Fifty years of socialism

 By Christopher Hart, Havana

Cuba’s communist leaders kicked off a crucial party congress with a huge parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the defeat of the invasion by CIA-backed exiles at the Bay of Pigs.

Military music and revolutionary slogans were broadcast from loudspeakers as ranks of soldiers marched through Revolution Square past President Raul Castro and fellow regime dignitaries.

Jet fighters roared overhead, helicopters flew by and assault vehicles drove through the square before hundreds of thousands of civilians - from college students to factory workers – filed past the podium.

"Long live the Communist Party of Cuba! Long Live the Cuban Revolution! Long Live Fidel! Long Live Raul!” a female announcer shouted. Fidel Castro, the country’s ailing former leader, did not make an appearance.

But away from the communist fervour and propaganda, the country’s ageing leaders were preparing for a party congress that will be crucial for the regime’s survival.

Raul Castro is seeking his comrades’ endorsement for market reforms designed to bolster the creaking Soviet-style economy while maintaining their firm grip on one-party power.

Since succeeding his brother as president, he has repeatedly emphasised the country’s economic troubles and need to embrace change.

“The time that we have left is short, and the work that we have to do is gigantic,” Mr Castro announced recently, as he conceded that changes which would once have been viewed as a heretical embrace of capitalism were desperately needed.

Under guidelines announced last year, more than 170,000 Cubans have taken out self-employment licences and a new breed of micro-entrepreneurs such as barbers and car mechanics is emerging.

But all major industries remain state-controlled and the communist authorities will retain a central planning system that has failed across the rest of the world.

The congress was scheduled to begin later on Saturday with an opening address by Raul Castro. Many Cubans hoped that he would unveil more radical changes, such as lifting the restrictions on buying and selling property and cars.

Delegates will also vote on a new party leadership. Raul is expected to take over his brother’s post as first secretary, but the real focus is on who will emerge behind him – and hence be positioned to be the first non-Castro to lead the country since the 1959 revolution.

The party was celebrating the 50th anniversary of its triumph over the US-backed invasion force and of Fidel Castro declaring that the revolution would forever be socialist.

For all the parade banners boldly declaring the “Victory of Socialism”, it is the failings of Cuba’s experiment in tropical socialism that will dominate the agenda for the next three days.