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Cuba’s Communist Party held its sixth party Congress this past week heralding a new era of change, most notably marked by the exclusion for the first time, of Fidel Castro in the party’s leadership ranks. The 85 year old revolutionary leader wrote in Cuba’s state-owned paper the Granma, “The new generation is called to rectify and change without hesitation all that must be rectified and changed.” His 79 year old brother Raul Castro, was named the first secretary of the Communist Party with 80 year old Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and 78 year old Ramiro Valdez being appointed to the 2nd and 3rd top leadership positions respectively. However, some younger political figures were also appointed to the party structure. Raul Castro gave a 2 and a half hour speech – the longest of his career to date – in which he laid out his vision for Cuba. Surprisingly he called for 2 5-year term limits for the party leadership, as well as new laws permitting for the first time since Cuba’s revolution, the sale of cars and homes. He also announced that Cuban farmers who proved successful would be rewarded with more state land and that half a million state jobs would be eliminated, reducing the percentage of state-employed Cubans from 90% to 65% in the next five years.

GUEST: Peter Roman, Author of “People’s Power: Cuba’s Experience with Representative Government,” teaches at the Graduate Center at CUNY and at Hostos Community College