Cuban Vice President Calls for Reinforcement of Actions against Social Indiscipline

Havana, Cuba, Sep 29.- The Second Secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party and Vice-president of the Councils of State and Ministers, Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, called on the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) to intensify the battle against social indiscipline.

Vice-president Machado Ventura addressed delegates at the closing session of the CDR’ s 8th Congress, which was also attended by President Raul Castro.

The top political leader stressed the need for the organization to take action against illegal practices, which are foreign to Cuban society, built on the people’s efforts and sacrifice. He added that the struggle on such indiscipline has not yet yielded the expected results due, in part, to the complex phenomena that have originated such acts, which cannot be solved overnight.

In his remarks, Machado also addressed the significance of revolutionary surveillance by the CDRs in a realistic and practical way, since today’s context is different from the days the organization was founded. He said that each community must implement its own solutions, according to its characteristics.

With this regards, he acknowledged the work by those who patrol Cuban coasts to avoid their use as springboard for drug trafficking by boats that usually pick drug packages dropped on the sea. He said that the use of illegal substances is a phenomenon that must be met with social rejection, since such a phenomenon creates an environment foreign to the Cuban social project and damages the image of the Revolution.

Machado said that the consumption and traffic of drugs in Cuba is quite low if compared to other nations, but in the event of such actions, the CDRs must strengthen their attention to individuals involved and their families.

The Cuban vice-president congratulated the largest Cuban grassroots organization for the large number of voluntary blood donations achieved and he invited CDR members to be effective in the collection of raw material for their recycling and in activities related to sanitation and epidemiological work in the communities. (ACN)