Communist Party of Cuba facts for kids
Coordinates: 20°59′27.7″N 77°25′41.5″W / 20.991028°N 77.428194°W
Quick facts for kids
Communist Party of Cuba
Partido Comunista de Cuba
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| First Secretary | Raúl Castro |
| Second Secretary | José Ramón Machado |
| Founder | Fidel Castro |
| Founded | 3 October 1965 |
| Preceded by | 26th of July Movement Popular Socialist Party |
| Headquarters | Havana, Cuba |
| Newspaper | Granma |
| Youth wing | Young Communist League |
| Pioneer wing | José Martí Pioneer Organization |
| Membership (2016) |  670,000 |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism Revolutionary socialism Anti-capitalism Castroism Guevarism Socialism of the 21st century |
| Political position | Far-left |
| International affiliation | International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties |
| Regional affiliation | COPPPAL Foro de São Paulo |
| Colors | Red Blue |
| Slogan | ¡Hasta la victoria siempre! |
The Communist Party of Cuba is the ruling political party in Cuba. It is a Marxist–Leninist communist party. The Cuban constitution describes the role of the party to be the "leading force of society and of the state". Since April 2011, the First Secretary of the Central Committee has been Raúl Castro, younger brother of the previous First Secretary Fidel Castro, who died on 25 November 2016. The Second Secretary has been José Ramón Machado Ventura.
Contents
History
Cuba had a number of communist and anarchist organizations from the early period of the Republic. The original "internationalised" Communist Party of Cuba formed in the 1920s. In 1944, it was renamed as the Popular Socialist Party for electoral reasons. In July 1961, two years after the successful overthrow of Fulgencio Batista and the creation of a revolutionary government, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI) was formed. It was a merger of:
- Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement
- The Popular Socialist Party led by Blas Roca
- The student-based Revolutionary Directory led by Faure Chomón
On 26 March 1962, the ORI became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC), which became the Communist Party of Cuba on 3 October 1965. In Article 5 of the Cuban constitution of 1976, the Communist Party is recognized as "the superior guiding force of society and of the State, that organizes and orients common efforts toward the high goals of the construction of socialism and the advancement toward communist society". All parties, including the Communist Party, are prohibited from advertizing their organizations.
For the first fifteen years of its existence, the Communist Party was almost completely inactive outside of the Politburo. The 100 person Central Committee rarely met and the first regular party Congress was held ten years after its founding. In 1969, membership of the party was only 55,000 (0.7% of the population), making the PCC the smallest ruling communist party in the world. By the time of the first party Congress in 1975, the party had grown to just over two hundred thousand members. By 1980, the party had grown to over 430,000 members and it grew further to 520,000 by 1985.
Central Committee
The leading bodies of the party were the Politburo and the Secretariat until 1991. In 1991 the two bodies were merged into an expanded Politburo with over twenty members. However, the Secretariat was re-introduced in 2002. There is also a Central Committee which meets between party congresses. At the Fifth Congress, the size of the Central Committee was reduced to 150 members from the previous membership of 225. Fidel Castro was the party's First Secretary (or leader) since its creation while Raúl Castro was the Second Secretary. Upon Fidel Castro's 2008 resignation from the party and Cuban government, Raúl Castro became First Secretary.
Politburo
The 7th Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was elected by the Central Committee on 19 April 2016 following the 7th Congress.
| Rank | Name (birth–death) |
Member since | Duration | Party position(s) | State position(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raúl Castro Ruz (born 1931) |
3 October 1965 | 55 years, 360 days |
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| 2 | José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 1930) |
3 October 1965 | 55 years, 360 days |
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| 5 | Miguel Díaz-Canel (born 1960) |
10 October 1997 | 23 years, 353 days |
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| 4 | Esteban Lazo Hernandez (born 1944) |
7 February 1986 | 35 years, 88 days |
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| 3 | Ramiro Valdés Menéndez (born 1932) |
3 October 1965 | 55 years, 360 days |
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| 6 | Leopoldo Cintra Frías (born 1941) |
14 October 1991 | 29 years, 349 days |
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| 7 | Alvaro Lopez Miera (born 1943) |
10 October 1997 | 23 years, 353 days |
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| 8 | Ramón Espinosa Martín (born 1939) |
10 October 1997 | 23 years, 353 days |
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| 9 | Lázara Mercedes López Acea (born 1964) |
19 April 2011 | 10 years, 162 days |
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| 10 | Salvador Valdés Mesa | 10 October 1997 | 23 years, 353 days |
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| 11 | Marino Alberto Murillo Jorge (born 1961) |
19 April 2011 | 10 years, 162 days |
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| 12 | Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla (born 1958) |
11 December 2012 | 8 years, 290 days |
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| 13 | Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento |
19 April 2016 | 5 years, 162 days |
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| 14 | Roberto Morales Ojeda |
19 April 2016 | 5 years, 162 days |
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| 15 | Teresa Amarelle Boué |
19 April 2016 | 5 years, 162 days |
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| 16 | Miriam Nicado García |
19 April 2016 | 5 years, 162 days |
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| 17 | Marta Ayala Ávila |
19 April 2016 | 5 years, 162 days |
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Youth
The Communist Party of Cuba has a youth wing, the Young Communist League (Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas, UJC) which is a member organization of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. It also has a children's group, the José Martí Pioneer Organization.
Ideology
Compared with other ruling Communist Parties, the Communist Party of Cuba retains a stricter adherence to the tradition of Marxism–Leninism and the traditional Soviet model.
Electoral History
National Assembly of People's Power
| Election year | Number of
votes |
Percentage of votes | Number of seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Elected by the members of the Municipal Assemblies |
489 / 489
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| 1981 | Elected by the members of the Municipal Assemblies |
499 / 499
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| 1993 | Full list | 6,939,894 | 95.1% |
589 / 589
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| Selective vote | 360,735 | 4.9% | ||
| 1998 | Full list | 7,533,222 | 100% |
601 / 601
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| Selective vote | ||||
| 2008 | Full list | 7,125,752 | 91% |
614 / 614
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| Selective vote | 713,606 | 9% | ||
| 2013 | Full list | 6,031,215 | 81.30% |
612 / 612
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| Selective vote | 1,387,307 | 18.70% | ||
| 2018 | Full list | 5,620,713 | 80.44% |
605 / 605
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| Selective vote | 1,366,328 | 19.56% | ||
Images for kids
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A billboard in Havana promoting the ongoing socialist revolution
