“If the municipality is prosperous, so will be the province and the country” 

CIENFUEGOS.–It is in everyday life, in tenacious effort and participation as a premise, that the possibility of true triumph lies.
This was emphasized by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, during the Extraordinary Plenary Session of the Provincial Committee of the political organization held in Cienfuegos. 
At the meeting, Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee, referred to the agreements reached at the 11th Plenary Session of the Central Committee, the need to strengthen the defense of the homeland, and to work for the stability of the National Electric System (SEN). He also addressed other strategic issues such as food production, the quality of vital services for the population, and the fight against corruption, crime, and illegal activities.
He also called for boosting the production of goods and services that generate foreign exchange, import substitution, and the rational use of human, financial, and material resources.
The party leader emphasized the importance of Cubans being able to overcome the difficulties imposed by the imperial blockade through their own efforts, creativity, and determination.
A territory with potential
Armando Carranza Valladares, first secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in Cienfuegos, outlined the main achievements during 2025 and the commitments for the current year.
In this regard, he referred to the challenges facing the vanguard organization in terms of its internal life, and explained how the Government Program to correct distortions and boost the economy is progressing.
Among the goals for this year, he said, are increasing exports, strengthening and revitalizing tourism, and continuing to advance food production, as well as land distribution and the reduction of loss-making companies.
The main battlefield: subjectivity
At another point in the plenary session, Morales Ojeda said that if what we are really seeking is to solve problems, the first thing that must be clear is the need to transform ways of thinking.
We have to move away from complacent analyses that do not help us to see the shortcomings in our organization and in our ways of working, he argued.
Identifying the concepts
"We want to bring the spirit of the 11th Plenary Session to everything we have set out to do," said the First Secretary of the Party's Central Committee, and then spoke to the Cienfuegos membership about a set of concepts and principles to strengthen ideological work and take on the economic battle.
The first, he said, is unity through participation, and within that participation, the presence of young people.
On this issue, Díaz-Canel recalled that complacency, letting things slide, apathy, and silence do not help unity. And the other concept, he added, is that we identify in each place the role of the membership and the grassroots organization.
Another idea developed by the president was to definitively assume that not all deficiencies have to do with the blockade, and that the ways of doing things are decisive.
Regarding visits by leaders to grassroots structures, he warned that the issue is not to go through the motions in an abstract way: "You have to leave a mark at the grassroots level, you have to ask yourself where you are going and what you are going there for."
Díaz-Canel Bermúdez referred to tasks that need to be promoted, such as food production and energy issues, and the powers that municipalities should have in order to gain autonomy. "If the municipality is prosperous, the province will be, and so will the country."
Isla de la Juventud is working to become a model of a prosperous and sustainable municipality.
For the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, the Party leadership continued on Thursday afternoon with the in-depth and critical exchanges of the PCC's Extraordinary Plenary Sessions in the territories.
After the presentation of the island's results in the political, economic, and social spheres in 2025, and the projections for this year, the Head of State highlighted that in Isla de la Juventud "there is an adequate interpretation of the agreements of the 11th Plenary Session of the Party's Central Committee," held last December.
However, Díaz-Canel said, "now what we have to do is comply with what has been proposed."
As Roberto Morales Ojeda, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of Organization, wrote yesterday on his social media accounts, these plenary sessions have reaffirmed the three fundamental pillars of political work: "unity, anti-imperialism, and patriotism," emphasizing the urgency "of swiftly implementing party agreements and fostering a revolutionary consciousness under the principle that the Party must be more demanding in the fulfillment of its objectives, prioritizing discipline without extremism."
During these exchanges, the Party leadership has stressed the importance of solving specific problems, such as food production, energy stability, and national defense, avoiding superficial analysis and strengthening popular participation and conscious unity based on constructive criticism.
At the same time, Morales Ojeda explained, it has insisted "on the urgency of sustainable local development that prioritizes real productive chains and not mere formalities, together with the importance of transforming municipal business structures and moving towards self-sufficiency."
At the meeting, the first secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Rafael Ernesto Licea Mojena, reported on the implementation of the agreements of the 11th Plenary Session of the Central Committee in this jurisdiction and the commitments for 2026.
After analyzing the internal workings of the organization, Licea Mojena insisted on compliance with the indicators for its improvement, something vital for its external life, in order to fulfill the leadership role that corresponds to the Communist Party as the vanguard of Cuban society.
ISLAND OF FACTS, DREAMS, AND DARING
In the macroeconomic sphere, Licea Mojena reported that by the end of 2025, the planned budget deficit had been reduced by 50 million, but it still remains high, at around 485 million pesos, making it one of the territory's most significant challenges for 2026.
He clarified, however, that "one of the main causes of this budget deficit lies in the nationally-owned companies that operate here and only contribute to the budget through participatory revenues, with many of their profits being transferred to national business groups.
Among the debts that Isla de la Juventud critically assumes, but which it has proposed to resolve with hard work and dedication, is the failure to comply with the export plan, both in physical terms and in value, due mainly to the decline in fish production and the recovery of raw materials.
The shortfalls in agriculture are concentrated in grain production; however, the territory has proposed an ambitious investment in rice-growing areas and bean cultivation, with a proposed distribution in 2026 of 11 ounces per inhabitant per month, well above the national average.
Licea Mojena explained that in food production, the most important thing to guarantee territorial self-sufficiency and food sovereignty is to implement the 32 investments planned for agriculture in 2026.
The municipal energy program is another challenge. In addition to actions in the basic energy system, investments in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency are planned for next year, which will allow them to increase the quantity and quality of the service, including a 15 MW photovoltaic solar park.
The First Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee was emphatic about the territory's willingness to create an export hub in the special municipality, for which they are preparing the documentation.
The people of Pinar del Río, Licea Mojena asserted, "are dreaming a little further ahead and being more daring, so at some point we will also review this to turn the Isle of Youth into a special development zone."