Over the Revolution's Years

1975 have a special significance for the consolidation and the advance of the Cuban Revolution. After 1970 a process of analysis of the work began carried out by the revolutionary power in its first decade, being also valued the experiences of other socialist states. This process reaches its culminating point in 1975, year in that the first congress of Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) is made.

This congress rebounds strongly in the internal life of Party, since it is constituted – for first time by means of election - the Head Committee (Comité Central) and other organs that take over the running of Party.

But being PCC the main ruling force of the society and of the State, the congress had enormous transcendency for the whole country, for the decisive weight that the national problems discussed in its bossom exerts, and on those that agreements and resolutions fall on: the project of Constitution of the Republic, the improvement of the organs of the Popular Power, the new political-administrative division, the system of management and planning of the economy, as well as the Party and State politic in all the orders (political, ideological, economic, social, cultural).

In 1976, with the writing of a new constitution, the transformation of the State was completed, transforming Cuba into "an socialist State of workers, independent and sovereign, organized with everybody and for the well of everyone, as unitary and democratic republic, for the enjoyment of the political freedom, the social justice, the individual and collective well-being and the human solidarity", just as it is said in the constitutional text.

The goverment arisen from the revolution finished its institutionalization. In 1976 Fidel Castro became President of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces.

By the mid-1970s, Castro started economic reforms. Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1962 in support of the U.S. embargo, but in 1975 the OAS lifted all sanctions against Cuba and both Mexico and Canada broke ranks with the US by developing closer relations with Cuba.

On 3 June 2009 the OAS adopted a contentious resolution to end the 47-year exclusion of Cuba, but the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked out in protest as the resolution was being drafted. Cuban leaders have repeatedly announced they are not interested in rejoining the OAS.

The years that continued after the important institutional changes of 1975-1976, they are characterized by notables advances in the creation of conditions to use more efficiently the productive resources of the country, as well as for significant achievements in the economic and social development, and in the purpose of satisfying every time in more measure the population's needs.

But they were also years of growing difficulties of objective character, so much internal as external, and of sensitive errors and deficiencies, mainly in the application of the system of management and planning of the economy.

The Social Global Product followed an upward rhythm up to 1986 and, although it suffered a slight descent, already in 1988 it constituted 167% of that of 1975. Equally it was increased the value of the exports and imports of goods, of the investments, of the personal consumption, of the population's incomes and of other indicators, with some difficulties in 1986 and 1987.

The sugar harvests stayed at a high level to the seven million metric tons of sugar, above the previous figures to the victory of the Revolution, and that of 1989 reached 8 124 000 tons. There were significant increases in the electric power production, steel, nickel, fertilizers, citric, paper and cardboard, vegetables, cement and other construction materials, as well as in the fishing, the constructions, the park of agricultural machinery, new industries – such as six sugar mill - , hydraulic work, forest plantations and other lines. Thermoelectric new power stations were built that they allowed to supply to the population's 90% and advanced considerably in the construction of the central electronuclear of Juraguá, in Cienfuegos. It reached big proportions the movement of innovative and ratiocinators.