A last hurrah for Cuba's communist rulers

[Gerald]

Cuba's Communist Party is holding its first Congress in 14 years, and for the country's ageing leaders it could be one of their last opportunities to bask in the victories of days gone by.

The red flags are flying high in Havana. Buildings across the capital are decked out with giant Cuban flags.

One of the largest military parades seen in decades is scheduled to pass through Revolution Square, the symbolic political heart of the country.

The parade and Congress come exactly half a century after Fidel Castro proclaimed that his was a socialist revolution, rather than a democratic one.

His speech on 16 April 1961 paved the way for a centralised Soviet-style economy and one-party rule.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13103147

Note: 16 April 2011 Last updated at 09:58 GMT

[Gerald]

Better late than never!

[Jimbuna]

[Feuer Frei!]

50 loving years of communism racked up.
Now the system is running out of other people's money.
Communism doesn't work. Old news that. After half a century, the record of the Cuban regime is one of failure.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

50 loving years of communism racked up.
Now the system is running out of other people's money.
Communism doesn't work. Old news that. After half a century, the record of the Cuban regime is one of failure.

Does capitalism work?

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Does capitalism work?

You'd have to find someone who actually practices it and ask them to get the answer. Hong Kong might be a good place to start.

[Gerald]

Raul Castro realises Cuba's communists "made real mistakes out of idealism", the BBC's Michael Voss reports from Havana

Cuban President Raul Castro has said top political positions should be limited to two five-year terms, and promised "systematic rejuvenation" of the government.

President Castro was speaking at the start of the first congress of Cuba's ruling Communist Party in 14 years.

He said the party leadership was in need of renewal and should subject itself to severe self-criticism.

The proposal is unprecedented under Cuban communism.

Mr Castro, 79, made clear the limits would apply to himself.

He took over from his brother Fidel in 2008 and between them they have ruled Cuba for 52 years.

He acknowledged that "the confidence of the majority of Cubans had been tested, with regard to the party and the revolution".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13107318

Note; Update Record, 17 April 2011 Last updated at 03:20 GMT

[Gerald]

After two decades of austerity, many Cubans hope that the Cuban Communist Party Congress, being held this weekend, will bring about substantial economic change.

Outside observers (mostly in Miami or Washington) - who often regard Cuba as Fidel Castro's personal fiefdom - tend to take one of two attitudes.

Either they dismiss the Congress as a rubber-stamping exercise or, conversely, they see tensions between "reformers" (including Raul Castro) and the "old guard" (led, perhaps, by a recovering Fidel) and attribute the Congress's long delay (it was due in 2001) to this underlying battle.

The reality, however, is more complex.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13078238


Note: Update Record, 17 April 2011 Last updated at 07:55 GMT

[Jimbuna]

[Platapus]

Now if only the United States would stop its pouting and end the stupid and ineffective embargo we might see some real improvements in Cuba.

[Gerald]

Perhaps the vehicle fleet changes,

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Now if only the United States would stop its pouting and end the stupid and ineffective embargo we might see some real improvements in Cuba.

We can only hope. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it ineffective, though. It did, after all, effectively help Communism control Cuba for half a century and effectively ensure that whole generations of Cubans lived a miserable, dirt-poor existence.