MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Full blown campaign to garner support for Raúl’s Cuban model reforms

Raul Castro: the revolution will come out strengthened

The Cuban government has launched an aggressive campaign on its proposed economic reforms as it tries to whip up public opinion enthusiasm and in its own ranks ahead of a Communist Party congress to approve them in April.

The campaign follows on such memorable recent statements from the Castro brothers, (and presidents) Fidel and Raúl about the system not working and if reforms are not implemented, it’s over the cliffs.

In state-run newspapers, television and radio, the message is being sent that changes are needed to improve Cuba's economy so that socialism will live on once the current leaders are gone, and that the way they are being adopted is a grand exercise in democracy.

“In this process, it is the people who decide” read a headline in Communist Party newspaper Granma. “The Revolution will come out strengthened,” said another.

There have been front-page stories featuring pronouncements by President Raul Castro and inside pages filled with testimony by Cubans enthusiastic about what is afoot. Television and radio have given similar coverage.

All the promotion is about a dense 32-page document titled “Project for Guidelines of Economic and Social Policy” unveiled by Castro last week which details proposals to strengthen Cuba’s fragile economy.

The essence of the reforms is reducing the state’s role while allowing more private enterprise. The government will continue to own most of the economy, but more self employment will be allowed in an effort to boost productivity.

Some of the proposals are already in action but all await approval at the ruling Communist Party’s first congress since 1997. The congress, which has been put off repeatedly over the years, will be preceded by a period of public discussion in which Cubans can voice their opinions, which is the democracy part.

“As has happened in many previous occasions, once again the people will be the great protagonist … one more example of our genuine socialist democracy,” said one of testimonials in Communist party newspaper Granma.

Amid all the talk about the importance of the changes, Cuban leaders appeared to retreat slightly this week by insisting they were simply a modernization, not a reform of the collective system installed after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro, Raul’s older brother, in power.

In a recent interview with US journalists invited by Fidel, he admitted that “the Cuban model doesn't even work for us anymore”, and his brother addressing the cabinet and a unions’ congress warned that “we accept the reforms otherwise we will fall off the cliff”.