By Alejandra Garcia on September 28, 2023 from Havana
The 10th Congress of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), an organization founded by Fidel Castro on the historic night of September 28, 1960, concluded in Havana this Thursday after two days of deliberations. The CDR saw the light a year after the triumph of January 1, 1959, and has since then it has had the purpose and responsibility of protecting the Revolution from its foundations, the neighborhoods.
The largest mass organization in the country has been witness to all the historical events that have occurred since the revolutionary beginnings. Its purpose has ranged from stopping attempts to social destabilization to fighting crime and preventing the consumption and proliferation of drugs.
It has also had the noble task of joining efforts to support the most vulnerable within and among the island communities in case of disasters or health emergencies. And it does this without distinction. Women, men, the elderly, students, workers, farmers, professionals, intellectuals, retirees, or housewives are all involved and equally important.
photo: Bill Hackwell
The embellishment of neighborhoods, cleanliness, discipline, and celebrations on important dates also go hand in hand with the CDRs. These and other strengths were highlighted during the two days of the Congress, in which Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, was ratified as its National Coordinator.
At the closing of the citizens’ meeting, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel mentioned, “You have proposed what is required: to revitalize the work of the CDR organization, taking as a premise the traditional tasks and the current problems with which we have to struggle with.”
The 10th Congress of the CDRs came amid an economic crisis aggravated by the unjust international economic order, the years of the COVID pandemic, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The low availability of foreign currency, caused by the tightening of the blockade imposed by the U.S. Government and the delay in supplies from food to fuel from supplier countries, has also caused fuel shortages for electricity generation and damage to our economy, resulting in blackouts and tense economic conditions, which harden the daily life of Cubans.
According to Díaz-Canel, since last week, measures have been taken to mitigate the effects of this crisis and overcome the situation.
In this scenario, “popular vigilance continues to be the essential activity of the organization,” the president mentioned and acknowledged that new forms of organization of the vigilance guards have been used in recent months. However, “not all neighborhoods are achieving results in confronting criminal activities and social indiscipline,” he warned.
The challenges facing Cuba are immense. Cubans get out of one storm to jump into another. Even so, the days go by with optimism in the country. People do not stop and continue their daily search for a dignified life.
“We will continue working to improve the Revolution’s achievements with dignity, combativeness, and the spirit of resistance that characterizes Cuban revolutionaries,” the Hero of the Republic Gerardo Hernandez added.
In that quest, the CDRs are indispensable and inseparable from the Revolution. “They will continue to be so as long as the Revolution exists, which means they will continue to be so forever,” Díaz-Canel concluded.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English