Cuba

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Mon May 21, 2018 2:43 pm

Questions and answers on aviation accident (+ Photos)
A summary of information available reported on the airplane accident which took place May 18, near Havana’s José Martí International Airport

Author: Digital news staff | informacion@granma.cu

may 21, 2018 09:05:23

Image
Photo: Estudio Revolución

When did the accident occur?
The accident occurred at 12:08 p.m. on Friday May 18, when a Boeing 737-200 rented by Cubana de Aviación, with a crew from abroad and 107 passengers on flight DMJ 0972 from Havana to Holguin, plummeted to the ground shortly after taking off, in an area between José Martí International Airport and the town of Santiago de Las Vegas.
How many people were aboard and who were they?
Authorities at the Ministry of Transport reported that aboard flight were a total of 113 personas:
• 58 women
• 55 men
Crew: Six Mexican nationals
Passengers: 107
• 102 Cubans resident in seven provinces, of these 67 from Holguín
• Toursits: Two Argentines and one Mexican
• Two Saharawi temporary residents, assumed to be students in Cuba
(The list of victims is available at www.granma.cu/accidente-aereo/2018-05-1 ... 8-17-05-34)
Were there any survivors?

Image
Photo: Ariel Cecilio Lemus Alvarez

Four persons survived the accident, although one died en route to the hospital. The three surviving women are in critical condition, being treated at Calixto García University Hospital.
Dr. Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, hospital director identified the patients as Gretell Landrovell Font from Havana, and Mailén Díaz Almaguer and Emiley Sánchez de la O from Holguin. All have undergone surgeries and extraordinary efforts are being made by a multi-disciplinary team to maintain their hemodynamic stability and treat their multiple injuries. Their prognosis is uncertain.

Image
Photo: Ariel Cecilio Lemus Alvarez

Where does the investigation of possible causes stand?
The investigation commission, presided by Cuba’s Civil Aeronautics Institute is conducting an exhaustive study of all evidence, with the Ministry of the Interior providing collaboration.
The cadavers of all 109 victims were recovered and transported to the forensics center, by 3:30 a.m. May 19. Identification will be a slow process given the severe effects of the impact and fire on bodies.

Image
Photo: Ariel Cecilio Lemus Alvarez

The voice black box of flight DMJ 0972 has been recovered in good condition, and the search continues for the data box, stated Minister of Transport Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez, during a Saturday press conference.
Authorities in the United States, where the plane was manufactured by the Boeing company, asked to participate in the investigation and Cuba agreed. Other international experts have also joined the effort.

Image
Photo: Roberto Garaycoa Martínez

What do we know about the company which rented the aircraft to Cubana Airlines?
Minister Yzquierdo said that renting aircraft from foreign companies is a common practice for Cubana, principally because the U.S. blockade makes purchasing them difficult.
“There are different formulas for this,” he said, “In this case, Global Air was responsible for maintenance. We had rented this airplane less than a month ago. We have all the documentation showing that the crew was certified and capable.”
How frequent are aviation accidents in Cuba?

Image
Photo: Juventud Rebelde

Since the 1960s, fewer than 10 serious accidents with loss of life or severe consequences have been recorded.
The most tragic occurred in September of 1989, in which 160 persons died, 126 aboard the plane and 34 on the ground, since the plane hit a populated area near Havana’s José Martí International Airport.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-05-21/que ... ent-photos
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Sat Jun 02, 2018 2:20 pm

Cuba: 'Scientific Cooperation Can Overcome Climate Change'
Published 1 June 2018 (14 hours 41 minutes ago)

Havana's Unesco International Science School was held to "provide a space for collective learning in relation to environmental adaptation."

Cuba's minister of Science, Technology and Environment spoke Friday on the importance of global scientific cooperation to build "resilient societies" to overcome climate change.

"It is impossible to advance in the adoption of adequate measures to make out societies more resilient to climate change without the support of science," Science Minister Elba Rosa Perez said.

She emphasized Cuba's will to cooperate and share scientific knowledge with its Caribbean neighbors and other countries in order to create the kind of international scientific cooperation necessary to tackle the problem.

The Caribbean, she said, faces among the highest risks from climate change of any region in the world, and so it is essential that scientific efforts are aware of the imminent risk faced and the necessity to work hard to achieve both mitigation and adaptation.

The remarks were made at the International Science School of the United Nations in Havana, a project of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). It's a joint effort by Unesco and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment of the Republic of Cuba.

Havana's International Science School was held to "provide a space for collective learning in relation to environmental adaptation in the Caribbean," according to Unesco.

"This capacity-building event is conceived as a knowledge-brokering exercise that will bring together academics, public officials and representatives from civil society, prioritizing young participants and women."

https://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/ ... -0015.html

This is how it is done. Capitalism, in a million years, cannot do this.

Revolution is not an option, it is a necessity.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:13 pm

Ernesto Guevara: The man who gave himself
Che’s ideas continue to find followers 90 years after his birth

Author: Yisel Martínez | informacion@granma.cu

june 13, 2018 12:06:28

Image
Photo: Korda, Alberto
There are figures who never die, who cease being mere mortals to remain inevitably in history. People of thought, of character, of passion and sacrifice, who exalt human nature and attest to how much we can do as a species. Ernesto Che Guevara de la Serna is one of these figures.

It was no coincidence that his life should turn out like that. His asthma always accompanied him and made him a fighter. His father got used to sleeping up against the headboard of his bed, and Ernesto learned to control the asthma attacks lying on his father’s chest.

He didn’t always go to school, and was taught at home. However, he became independent and determined. He practiced sports and studied medicine. The books written about his life note that he attended practice with a fever, that he was never absent or stopped working.

Image
From left to right: Guillermo García, Ernesto Che Guevara, Universo Sánchez, Raúl Castro, Fidel Castro, Crescencio Pérez, Ciro Redondo and Juan Almeida, during the guerrilla struggle in the Sierra Maestra. Photo: Archive
For a long time he observed, and also suffered, the Latin American reality. His travels in the region helped him to know which side he was on, and to which purposes he should dedicate his political thought. He saw the fall of President Jacobo Arbenz’s Guatemala (1951-1954), overthrown by a coup d’état orchestrated and financed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He took an interest in the revolution in Paraguay and visited Bolivia, among other countries in the area. In Mexico he met Cuban revolutionaries. He traveled on the Granma yacht and landed on the island. He fought in the Sierra Maestra and became a Comandante. He was already known as Che by that time, and also as a revolutionary leader, with terribly strict discipline, those who were there assure us.

Image
Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara, speaking in the 19th Session of the UN General Assembly, New York, December 11, 1964. Photo: Archive
His mother was notified of his death on three occasions. “Three times we received the refutation and some reassuring lines. We aged in those two years. Every time I was relieved knowing that he was still alive, I became desperate again, remembering that the news was slow to arrive.”

But the guerrilla lived many more years, at least enough to become Minister of Industries, the advocate of voluntary work in Cuba, an expert in economics, a father, a politician and, above all, a transformer of the global left.

He defended everything he believed to be just, and was able to guide those who saw him as a leader. He went to the Congo because that war of national liberation was also his. His experiences served him in the revolutionary struggle in Bolivia and even so, it may not have been enough to him to have done everything he did, having decided to dedicate his life to others.

Today, 90 years after his birth, Ernesto Che Guevara is not simply a symbol of the twentieth century. He is the writer who left anecdotes of his travels and experiences in Latin America and the world. He is the economist, the politician, the Marxist, the son, the father, and friend. He is the man who is remembered for his ideas, his convictions, and his internationalism. The man to whom his followers have dedicated countless songs and poems. He is the paradigm that embodies selflessness, because, as Eduardo Galeano said: “He never kept anything for himself, nor ever asked for anything. Living is giving oneself, he thought; and he gave himself.”

Image
The legendary guerrilla commander was an enthusiastic advocate of voluntary work in Cuba. Pictured operating a sugar cane cutting machine in the province of Camagüey in 1963. Photo: Archive

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-06-13/ern ... ve-himself
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Mon Jun 18, 2018 2:57 pm

President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez inaugurates new Institute of Hematology and Immunology headquarters

The Cuban President, alongside Party Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura, attended the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Dr. José Manuel Ballester Santovenia Institute of Hematology and Immunology on Saturday

Author: Lisandra Fariñas Acosta | lisandra@granma.cu

june 18, 2018 09:06:00

Image
Photo: Lisandra Fariñas Acosta Photo: Estudio Revolución

Alongside the Second Secretary of the Party Central Committee, José Ramón Machado Ventura, the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, attended the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Dr. José Manuel Ballester Santovenia Institute of Hematology and Immunology on Saturday, located in the Havana municipality of Vedado.

Since its creation, this institution has provided prestige to the national health system for its contributions in areas such as hematology, immunology and transfusion medicine, as well as transplant activity.

“This has been the dream of many generations of scientists and health professionals,” stated Dr. Consuelo Macías Abraham, director of the institution.

The inauguration was also attended by Mercedes López Acea, member of the Party Political Bureau and its first secretary in Havana, and Political Bureau member, Vice President of the Council of State and Minister of Public Health, Roberto Morales Ojeda, as well as health sector workers and local residents.

Dr. Macías Abraham noted the significance of the inauguration of the new headquarters, due to its scope, technology and infrastructure, and reiterated the commitment of the center and its staff to continue working to improve the health of the Cuban population.

She explained that over the next five years, the Institute will be working to raise remission rates of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia up to 90%, by introducing the study of Minimum Residual Disease, haploidentical and unrelated donor transplantations.

Likewise, the introduction of traditional and massive sequencing to identify new diagnosis of hematological and immunological diseases, personalized treatments and the extension of the registry of unrelated donors, are key areas of work.

Also part of the efforts is the development of an umbilical cord cell bank, to contribute to transplant innovation.

The Institute of Hematology and Immunology was founded on December 2, 1966, and 52 years later, it continues to be distinguished by its scientific rigor, competence and the dedication of its workers.

Dr. Machado Ventura, who under the guidance of Fidel founded the country’s health research institutes that same year, had the honor of cutting the ribbon, before President Díaz-Canel, together with other authorities, toured the institution.

Image

Image

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-06-18/pre ... adquarters

Imagine what they could do if not under siege. Imagine what we could do if not weighed down and oppressed by capitalism.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Mon Jun 18, 2018 7:55 pm

Production with environmental conscience
Preventing, mitigating, and eliminating the negative environmental impact of its production process is an important objective of the Cubay rum distillery in Santo Domingo

Author: Ángel Freddy Pérez Cabrera | freddy@granma.cu

june 18, 2018 10:06:40

Image
The Central Rum Distillery in Santo Domingo is a pioneer in the use of renewable energy in Cuba. Photo: Freddy Pérez Cabrera

SANTO DOMINGO, Villa Clara.–Behind every bottle of Cubay rum produced at the Agustín Rodríguez Mena distillery in this municipality, is a centenary history that includes the best of rum making traditions in Central Cuba – the reason the brand has become one of Cuba’s best-selling spirits around the world.

Among its merits – which are many according to experts, evidenced by the numerous prizes and recognitions won at fairs and expositions - is the fact that it is produced entirely with solar energy.

In May of 2016, taking advantage of the nature of the distillery’s roof, a solar photovoltaic park was installed, composed of 2,752 panels, capable of generating more than 900 megawatts annually, according to Carlos Rubén Armas Díaz, plant director.

The distillery is a pioneer in the use of solar energy in Cuba, he added, and the strategy is linked to steps being taken to prevent, mitigate, and eliminate the negative environmental impact of the rum production process.

Of all energy produced by the solar panels, the plant consumes only 38%, and the rest, 62%, is delivered to the national power grid (SEN), allowing for important savings and greater efficiency at the Agustín Rodríguez Mena distillery, Armas noted.

Some facts provided by the director confirm this. Through the first four months of the year, more than 6,000 pesos have been earned supplying electricity to the national grid, while more than 175,216 pesos have been saved with reduced energy consumption since the project was launched two years ago, he reported.

Other elements that reveal the significance of this project include the fact that the release of 19,142 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has been avoided, since the burning of 473 tons of crude oil was not needed, thus also saving the national economy 279,000 pesos. Plus, loss of energy in transmission has also been eliminated, according to an explanation provided by electrical engineer Gustavo Otero Barroso, who is in charge of the photovoltaic park.

Constructed at a cost of 1.8 million euros, the investment will be recovered within a period of 15 years, and among the solar park’s advantages is the fact that little staff is needed for maintenance and operation, since just two people are required to handle its daily cleaning and functioning, Otero explained.

Another indication of the utility of this technology is its ability to withstand extreme weather phenomena, since it is designed to tolerate winds of up to 240 kilometers an hour - a strength proven during Hurricane Irma, when all panels were ready for operation just one day after the storm.

Given results obtained in the production of rum with the use of renewable energy and appropriate waste management, as well as studies conducted on health risks and vulnerabilities in the event of natural disasters, the Central Rum Distillery was awarded the Provincial Environmental Prize, as well as a number of quality prizes, including the 2007 international recognition granted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization to companies making outstanding efforts to promote cleaner production.

SPECIFICATIONS

-The name of the renowned Cubay brand is of Arawak origin, and emerged from the recovery of the closest rum making tradition in the region, coming from the San Lino distillery in Cienfuegos, where liquor was produced, and El Infierno, located in Sagua la Grande. The experience of these rum makers and the spirits stored in their warehouses were brought to the George Washington sugar mill, in Santo Domingo.

-According to the explanation provided by industrial engineer Carlos Rubén Armas Díaz, director of the Central Rum Distillery, Cubay was first produced in 1996, when the Carta Blanca and Cubay Añejo rums were born, a line that has grown with new types, including Carta Blanca Extra Viejo, Extra Añejo 1870, Elixir 33, and Remedios 500, among others.

-Distinguished as a rum with singular characteristics, very different from those produced in the country’s eastern region, specifically Santiago, which is somewhat sweet, as well as that distilled in the west, especially Havana Club, which is drier, Cubay is an intermediate between the two schools, according to master rum maker César Augusto Martí Marcelo.

-With a production of 400,000 boxes a year, Cubay is available throughout the national market and served at major tourist resorts, in addition to selling well in various nations in Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe, in countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Italy, which saw a 40% increase last year.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-06-18/pro ... conscience
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Tue Jun 26, 2018 10:35 pm

Provincial Party Committees in Holguín and Havana elect new leaders
The plenums were chaired by the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee’s Second Secretary, José Ramón Machado Ventura

Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu

june 26, 2018 09:06:24

Image
Mercedes López Acea. Photo: Archive

On the request of the Party Political Bureau, the Provincial Party Committee in Holguín, meeting in a plenary session, agreed to free Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar as its first secretary, and in his place elected Ernesto Santiesteban Velázquez, who has served as a professional member of the Provincial Executive Bureau for the past seven years.
Santiesteban Velázquez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education, and at 52 years of age has a proven track record as a professional cadre for the Young Communist League and the Party, serving as PCC municipal first secretary, head of the provincial ideological department, and as a professional member of the Provincial Committee Executive Bureau.

Image
Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar. Photo: Archive

Participants in the plenum emphasized the outstanding work carried out by
Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar leading the Provincial Committee over a five-year period, during which positive results were achieved in advancing many programs, and in the Party’s work.
Likewise, the Havana Provincial Party Committee, on the request of the Political Bureau, agreed in a plenary session to free Lázara Mercedes López Acea from her responsibility as first secretary, and in her place elected Luis Antonio Torres Iríbar, who held the same position in Holguin.
Torres Iríbar has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, and at 54 years of age has extensive experience as a professional cadre in the Young Communist League and the PCC, serving as a professional member of the Executive Bureau, first secretary of the Municipal Committee, a Central Committee functionary, and first secretary in Guantánamo and Holguín.
Participants in the plenum recognized the outstanding work of Lázara Mercedes over the nine years she led the Party Provincial Committee. She will be joining the Central Committee Secretariat, and will continue supporting fundamental efforts in the capital from this position.
The plenums were chaired by Party Second Secretary José Ramón Machado Ventura.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-06-26/pro ... ew-leaders
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Thu Jul 05, 2018 12:40 pm

Central Committee plenum analyzes first draft of proposed constitutional reform
The Seventh Plenum of the Party Central Committee, chaired by its first secretary, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, conducted a careful analysis of the first draft of a proposed new Constitution of the Republic

Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu

july 4, 2018 15:07:21

Image
Photo: Estudio Revolución

After two days of intense work, yesterday July 3, the Seventh Plenum of the Party Central Committee, chaired by its first secretary, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, concluded a careful analysis of the first draft of a proposed new Constitution of the Republic.

Compañero José Ramón Machado Ventura, second secretary of the Party Central Committee, noted that members of the Council of State and those of the National Assembly standing committee charged with drafting the proposal were also present for the Plenum discussion.

He explained that the text submitted for the consideration of the Plenum contained important modifications in articles that make up the current Constitution, while the fundamental precepts of our socialist system are maintained.

The proposal that is approved by deputies, after the National Assembly analysis scheduled for July 21, will be submitted for discussion by the entire population and subsequently a national referendum will be held.

At the conclusion of the meeting, First Secretary Raúl Castro emphasized the importance and significance of the constitutional reform process currently underway.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-07-04/cen ... nal-reform

Communist dictatorship, huh.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:01 pm

Articulate a counterhegemony and make change possible
A few days after the XXIV Annual Meeting of the Forum of Sao Paulo, Rolando González Patricio, vice president of the International Relations Commission of the National Assembly of Cuba, reflects on the current context of the region and the neoliberal offensive that they intend to impose on us. culture and discouragement

Author: Bertha Mojena Milián | internet@granma.cu

July 11, 2018 20:07:30

In just a few days, Havana will host a meeting of parliamentarians from Latin America and the Caribbean that will take place as part of the XXIV Annual Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum. In statements to Granma , Rolando González Patricio, vice president of the International Relations Commission of the National Assembly of Cuba, reflected on the current context of the region and the neoliberal offensive that they try to impose on us from culture and discouragement.

"The meeting will allow us to dialogue more, express our expectations, make known our points of view, our hopes, because this is also a political and cultural battle," said the Cuban deputy.

For González Patricio, the hegemonic construction of imperialism and the forces of domination has a basic instrument in the culture, although sometimes only the instruments of violent repression or economic forces are talked about.

"Let us not forget that colonialism lasted for centuries on this continent thanks to the fact that a large part of the subjects supported this system. And the hegemony of capital in our region sometimes receives a relatively majority vote and it is because a culture of domination has been built and that hegemony has managed to win certain consensus.

"That is, perhaps, one of the goals that all the forces of the left have to reach: rebuilding a new consensus, articulating a counterhegemony by demolishing myths that it is not possible to face change. Remember that Cuba made a Revolution against the myth of geographical fatalism, because nothing could be done against the will of the Americans and we have a 60-year Revolution.

"Our region can also, from the asymmetries and all the complexity of the situation, articulate alternatives and build their own course.

But that has to be done with the forces, with the ideas, with the own hopes, not with the rules of the game of the dominating adversary and that's where the cultural battle lies. "

The Cuban deputy believes that culture has a vital place in the hegemonic and contemporary counterhegemonic battle, because in some way they have used it to build the consensus of domination, minimize resistance and maximize the profits of those forces of big capital.

"What it is about is to reverse this logic and make culture a factor of mobilization, articulation of new consensus that multiplies the resistance and is what will place us on the path of definitive liberation. The Cuban struggles, for example, are full of moments that illustrate that in the face of the most difficult situation, optimism was the spark that maintained the capacity to resist the most complex.

"If neoliberalism does not consider that it is very threatened, it has not tried to sow the myth that there are no alternatives, a myth that they try to pay every day. And if there were no alternative they would not be so focused on those experiences, in those scenarios where they have managed to gain space by reversing social gains. Because neoliberalism has not yet offered a real change of benefit to majorities, what it is doing is to bring back to previous states what has been advanced in recent decades ».

González Patricio believes that neoliberalism and domination have advanced from imposing fear and trying to rewrite history, because it is important to erase the success chapters of the best causes, both in recent years and in the most distant times.

"But that function of rewriting history points to the future, because what it really wants is to ignore, ignore the advances of these forces, social movements and left forces and, of course, erase optimism and kidnap hopes. And we already know that neither an individual nor a people without hope, can get anywhere ».

And he concludes: "What they are doing is trying to sell us as a panacea certain electoral democracies that hide realities of social fascism even more crude and unequal than the military dictatorship scenarios of previous decades. That is why we have to be viscerally optimistic, optimistically optimistic, to continue fighting and change history ».

http://www.granma.cu/foro-sao-paulo/201 ... 8-20-07-30

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Sun Jul 15, 2018 7:10 pm

Vision towards the present and the future of the Homeland
Main aspects of the Draft Constitution

Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu

July 13, 2018 20:07:04

Image
The text reaffirms the socialist character of our political, economic and social system, as well as the leading role of the Communist Party of Cuba as a leading force of society and the State. Photo: Romero Cruz, Yusmary

The experience acquired in these years of the Revolution and the new directions drawn from the implementation of the Guidelines for Economic and Social Policy approved in the Sixth Party Congress, the objectives emanating from its First National Conference, as well as the decisions made adopted in the VII Congress of the party organization constitute, among other important aspects, elements that favored and made necessary to carry out a reform of the current Constitution of the Republic.

Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Councils of State and of Ministers, in the extraordinary session of the National Assembly of Popular Power, on June 2, 2018, said: "For several years a group of compañeros, one part of which are deputies and are among those proposed to join the Commission, was commissioned by the Political Bureau to analyze the impact that the changes that have been experienced have on the constitutional order, to evaluate issues that need to be incorporated to the constitutional text, by virtue of our experiences in the construction of socialism, and to study constitutional processes developed in various countries, as well as to deepen aspects of our history and constitutional tradition ».

The Working Group, chaired by Army General Raul Castro Ruz, and with the collaboration and advice of several specialists, elaborated the legislative bases with a view to the reform of the Constitution approved by the highest governing body of the Party on June 29. of 2014 and, after numerous sessions of study and debate, presented the result of their work to the Political Bureau and the Plenary of the Central Committee, instances in which an in-depth analysis of the proposals was made.

By agreement of the National Assembly, in an extraordinary session held on June 2 of this year, it was agreed to begin the Constitutional Reform process and approve as a first step the creation of a Commission for these purposes. In representation of the different sectors of our society, 33 deputies were selected and approved, who are part of the Commission responsible for the preparation of this Preliminary Draft.

The Commission, chaired by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and with the presence of the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, José Ramón Machado Ventura, has I have been developing intense days of reflection and analysis, taking as reference the studies carried out previously and the contribution of experts from various institutions.

Recently, the Commission presented a Draft of the new Constitution of the Republic to the 7th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party and the Council of State, in which each of its precepts was deeply analyzed.

The document will be presented to the National Assembly of the People's Power on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of this month, with the objective that it be studied by all the deputies and approved to submit it to consultation with our people, the main architect of this process.

MAIN ASPECTS OF ITS CONTENT

The project is consistent with what was expressed by comrade Raúl Castro Ruz, at the First National Conference of the Party, on January 28, 2012, when he said: «(...) leave behind the burden of the old mentality and forge intentionally transforming and political sensitivity the vision towards the present and the future of the Homeland, without abandoning, for a moment, the martian legacy and the doctrine of Marxism-Leninism that constitute the main ideological foundation of our revolutionary process ».

The text reaffirms the socialist character of our political, economic and social system, as well as the leading role of the Communist Party of Cuba as a leading force of society and the State.

It is a proposal for a new Constitution of the Republic, which will derive from a process of total reform under Article 137 of the current Constitution, in response to the profound changes that are proposed.

It defines the Cuban State as a socialist state of law, democratic, independent and sovereign, organized with all and for the good of all, as a unitary and indivisible republic, founded on work, dignity and ethics of its citizens, whose essential objectives are the enjoyment of political freedom, equity, justice and social equality, solidarity, humanism, welfare, and individual and collective prosperity.

It is to signify that the proposal enhances the supremacy of the Constitution within the legal system and the obligatory nature of its observance and compliance by all, as well as the rule of law in the actions of the organs of the State, its directors and the people.

The project consists of a Preamble and 224 articles, divided into 11 titles, 24 chapters and 16 sections.

The political foundations of the socialist and revolutionary state remain unchanged and are incorporated within their essential purposes, among others, the promotion of sustainable development that ensures individual and collective prosperity, work to achieve greater levels of equity and social justice, as well as preserve and multiply the achievements of the Revolution.

It is also to mean the obligation of the organs of the State, its directors, officials and employees, to respect and attend to the people, maintain close ties with it and submit to its control.

With regard to international relations, the principles that sustain our foreign policy are ratified constitutionally, incorporating others that are not in the current text, among them, the promotion of respect for international law and multipolarity among States; the repudiation of all forms of terrorism, particularly State terrorism; the rejection of the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, of mass extermination or others with similar effects; the protection and conservation of the environment and the fight against climate change, as well as defends the democratization of cyberspace and condemns its use for subversive and destabilizing purposes of sovereign nations.

Image
It is a project to consolidate and give continuity to a socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable system. Photo: Dilbert Reyes Rodríguez

The economic system that it reflects maintains as essential principles the socialist property of all the people on the fundamental means of production and planning as the main component of management, to which is added the recognition of the role of the market and of new forms of ownership, between they are private, in correspondence with the Conceptualization of the Cuban Economic and Social Socialist Development Model and the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, as a result of the consultation with broad sectors of society.

The state company stands out as the main subject of the national economy and its autonomy is recognized as an essential operating principle.

It also ratifies constitutionally the importance of foreign investment for the economic development of the country, with due guarantees.

Regarding private property on the land, a special regime is maintained, with limitations on its transmission and the preferential right of the State to its acquisition through its fair price.

Regarding citizenship, we propose to affiliate ourselves with the principle of effective citizenship: "Cuban citizens, in the national territory, are governed by this condition and can not make use of foreign citizenship."

In a singular way it reflects a wide range of rights, in line with the international instruments of which in this matter Cuba is a part.

It ratifies the access and the gratuitousness as far as the attention, protection and recovery of the services of health, as well as in the education, from the preschool education to the university one of undergraduate, sending to the law the way in which these rights can be developed.

They emphasize the constitutional recognition of other rights essentially in matters of justice and due process, including the presumption of innocence; the social reintegration of persons deprived of their liberty; to be treated with respect to their dignity and physical, moral and moral integrity, as well as to be prosecuted and condemned by a competent, independent, impartial and legally pre-established tribunal.

The rights relative to the freedom to profess or not religious beliefs are maintained, to change them and to practice the one of their preference with the due respect to other creeds and in accordance with the law.

Establishes the obligation of the State, society and families to protect and assist the elderly, as well as the care required by disabled people for their rehabilitation and the improvement of the quality of life.

The content of the right to equality acquires greater development, by incorporating the existing ones, among others, non-discrimination due to gender identity, ethnic origin and disability.

The bill establishes that the rights of people are limited only by the rights of others, collective security, general welfare, respect for public order, the Constitution and the law.

Likewise, mechanisms for the defense of individuals before the courts of justice are needed to safeguard their rights, given the undue action or omission in their functions by State bodies, their directors, officials and employees.

Along with the rights that are recognized, civic and political duties are also defined to be fulfilled by the citizens, among them, contributing to public expenditures; keep due respect to the authorities and their agents; To conserve and protect the goods and resources that are put at the service of the entire people.
Regarding the structure of the State, the following is meant:

The National Assembly of People's Power retains its status as the supreme organ of the State and the only one with constitutional and legislative power.

The Council of State remains as the permanent organ of the National Assembly of People's Power, with the particularity that the president, vice president and secretary of that, are also the Council of State, with what is intended to achieve greater continuity and linkage between both institutions.

The figure of the President and Vice President of the Republic is established.

The President holds the status of head of state, is elected by the National Assembly of People's Power, among its deputies, for a period of five years, and can hold that office for up to two consecutive terms, after which he can not perform it again .

The Council of Ministers maintains its status as the highest executive and administrative body, constitutes the Government of the Republic and will be under the direction of a Prime Minister, a position it intends to create.

As for the courts, the main novelty consists in the possibility of integrating collegially or not into the acts of imparting justice and the mandatory non-participation in all cases of lay judges.

In relation to the state organs of constitutional rank it is proposed to incorporate with that character the Comptroller General of the Republic and institute the National Electoral Council to attend to the electoral processes in the country.

In the local bodies of Popular Power, the proposal to eliminate the provincial assemblies and its administrative body is significant and, instead, a Provincial Government, composed of a Governor and a Council at that level, formed by the presidents of the assemblies. of the Popular Power and the intendants (they direct the Municipal Administration Council).

At the municipal level it is proposed to extend the mandate of the delegates to five years and to recognize the municipality autonomy in terms of its management, in order to seek a faster and more efficient attention to the problems and claims of the locality.

Special interest is given to the guarantees of local petition and participation rights, among which mention is made of the possibility of convening popular consultations on matters of interest to the locality, the right of the population to propose analysis of topics in the assemblies and the correct attention to the requests, expositions, complaints and denunciations of the citizens.

The aspects concerning National Defense and Security are developed in a Title, defining that the strategic conception of defense is based on the doctrine of the War of the Whole People.

It is specified that the National Defense Council is a superior body of the State that directs the country during exceptional situations and disasters.

As regards the reform of the Constitution, the authorized individuals are required to promote it and the intangibility clauses concerning the irrevocability of socialism and the political, social and economic system, as well as the prohibition to negotiate under aggression, threat or coercion, are maintained. of a foreign power.

For the entry into force of part of the contents, special, transitory and final provisions are foreseen.

In short, it is a project to consolidate and give continuity to a socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable system.

http://www.granma.cu/cuba/2018-07-13/vi ... 8-20-07-04

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10586
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: Cuba

Post by blindpig » Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:55 pm

Like silver in the bedrock of the Andes
A special plenary session entitled “For the Unity and Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean,” central theme of the 24th Meeting of the São Paulo Forum, focused the debates of the second day of this annual space for political coordination

Author: Bertha Mojena Milián | internet@granma.cu

july 17, 2018 10:07:27

Image

A special plenary session entitled “For the Unity and Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean,” central theme of the 24th Meeting of the São Paulo Forum, focused the debates of the second day of this annual space for political coordination, underway in Havana.

This has been a cross-cutting theme in all the debate and dialogue spaces throughout the event, which will contribute to the Final Declaration and Plan of Action to be announced on Wednesday afternoon, during the closing of the Meeting.

Granma shares some essential ideas on which many have agreed, and that define the challenges on the road toward that essential unity for the struggles of the present and the future of our peoples:

- It is important to preserve the experiences of governments of a popular and anti-imperialist nature, promoted by parties that form part of the São Paulo Forum.

- The emancipatory efforts and anti-capitalist ideals of social and popular movements must be encouraged and offered resolute support.

- We must work hard to consolidate a lasting peace and promote efforts to advance the sovereign integration of what Martí called Our America.

- When there is unity, determined and capable political leadership, clear objectives, a fighting spirit, and the support of the popular classes, the options to contain, and even to defeat, any counter-revolutionary offensive are multiplied.

- It is a duty to properly explain and boldly and creatively defend the unquestionable economic, social and political gains achieved during the experiences of popular government that for one reason or another have suffered major setbacks (from Honduras in 2009 to Brazil today), as well as the achievements and strengths of those governments that endure amid enormous internal and external difficulties and challenges.

- There will be no sustainable progress in a revolutionary experience, or progressive changes motivated by the values of social justice and equity, without the timely and adequate practice of criticism and self-criticism.

- We must oppose with an authentic internationalist and Latin Americanist spirit, with a firm and non-negotiable sense of dignity, the emancipatory plan of our noble peoples, in the face of that of transnationals and the imperialist forces of the North to undermine the sovereignty of our nations and take control of their natural resources.

- If leftist political parties and popular movements with progressive ideas and commitments lose perspective of the need for the broadest and most democratic unity, they will be granting the reactionaries just what they need. The conclusion is simple: either we unite, or we sink into the mud of the counterrevolution that they are attempting to impose.

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-07-17/lik ... -the-andes
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

Post Reply