HAVANA.- The deputies of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP) unanimously approved today, in their first Ordinary Session of the 9th Legislature, the new Council of Ministers of Cuba, composed of 34 members.
As established in the current Constitution, the President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel presented to the National Assembly proposals for membership of the country's highest executive and administrative body, a decision that was postponed at the inaugural session on April19.
On that occasion, Salvador Valdés Mesa was appointed by Diaz-Canel as First Vice-President.
Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdes Menendez, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz and Ulises Rosales del Toro were confirmed as Vice Presidents, while Ines
Maria Chapman Waugh and Roberto Morales Ojeda, who served as President of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) and Minister of Health, respectively, were promoted. José Amado Ricardo Guerra was ratified as Secretary of the Council of Ministers.
The ANPP agreed to confirm Ena Elsa Velázquez Cobiella, Minister of Education; Lina Pedraza Rodríguez, Minister of Finance and Prices; Margarita González Fernández, Minister of Labour and Social Security; Irma Martínez Castrillón, Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba; and Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment.
Also remaining in office are Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Army Corps General Leopoldo Cintra Frías, of Interior Vice Admiral Julio César Gandarilla Bermejo, Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Construction Minister René Mesa Villafaña and Transport Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez.
Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz continues to lead the Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment ministry; Manuel Marrero Cruz, Tourism; Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero, Agriculture; José Ramón Saborido Loidi, Higher Education, while Alfredo López Valdés, former Minister of Energy and Mines, now heads the
Ministry of Industries.
The plenary of the ANPP ratified Alfonso Noya Martínez and Antonio Becali Garrido, presidents of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television, and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation, respectively.
The new members of the Council of Ministers approved were Iris Quiñones Rojas of the Food Industry, Betsy Díaz Velázquez of the Domestic Trade, Alejandro Gil Fernández of the Economy and Planning and José Ángel Portal Miranda of Public HeaOther new ministers are Raúl García Barreiro, in Energy and Mines; José Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, in Communications; Alpidio Alonso Grau, in Culture; Oscar Silveira Martínez, in Justice; and Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, new president of INRH.
According to Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the members of the new Council of Ministers are on average 60 years old, and eight are women, for 23 percent, while blacks and mestizos make up 26 percent, and all of them have "a long history and experience as cadres," he said.
He recognized the dedication to work and the attitude towards the fulfillment of their duties, by those who conclude their responsibilities and assume new functions.
As provided for in the current Cuban Constitution, the number, name and functions of the ministries and central bodies that form part of the Council of Ministers are determined by law, which is composed of the Head of State and Government, who is its President; the First Vice-President, the Vice-Presidents, the Ministers, the Secretary and other members.
The First Vice-President, the Vice-Presidents and other members of the Council of Ministers, as determined by the President, make up its Executive Committee, which may decide on matters assigned to the Council of Ministers during the periods between its meetings.
Among its duties is to organize and direct the execution of the political, economic, cultural, scientific, social and defense activities agreed by the ANPP; it also proposes the projects of the general plans for the economic and social development of the State and, once approved by the Assembly, to control their execution.
