The strategic importance of communications and the media in society, as well as the public right to information, were at the center of discussions on the documents resulting from the 7th Party Congress, between members of the National Committee and National Ethics Commission of the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC), and guests from the national media.
The discussions on the two key documents arising from the 7th Party Congress – the Conceptualization of the Cuban Economic and Social Model and the National Plan for Economic and Social Development until 2030 – were attended by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, member of the Party Political Bureau and first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers; Alberto Alvariño Atiénzar, deputy head of the Press Department of the Party Central Committee and Antonio Moltó Martorell, UPEC president, among other compañeros.
The analysis was preceded by the recognition of the conceptual importance of both documents, to which several participants referred. Various interventions aimed to emphasize that communications and the media form part of a process that cuts across everything that happens in society, and therefore should be used as a platform to promote citizen participation, social debate and the transformations required to advance and build the nation desired by Cubans.
Following this vision, communications and the media are strategic for the development and defense of the country, particularly in the current international context, where the media’s coverage of conflicts and confrontations is crucial.
Several participants also noted that access to information is a civil right and that the public system of means of communication in Cuba, which has been a stronghold of the defense of socialism, must continue to be in socially owned.
In this sense, journalist Rosa Miriam Elizalde, a member of the UPEC Presidency, emphasized that the media should be considered a fundamental social property, even when under different forms of management, be it state, cooperative or through organizations, and should never be privately owned.
Responsibility in communications practice is collective, and should also be included as part of the conceptualization of institutions and public officials. On this particular issue, Pelayo Terry, editor of Granma, added that the participation of the public should also be taken into account and that information, communications and knowledge must also be used to preserve cultural independence.
Yosley Carrero, a member of the UPEC National Committee, noted that information must be timely, prompt and accurate, and that public debate, as a civil right, must be included.
Meanwhile, another member of the UPEC National Committee, Ricardo Ronquillo, requested that the media be considered an aspect of the defense and national security of the country, as the real struggle of Cuba today is taking place in the context of ideas.
He insisted that a prosperous and sustainable socialism can only be achieved with a prosperous and sustainable press, as the public communications system and the press not only form part of the political system, but maintain a dynamic and dialectical relationship.
In addition, Rosa Miriam referred to the political participation of members of society through social and mass organizations and their control over the media.
She noted that the state is accountable for the role it performs and public information and communications should be used as a means of exercising this popular control.
Closely related to these approaches was the proposal to include, within the National Plan for Economic and Social Development until 2030, communications and the media as a strategic sector.
It was noted that the values promoted across the world today seek to demobilize and dismantle the system of ideas that Cuba defends; and that generating symbolic capital requires material resources. Additionally, it was stressed that communications are at the heart of contemporary politics, but also generate financial gains.
Other issues discussed related to the preservation of the human capital created by the country and the need to promote a policy to attract those who for various reasons have left this sector to work in other fields.
José Alejandro Rodríguez, a member of the UPEC Presidency, argued that even though the two documents under discussion refer to vulnerable sectors of the population, this should be more explicit and a priority, since one can not ignore the social differences that have been created in the country.
Other proposals in regards to wages, which must be proportionate to the work done and the needs of each; and for workers and unions to offer their views and to be heard when deciding who will manage media and communications entities, were also discussed.
