On the rare occasions when Cuba's political leaders want to signal a change of direction, or even just reaffirm existing policies, they do so by calling a congress of the ruling Communist Party. Traditionally, these get-togethers were held every five years or so. But the most recent one took place in 1997. Since then, economic problems, the illness that led to Fidel Castro relinquishing the presidency in 2006, and palpable indecision have led to the repeated postponement of what would be the sixth congress. Many Cubans had assumed it would never happen. Now, at last, Raul Castro, who replaced his elder brother and was formally named as president in 2008, has summoned the congress for late April to "make fundamental decisions on how to modernise the Cuban economic model".
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