Raúl Castro postponed on Friday what would be the first Communist Party congress in twelve years. The meeting was to take place by the end of this year, and Castro has not yet set a new date.
His reason? The Party must still make a great many preparations—including analyzing current economic conditions to see, as Castro put it, “what must be perfected and even eliminated”—to be able to set the best course for the country’s future at the meeting. And this needs to be done well, Raúl said, because “This will be the last (congress) led by the historic leadership of the revolution… because of the laws of life” (meaning, of course, that he and Fidel both have little time left in leadership positions due to age).
This also means that we will see more policy changes in the coming months, and they will almost certainly be very new for 50-year-old post-revolutionary Cuba. The congress, too, when it does happen, will be of great significance, as Fidel might for the first time step down from his position as head of the Communist Party.