In March 2009, President
Raúl Castro of Cuba dismissed numerous government ministers.
Officials
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Foreign Minister
Felipe Pérez Roque was dismissed on 2 March 2009. Fidel Castro then criticized him for love of power in a statement on 3 March, and Pérez Roque announced his resignation from all his party and state positions—membership on the Communist Party's Central Committee and Political Bureau, membership on the Council of State, and his role as a parliamentary deputy—in a letter published on 5 March. In that letter, he also accepted Castro's criticism and agreed that he had committed errors. He was replaced by
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
Secretary of Council of Ministers
Carlos Lage Dávila was replaced by Brig. Gen.
José Amado Ricardo Guerra. Following Fidel Castro's statement of 3 March, Lage announced his resignation from all his party and state positions—membership on the Communist Party's Central Committee and Political Bureau, membership on the Council of State, and his role as a parliamentary deputy—in a letter published on 5 March. In that letter, he also accepted Castro's criticism and agreed that he had committed errors.
Heavy Industries Minister Fernando Acosta Santana was replaced by
Salvador Pardo Cruz.[2]
Government response
In March 2009, a government reshuffle was announced in Cuba, resulting in the replacement of eight ministers.[3] The ruling
Council of State and President
Raul Castro explained that this move was intended to streamline and improve the efficiency of the
Cuban government, [4] Among those dismissed were prominent young leaders, including Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque and Cabinet chief
Carlos Lage.[5]
Theories
Economic reforms
In an article "Purge Aims to Halt Cuba's Economic Free Fall", written by Frances Robles and Wilfredo Cancio and published in the Miami Herald in March 2009, the authors suggested that the purge was to get rid of the people who may have stood in the way of economic reforms.[6]
Hugo Chávez
Former Mexican foreign minister
Jorge Castañeda Gutman, in his Newsweek article published in the March 23, 2009 issue, suggested that
Hugo Chávez was plotting a coup in Cuba due to concerns that Raul Castro would make concessions that would betray the 50-year-old Cuban Revolution. However, "long-time Cuba watchers expressed skepticism" about this claim.[7]
According to his thesis, Hugo Chávez asked
Leonel Fernández of the
Dominican Republic to support the plot, but he declined.[7] Castañeda's statements have been met with scepticism from politicians and scholars.[7] He has admitted that he has no proof, calling his thesis "informed speculation".[7]