Havana, April 25 (RHC)-- The XXI Congress of the Confederation of Cuban Workers, the CTC, came to a close Wednesday afternoon in the Cuban capital.  Jose Ramón Machado Ventura, Second Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, gave the closing address, with the presence of Raúl Castro, First Secretary of the Communist Party, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

During the closing speech, Machado Ventura said: "Inertia, justification and defeatism will always be harmful," noting that there is an urgent need to substitute imports, develop exports and combat theft and illegalities at the work place.

At the final session of the CTC Congress, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento was reconfirmed as general secretary of the organization.  In addressing the delegates, Guilarte de Nacimiento recognized the challenges of the trade union movement to continue contributing to the efficiency of the economy and urged the delegates work toward the fulfillment of the slogan of the Congress: "Unity, Commitment and Victory."