participated. Its first general secretary was José Miguel Pérez, who years later also founded the Communist Party of the Canary Islands. The PCC will remain underground until 1938; In 1939 it took the name of the Communist Revolutionary Union and in 1944 the Popular Socialist Party (PSP). Linked to the Confederation of Cuban Workers. The Stalinist leadership of the PSP supports the presidential candidacy of Fulgencio Batista for the period 1940-1944, and two of its most notorious leaders, Juan Marinello and Carlos Rafael Rodríguez, are cabinet ministers.

In 1953, the PSP was outlawed by the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, although its press continued to circulate freely. In that same year, the PSP condemned as "coup and adventurous activities of the bourgeois opposition" the assault on the Moncada barracks carried out by Fidel Castro and his followers. As part of the opposition to the Batista dictatorship since mid-1958, he showed an ambiguous attitude towards the July 26 Movement until December 1958, when Che Guevara met with the main leaders of the party. In 1961 the PSP merged with the July 26 Movement and other organizations to form the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI).

Fidel Castro's PCC originates from this moment, with the formation of the ORI, which will be purged "of the errors of sectarianism" committed by some leaders and, on March 26, 1962, they were unified as the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba (PURSC), finally establishing themselves on October 3, 1965, as the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).

Since the purge of the ORI, the PCC only recognizes Fidel Castro as its leader. Access to the ranks of the PCC is carried out on the basis of the principles of patriotism, anti-imperialism, and fidelity to socialism and communism as a way to achieve full equality in society. The minimum age is 30 years, but in exceptional cases, and based on merit, young people under 30 years of age who are also militants of the Young Communist Union may be part of its ranks.

On October 4, 1965, the first issue of Granma went into circulation, which is the official organ of the Central Committee of the PCC. In the last 40 years, the PCC has demonstrated a high level of unity, the first and last internal conflict of the party in its history, the so-called. the microfraction case that occurred between 1966 and 1968, a group of "fractionalists" (Aníbal Escalante, Ricardo Beaufil and a total of more than 40 people) were sentenced to prison. The first secretary of the CCP Central Committee for about 50 years was Fidel Castro, then Raúl Castro for 15 years and since 2021 Miguel Díaz-Canel.

PCC Organization

Congresses

According to its statutes, the Congress is the supreme body of the Party. It defines and gives the political guidelines of the PCC and its activity in general. It meets regularly every 5 years and when the Plenary Session of the Central Committee convenes it extraordinarily. Elects the Central Committee, approves the program or programmatic guidelines and the Party Statutes. The first Congress, convened 10 years after the founding of the PCC, was held in 1975 in Havana. Since then, the II Congress was held in 1980, the III Congress in 1985, the IV Congress in 1991 was held in Santiago de Cuba and the V Congress in 1997 in Havana.

The VI Congress, after fourteen years, several attempts and after a long preparation process, was held from April 16 to 19, 2011. Its central agenda was the approval of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines, a document containing an economic reform defined as the adaptation of socialism to new times. This Congress is historic for having marked the dismissal of Fidel Castro as first secretary and defining itself as the last congress of the generation that promoted the Revolution.

The VII Congress was held between April 16 and 19, 2016. At this meeting, the update of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines was approved, as well as the Conceptualization of the Socialist Model and the Strategic Development Plan until 2030. Raúl Castro and José Ramón Machado Ventura were re-elected as leaders of the organization.

The VIII Congress of the PCC was held between April 16 and 19, 2021.

National Conference

The National Conference that meets between the congresses must be convened by the Congress itself or by the Central Committee to discuss strategic matters of the Party and elect the Central Committee itself and the other management bodies. It has been held only once in January 2012.

Central Committee

The Central Committee, established for the first time in 1965, is defined as the highest body of the Party between each Congress. It decides the number of members of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat, elects its members and, among them, the First and Second Secretary. It is in charge of implementing the resolutions, policies and programs approved by Congress. It meets in plenary session at least twice a year and when convened by the Political Bureau.

Political Bureau

The Political Bureau is the highest management body of the PCC and the highest ideological body in the country. Executes the resolutions of the congresses and the Central Committee. It is currently made up of the First and Second Secretaries and 13 other members. It has legislative initiative and proposes to the Council of State the political actions that must be carried out in terms of legal provisions and appointments.

In the VI Congress, held in April 2011, a new Political Bureau of 15 members was elected after 14 years, headed by Raúl Castro Ruz and José Ramón Machado Ventura as first and second secretaries. In September 2011, General Julio Casas Regueiro, a member of that body, died. In December 2012, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla was promoted. In July 2013, the resignation of veteran politician Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada was accepted and, in October 2015, General Abelardo Colomé Ibarra requested his resignation due to health problems.

Secretariat

The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party is the body that assists the Political Bureau in working with its cadres and militants. It existed from 1965 to 1991 (its functions were assumed by the Political Bureau, the number of its members being expanded) and was reestablished in 2006. Its members are the top officials of the Permanent Commissions of the Central Committee (entities created in 2008 and which bring together the departments of the Central Committee). The leaders of the Secretariat and the departments constitute a political apparatus parallel to the Government of the nation, intervening in the development and control of the policies of the central administration bodies of the State and the provincial and municipal governments.

The Secretariat is chaired by the First Secretary of the Central Committee. The VI Congress of the PCC, held in April 2011, decided that José Ramón Machado Ventura, Second Secretary, would preside over this body by permanent delegation from First Secretary Raúl Castro Ruz, an event that occurred for the first time in the history of the PCC. The VIII Congress appointed First Secretary of the PCC to the President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel in 2021.

Departments and other auxiliary structures

For its internal functioning, the Central Committee is organized into departments, whose work is subordinate to the Secretariat of the Central Committee. There are also other structures subordinate to the Central Committee such as the Office of Religious Affairs, the Higher Party School or the Granma Newspaper. Its highest authorities may be members of the Central Committee or simple Party members who are designated for these administrative functions.

Territorial organization

The militants and structures of the PCC have their territorial organization in accordance with the political-administrative organization of the country. In the provinces, its highest body is the Provincial Committee, directed by the Provincial Bureau. In the municipalities it is the Municipal Committee. The highest authorities are also the First Secretaries.

Election results

National Assembly

Organizations related to the PCC

• Union of Young Communists (UJC, founded in 1962 by Fidel Castro), youth grouping of future CPC militants.
• Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC, founded in 1939 by Blas Roca and Lazaro Peña), Cuban trade union.
• Federation of Cuban Women (FMC, founded in 1970 by Fidel Castro and Vilma Espín), a centralized female organization.
• National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP, founded in 1961 by Fidel Castro), a peasant organization.
• José Martí Pioneros Organization (OPJM, founded in 1977 by Fidel Castro), a student organisation (pioneros).
• Federación Estudiantil de la Enseñanza Media (FEEM, founded in 1970 by Fidel Castro), a student organization (pre).
• Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU, founded in 1922 by Julio Antonio Mella), a student organisation (universitaria).
• Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR, founded in 1960 by Fidel Castro), a community work organization.
• Asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución Cubana (ACRC, founded in 1993 by Fidel Castro), organization of active and retired soldiers.
• Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC, founded in 1963 by Fidel Castro), centralized organization of journalists.