Logo 8th Congreso del Partido

Havana, Mar 15 (RHC) The Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) will analyze the economic and social results of the previous five-year period, as well as work projections for the coming years, Granma newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the newspaper, the meeting, scheduled for April 16-19, will focus on the study of documents related to the performance of the 2016-2020 cycle and the updating of the development model.

All this, in order to ensure the continuity and irreversibility of socialism and to advance in the improvement of the population's quality of life, closely linked to the formation of ethical and political values in citizens, the newspaper stressed.

Granma noted that the last five years have been marked by difficulties of various kinds, aggravated by the tightening of the US blockade imposed on the Caribbean nation, in addition to structural problems and internal shortcomings.

From 2016 to 2019, the Cuban economy experienced a discreet growth of the Gross Domestic Product, at a rate of one percent as an annual average; and, for 2020, a contraction in the vicinity of 11 percent is estimated, due to the impact of the U.S. encirclement and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the country 'has demonstrated its resilience, which has allowed preserving the social conquests, without renouncing to the planned development objectives and to the solidarity support to other peoples', the source pointed out.

Delegates to the Congress, representing all the people, will discuss the policies approved since the sixth meeting of the political organization to date, and will be informed about the execution of the guidelines for the updating of the Cuban socialist model, of which 70 percent was implemented or is in process.