HAVANA.- Raul Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, expressed his confidence in the absolute success of the administration of the new President of the Council of State and Ministers, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, for his virtues, experience and dedication to work.

At the closing speech of the constitutive session of the 9th Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power, which took place for two days at the Havana Convention Center, Raúl highlighted the qualities of the newly appointed head of state and government, "which made him worthy of the confidence to occupy the post".

The election of Díaz-Canel is no coincidence, he is the best of a group of cadres, he has demonstrated maturity, work capacity and his rise to the highest responsibility of the nation has not been the result of haste, said the leader of the Cuban Party, a post he will leave in 2021 when the Eighth Congress of the country's highest political body is held, he announced.

From then on, if my health allows me, I will be a soldier with the people, defending this Revolution," said Raúl, before being interrupted by a standing ovation by the deputies in the plenary session of the Havana Convention Center.

He emphasized that the Party will support the new President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers in the exercise of his constitutional powers, in order to safeguard the unity of all revolutionaries and the people.

At another point in his speech, Raúl acknowledged the work carried out by the Electoral and Candidacy Commissions in all instances, and the institutions that collaborated in the success of the different stages of the 2017-2018 general elections.

The First Secretary pointed out that setting the example was the fundamental thing, even though the limit of the two mandates is not yet within the Cuban Constitution, "but it will be in the modifications of the new Magna Carta" that will be endorsed by the people, as in 1976, although it will not contemplate changes in the strategic objectives of the Party's work.

We cannot make mistakes, Raúl said, referring to the times in the world and the region, while adding that past failures have ruined important processes for humanity.

In a speech that came out of formalisms, he referred to the importance of not regressing on issues such as gender equality, and recalled Fidel's decision to empower women, although he considered that the presence of women in decision-making positions is still insufficient.

On behalf of his generation, he said he was deeply satisfied with the consolidated revolutionary work, as well as with the happiness and confidence of seeing the transfer to the youth of the mission of continuing the advances of Socialism and guaranteeing independence and national sovereignty.

Not just for the sake of it, he said, is one of the main bets of the enemies to confuse the youth, and to distance them from the ideals, history, culture and revolutionary work, and to induce them to pessimism, detachment from the times and from humanist values, "plans doomed to failure".

On the updating of the Cuban economic model, Raúl acknowledged the complexity of the process by covering all spheres of society, and reiterated that in order to continue, it is necessary, among other things, to overcome the paternalistic mentality and egalitarianism.

According to the leader, the implementation of self-employment and the experiment of non-agricultural cooperatives will continue, with the application of modifications to existing regulations in the face of the emergence of known indisciplines, tax evasion, illegalities and violations of the rules.

He expressed that the rhythm of the transformations in transcendental issues such as the currency unification, has been determined by the premise of not applying shock therapies against the most needy, nor leaving any citizen helpless.

He also referred to the intensification of the US blockade and financial persecution, which limits access to credit for development and hampers foreign investment.

He highlighted "the undeniable results in the patient and laborious process of debt management with the main creditors".

He warned that the current tensions in the internal finances are a warning sign, "we must plan well and on a secure basis, save and eliminate non-essential expenses," he said, although he said that the country is not in an extreme and dramatic situation like that of the 1990s, a stage called the special period.

In his speech of more than an hour and a half, the First Secretary of the Party congratulated the members of the Cuban delegation participating in the VIII Summit of the Americas and its parallel forums, who defeated the provocation orchestrated by the US government and the Organization of American States to discredit the Revolution.

The exclusion of Venezuela from that event, in which the US was seeking a continental front against the South American nation and in which Cuba, Bolivia and other countries stopped, pointed out and reiterated the invariable solidarity of the Island with the people and the legitimate government of Nicolás Maduro, was arbitrary and unjust.Raul called for a new system of relations between the two Americas, where the Monroe Doctrine does not prevail, and praised the frank and firm language of Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla's speech in the face of the antiquated and interfering intervention of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

He said that since the arrival in power of the current US President, Donald Trump, there has been a deliberate setback in bilateral ties and an aggressive and threatening tone in the tycoon's rhetoric, despite earlier evidence that civilized coexistence was possible and beneficial for both sides.

Amidst hostility towards progressive governments, he underscored Cuba's commitment to the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, to contribute to the development of the most unequal region in the world.

Raúl denounced the arbitrary imprisonment of Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva and called for his immediate release.

Before concluding, the First Secretary of the Party summoned the people to participate in the coming May Day as a sign of support for the Revolution, the Party, Socialism and the new President of the Councils of State and Ministers.

I will be in the parade on May Day in the José Martí Revolution Square in the capital with the new President, he said.