Cuba’s Seventh Communist Party Congress begins Saturday

Cuba

Cuba’s will hold its seventh Communist Party Congress on Saturday. It meets every five years and is the key policy making body which will determine Cuba’s future economic and political course.

CCTV America’s Michael Voss reports.

After the last Communist Party Congress in 2011, Cubans were able to become self-employed and set up very small businesses or co-operatives. They can also buy and sell homes and cars and travel abroad without permission.

The Party Congress comes just a month after U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba which raised expectations that renewed relations could help improve people’s lives.

Former leader Fidel Castro was highly critical of the visit, a move seen by some as a rallying cry against further free market reforms.

However, Cuba’s economy is struggling. Average wages remain less than $25 a month. Much of its industry is outdated and the country hasn’t attracted the billions of dollars in foreign investment it says it needs.