Although unity has always been the main weapon of the Revolution in its over 50 years of existence and it will continue to be so, the leadership of the Party has requested every compatriot to analyze the Draft Guidelines deeply, openly and objectively, without passions distancing or separating ourselves from the real and harsh situation of these times, in which many things need to be reorganized.
For that reason, without falling into false unanimity, as requested by President Raúl Castro, beyond our support for the Draft Guidelines, we have been asked to enrich them with as many ideas as we can come up with at the union, students or community meetings scheduled, in which different points of view -dissenting or not- about one or several issues are expressed, in order to draw the best conclusions.
The speeches (or reflections) by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro and President Raul Castro on the current challenges of the nation, the publication of specialized articles and the people’s opinion by the media, and the recent seminars to train political and administrative officials at all levels, have made it possible to create a favorable political climate for discussions about this document.
A significant contribution to the Draft Guidelines would be that people give their opinion or make suggestions on how to face such situation or problem without leading to the irrational and unplanned use of resources, lack of motivation towards work, the criticized State paternalism, the economy’s dependence on imports, egalitarianism, and lack of food sufficiency.
In as many meetings as possible, it would be advisable to reflect, on the basis of arguments and irrefutable examples, what the future of the Cuban Revolution could be (without forgetting our international commitments) if we can’t be able to increase efficiency in every field; productivity -also as a source of salary improvements-; energy saving; competitiveness, and quality in production and services.
In our view, labor and wage reorganization, self-employment, the fiscal policy and the tax system, the reorganization of health services, the elimination of the dual currency, access to higher education, the price policy and the housing program -just to mention a few-, will be among the specific topics to be discussed.
It’s necessary to listen to the opinions of workers, housewives, farmers, students artists or intellectuals and self-employees -that is, of the entire society-, on the model of economic management chosen, and on the macroeconomic, economic, investment, social, agricultural-industrial, industrial and energy, tourism, transport, construction and trade policies.
All opinions are important, vital to solve our problems and make progress in our path to sustainable development.
Translated by Silke Páez
