Communist Party of Cuba

For the Communist Party of Cuba founded in 1925, see Popular Socialist Party (Cuba).

Communist Party of Cuba Partido Comunista de Cuba
File:Logo del Partido Comunista de Cuba.svg
First Secretary	Miguel Díaz-Canel
Second Secretary	José Ramón Machado Ventura
Founder	Fidel Castro
Slogan	¡Hasta la victoria siempre! (Ever onward to victory!)
Founded	3 October 1965 (1965-10-03)
Preceded by	United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution
Headquarters	Palacio de la Revolución, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana, Cuba
Newspaper	Granma
Youth wing	Young Communist League
Pioneer wing	José Martí Pioneer Organization
Membership  (2016)	700,000
Ideology	Communism Marxism–Leninism Castroism Guevarism Left-wing nationalism Latin American integration Anti-clericalism
Political position	Left-wing to far-left
Regional affiliation	COPPPAL Foro de São Paulo
International affiliation	IMCWP ICS (inactive)
Colors	Red      Blue
National Assembly	605 / 605
Party flag
Website
www.pcc.cu
Politics of Cuba Political parties Elections

The Communist Party of Cuba is the ruling political party in the Republic of Cuba. The Cuban constitution ascribes the role of the party to be the "leading force of society and of the state". It was founded on 3 October 1965 as a successor of the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26th of July Movement and Popular Socialist Party that seized power in Cuba after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

The PCC is a communist party based on democratic centralism, a principle conceived by Russian Marxist Vladimir Lenin, entails free and open discussion of policy issues within the party, followed by the requirement of total unity in upholding the agreed policies. The highest body within the PCC is the Party Congress, which convened every five years. When the Congress was not in session, the Central Committee was the highest body. Because the Central Committee met twice a year, most day-to-day duties and responsibilities are vested in the Politburo. Since April 2021, the First Secretary of the Central Committee has been Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has been serving as President of Cuba since 2018. Despite plans to retire in 2021, current Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura has remained in office since 2011. Abelardo Álvarez Gil also remains Head of the Department of Organization and Staff Policy.

After taking power in Cuba in 1959, the party began gradually to introduce Marxism–Leninism, a fusion of the original ideas of German philosopher and economic theorist Karl Marx, and Lenin, became formalized as the party's guiding ideology and would remain so to this day. The party pursued state socialism, under which all industries were nationalized, and a command economy was implemented throughout Cuba despite the long-term embargo by the United States. The PCC also supports Castroism and Guevarism and is a member of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties.

History

A billboard in Havana promoting the ongoing socialist revolution

Cuba had a number of communist and anarchist organizations from the early period of the Republic (founded in 1902). The original "internationalised" Communist Party of Cuba formed in the 1920s. In 1944, it renamed itself as the Popular Socialist Party for electoral reasons. In July 1961, two years after the successful overthrow of Fulgencio Batista and the creation of a revolutionary government, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI) was formed from the merger of:

• Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement
• The Popular Socialist Party led by Blas Roca
• Parts of the student-based Revolutionary Directory led by Faure Chomón

On 26 March 1962, the ORI became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC), which in turn became the Communist Party of Cuba on 3 October 1965. In Article 5 of the Cuban constitution of 1976, the Communist Party is recognized as "the superior guiding force of society and of the State, that organizes and orients common efforts toward the high goals of the construction of socialism and the advancement toward communist society". All parties, including the Communist Party, are prohibited from publicly advertising their organizations.

For the first fifteen years of its formal existence, the Communist Party was almost completely inactive outside of the Politburo. The 100 person Central Committee rarely met and it was ten years after its founding that the first regular party Congress was held. In 1969, membership of the party was only 55,000 or 0.7% of the population, making the PCC the smallest ruling communist party in the world. In the 1970s, the party's apparatus began to develop. By the time of the first party Congress in 1975, the party had grown to just over two hundred thousand members, the Central Committee was meeting regularly and provided the organizational apparatus giving the party the leading role in society that ruling Communist parties generally hold. By 1980, the party had grown to over 430,000 members and it grew further to 520,000 by 1985. Apparatuses of the party had grown to ensure that its leading cadres were appointed to key government positions.

Congresses

Main article: Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba

The Communist Party of Cuba held its first party Congress in 1975 and has had additional congresses in 1980, 1986, 1991, 1997 and 2011. The Seventh Congress took place from 19 to 22 April 2016, around the 55th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, concluding with remarks by Fidel Castro.

The Eighth Congress is scheduled to take place 16 to 19 April 2021.

Central Committee

Further information: 8th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba

Party headquarters

The leading bodies of the party were the Politburo and the Secretariat until 1991 when the two bodies were merged into an expanded Politburo with over twenty members. However, the Secretariat was re-introduced in 2002. There is also a Central Committee which meets between party congresses. At the Fifth Congress, the size of the Central Committee was reduced to 150 members from the previous membership of 225. Fidel Castro was the party's First Secretary (or leader) since its inception while Raúl Castro was the Second Secretary. Upon Fidel Castro's 2008 resignation from the party and Cuban government, Raúl Castro became First Secretary.

Politburo

Further information: 8th Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba

A 14-strong Politburo was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the Central Committee on 19 April 2021 following the 8th Congress.

Secretariat

Further information: 8th Secretariat of the Communist Party of Cuba

A 6-strong Secretariat was elected by the 1st Plenary Session of the Central Committee on 19 April 2021 following the 8th Congress.

Mass organizations, related to the PCC

Young Communist League, (UJC founded in 1962 by Fidel Castro), youth group of future militants of the PCC

Workers' Central Union of Cuba, (CTC, founded in 1939 by Blas Roca and Lázaro Peña), a Cuban trade union center.

Federation of Cuban Women, (FMC, founded in 1960 by Fidel Castro and Vilma Espín), a centralized women's organization.

National Association of Small Farmers, (ANAP, founded in 1961 by Fidel Castro), a peasant organization.

José Martí Pioneer Organization, (OPJM, founded in 1977 by Fidel Castro), student organization (pioneers).

Student Federation of Secondary Education,(FEEM, founded in 1970 by Fidel Castro), student organization (pre).

University Student Federation, (FEU, founded in 1922 by Julio Antonio Mella), student organization (university).

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, (CDR, founded in 1960 by Fidel Castro), community work organization.

Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, (ACRC, founded in 1993 by Fidel Castro), organization of active and retired military personnel.

Union of Journalists of Cuba, (UPEC, founded in 1963 by Fidel Castro), a centralized organization of journalists.

Youth

The Communist Party of Cuba has a youth wing, the Young Communist League (Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas, UJC) which is a member organization of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It also has a children's group, the José Martí Pioneer Organization.

Ideology

Compared with other ruling Communist Parties, such as in Vietnam, China, and Laos, the Communist Party of Cuba retains a stricter adherence to the tradition of Marxism–Leninism and the traditional Soviet model. The party has been more reluctant in engaging in market reforms, though it has been forced to accept some market measures in its economy due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the resultant loss of economic subsidies. The Communist Party of Cuba has often pursued an interventionist foreign policy, actively assisting left-wing revolutionary movements and governments abroad, including the ELN in Colombia, the FMLN in El Salvador, the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, and Maurice Bishop's New Jewel Movement in Grenada. The party's most significant international role was in the civil war in Angola, where Cuba directed a joint Angolan/Soviet/Cuban force in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale. More recently, the party has sought to support Pink Tide leaders across Latin America, such as Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. Since the Cuban Revolution, the party has also followed the doctrines of Castroism (the ideology of Fidel Castro, including some elements of social conservatism and inspiration from José Martí) and Guevarism.

Medical diplomacy has also been a prominent feature of the Party's foreign policy. The party maintains a policy of sending thousands of Cuban doctors, agricultural technicians, and other professionals to other countries throughout the developing world.

Raúl Castro, since becoming the leader of the party, has campaigned to "renew" Cuba's socialist economy through incorporating new exchange and distribution systems that have been traditionally seen as "market" oriented. This has led to some speculation that Cuba may transition towards a model more similar to that of China and that of Vietnam.

Electoral history

National Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes		%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1976	Fidel Castro	Elected by the Municipal Assemblies			489 / 489	489	1st	Sole legal party
1981		Elected by the Municipal Assemblies			499 / 499	10	1st	Sole legal party
1986		Elected by the Municipal Assemblies			510 / 510	11	1st	Sole legal party
1993		Full list	6,939,894	95.1%	589 / 589	79	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote	360,735	4.9%
1998		Full list	7,533,222	100%	601 / 601	12	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote
2003		Full list	7,128,860	91.35&	609 / 609	8	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote	675,038	8.65%
2008		Full list	7,125,752	91%	614 / 614	5	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote	713,606	9%
2013	Raúl Castro	Full list	6,031,215	81.30%	612 / 612	2	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote	1,387,307	18.70%
2018		Full list	5,620,713	80.44%	605 / 605	7	1st	Sole legal party
		Selective vote	1,366,328	19.56%

See also

• List of political parties in Cuba

References

Citations

Further reading

• Barry Carr. Tim Rees and Andrew Thorpe (eds.). "From Caribbean Backwater to Revolutionary Opportunity: Cuba's Evolving Relationship with the Comintern, 1925-34". International Communism and the Communist International, 1919-43. Manchester. Manchester University Press. 1998.
• "First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba: Havana, December 17-22, 1975 (Collection of Documents)".
• Fidel Castro. "Main Report, Second Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba" (December 1980).

External links

• Official website