CUBA HAS A NEW GOVERNMENT

Fidel: ',,,not them ( the US ) but only we, ourselves, can destroy the Revolution,,,'

A lot of fuzz about as well the amplitude as about the disappearance of some internationaly wellknown faces, vice-president of the Counsel of State and secretary of the Counsel of Ministers Carlos Lage, and minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Perez Roque.Both have an impressive record : Lage as the architect ( together with Raúl ) of the economical revival since 1990; Perez Roque as the inspirer and animator of the open and positive international relations.The last ten years they were considered belonging to the new generation that should preserve the continuety of the Revolution.What happened that Fidel wrote about ' misbehaviour ' and ' being tempted by the honey of power '.In their letters of resignation Lage and Perez Roque speak about the errors they made ( which ones ? ) , the conclusions they made of this, but also their remaining support for the Revolution and their loyalty to Fidel.
Rumours want, and there are a lot of them, that the aim for more productivity and discipline, the war against corruption and the possible conversations with the USA have something to do with it.Who will say ? Sure is that Obama is not prepaired to lift the Blockade, the softening of it is for internal purpose. As there is a conservative republican, Lugar, proposing to end the economical boycot of Cuba. As the voice of US-big-business he is frustrated watching the rest of the world having fruitful economical relations with Cuba. About the new Cuban government: the fusion of some related departments and therefor the substitution of some responsables is the logical consequence of the plans for rationalisation and the aim improving efficiancy :

“ ... in accordance with proposals by the President of the Councils of State and Ministers in the constitutional session of the 8th Legislature of the National Assembly of People’s Power on February 24, 2008, regarding the fact that "a more compact and functional structure is required today, with fewer agencies under the Central State Administration and a better distribution of their duties," the Council of State agreed in a meeting today (march 2, 2009) to make the following movements of cadres and to reorganize a number of agencies under the Central State Administration: To appoint Marino Murillo Jorge to the posts of vice president of the Council of Ministers and minister of economy and planning and to release him from his responsibilities as head of the Ministry of Domestic Trade. To release Otto Rivero Torres from his responsibilities as vice president of the Council of Ministers, taking into account that the transfer of programs he attended to the respective investment agencies has concluded. The vice president of government, Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, will be in charge of their coordination and control. To merge the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, and to appoint Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz as head of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, a designation that includes the country’s economic cooperation activities. To merge the Ministry of the Food Industry and the Ministry of the Fishing Industry and to appoint María del Carmen Concepción González, as head of the Ministry of the Food Industry, a designation that includes the activities of the fishing industry. ...... To release Felipe Pérez Roque from his responsibilities as minister of foreign affairs and to promote the current first deputy minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, to occupy that post. To release Georgina Barreiro Fajardo from the post of minister of finances and prices and to appoint in her stead Lina Pedraza Rodríguez. To release Fernando Acosta Santana from his post as minister of the iron, steel and heavy machinery industry and promote in his stead Major General Salvador Pardo Cruz, who occupied the post of general director of the Union of Military Industry. To promote Jacinto Angulo Pardo from first deputy minister to minister of the Ministry of Domestic Trade. To release Alfredo Morales Cartaya from the post of minister of labor and social security and to promote in his stead Margarita Marlene González Fernández, currently first deputy minister of that ministry. To appoint as minister of science, technology and the environment, a ministry to which attention to the scientific complex is transferred, José M. Miyar Barrueco, who was released for that purpose from his post as secretary of the Council of State. To appoint on an interim basis, subject to ratification by the National Assembly of People’s Power in the upcoming ordinary session period, Deputy Homero Acosta Álvarez to the post of secretary of the Council of State, with the duty of assisting and aiding the president, the first vice president, the vice presidents and other members of the Council of State in fulfilling the attributions of that body as defined in articles 89, 90 and 93 of the Constitution of the Republic. The post of secretary of the Council of State is not in and of itself an authority with State decision-making powers nor does is it in any way play a central role in the leadership of the State. To release Carlos Lage Dávila from his post as secretary of the Council of Ministers and to appoint in that post the current head of the Secretariat of the Ministry of the FAR (Revolutionary Armed Forces), Major General José Amado Ricardo Guerra, with the duty of assisting and aiding the president of the Council of Ministers, the first vice president and the other members of its Executive Committee in its activities, in accordance with Article 97 of the Constitution of the Republic and current legislation, and therefore, that post does not legally constitute an authority with government decision-making powers, nor does it in any way play a central role in the leadership of the government. In the framework of these decisions, the Political Bureau and the Council of State ratified the validity of the statements of Raúl Castro on February 24, 2008 when he said, "…Institutionalism is one of the pillars of the Revolution’s invulnerability in political terms, which is why we must work to constantly perfect it. We should never believe that what we have made is perfect." In accordance with the above, it was agreed that it is necessary to continue studying the government’s current structure with the objective of gradually reducing its magnitude and increasing its effectiveness... “

Remarkable is the tone of the official note of the Counsel of State on march 2, 2009.
Nobody's fired but liberated of his duties or tasks or has to hand over or transfer his responsibilities.The former chiefs mostly handed over to their assistants; others received another term of reference. One must always consider that in Cuba all decisions are made by mutual consent and that the dismissed ministers were present at the discussion and evaluation. This means that those who went made their own conclusions. ( see the letters of Lage and Perez Roque )
To conclude we have once again to refer to the historical speech of Fidel on november 17 in 2005: ',,,not them ( the US ) but only We, ourselves, can destroy the Revolution,,,'
And , remarkable, 2005, on december 23, in the Parliament, Felipe Perez Roque said :“...What would happen if you find yourself not capable to overcome the difficulties and to correct your mistakes that threatened to destroy your ideals...”

Paul Evrard
Infocuba Belgium