Castro's Rubber Stamp Assembly

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The history of the recently established organs of "Popular Power" in Cuba began in the sugar fields in 1970.

In that year Castro's government mobilised all the resources of the country for the attainment of a single objective-the production ot 10 million tons of sugar-about 40% more than had ever been produced before.

This goal turned out to be a stroke of economic adventurism so common in the past in other bureaucratised workers' states.

And it was implemented with a kind of ultra-left idealism.

The objective limits on production were substituted by bureaucratic appeals to a kind of "national spirit" which was more in the minds of the bureaucrats than of the masses of workers.

The workers were bludgeoned into working harder and had their political rights more curtailed than ever in interests target.

All this had very serious consequences for the Cuban economy. The ten million tons was never reached.

But the vast resources used in the attempt meant that the 8.5 million tons actually produced were enormously costly and starved other sectors of the economy which consequently declined.

DEMAGOGIC

Castro, in the name of leadership, was forced to make a number of demagogic self-critical speeches.

But masses of workers understood that they were the ones to pay the cost of the mistakes of the The reactions, however, were more individualistic than collective, taking the form of grumbling, nonco-operation and a massive wave of absenteeism amounting in places almost to strike proportions.

The grip of the bureaucracy on the masses appeared to be slipping.

The response of Castro and his clique was threefold. First, a number of emergency coercive measures were passed including the so-called "law against loafing" which placed tighter controls on absenteeism and voluntary unemployment.

Second, there began an almost complete reversal of economic policy.

'DEMOCRACY"

"Moral incentives" to workers were largely replaced by piecework. "Luxury" consumer goods came onto the market (at astronomical prices) and available partly as a reward for a good work record.

The minimum wage was in effect abolished and some pensions reduced.

A vast programme of work study was introduced in order to improve organisation and step up productivity.

But the bureaucracy was in no position to make any of these changes successfully without a third sions to "democracy, make concesThe revolution, Castro announced, was to be "institutionof workers.

This caricature of workers' democracy was soon followed by Phase 2 of the institutionalisation process.

CONSULTATION

This was a plan to create "People's Power" in both local and national government.

Assemblies were elected by universal franchise for each municipality (starting with a year-long experiment in province of Matanzas).

The 169 municipal assemblies then elect delegates to 14 provincial assemblies and the National Assembly.

The National Assembly elects a Council of State and nominally appoints the Council of Ministers "in consultation with" the President of the Council of State who is also the President of the Council of Ministers (i.e. the Prime Minister).

Both these positions (as well as those of Chairman of the Cuban Communist Party and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces) are held by Fidel Castro and his brother Raul is his deputy in all these posts.

In fact all the other officials of Assembly correspond almost sessions of the assembly from four to three-this "would mean less work for the delegates" and mean the electors would have one less report back meeting to attend.

There is no possibility at all that institutions as carefully designed and controlled as these can ever become anything more than a rubber stamp for the decisions of the bureaucracy.

The question, however, is hou long all this complex manoeuvre can prevent the emergence oi = more organised opposition to the Stalinist leadership and hold at bas the threatening discontent which came to the surface in 19°0.

POLITICAL The working class cannot *= political power in Cuba through these bureaucratically constructed and dominated organisations.

What is needed is a politica revolution which overthrows i= present Stalinist leadershr ==a establishes the truly indeperses: organisation of workers' demo cracy. Such a revolution requires the building of a Trotskyist party in Cuba.