Hardline Communists Prevail in Cuba

HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's Communist Party approaches its first major summit since the Soviet Union's collapse struggling to salvage a troubled economy without compromising socialism.

The Fifth Party Congress in October is expected to be long on socialist ideology, with members discussing and ratifying President Fidel Castro's policies for the 21st century.

``There is a struggle going on between moderates and hardliners,'' said Wayne Smith, a former U.S. diplomat in Cuba. ``The Fifth Party Congress will be the main ring where the show will be played out.''

With more than a month to go, hardliners have the upper hand.

``To the roots!'' declare billboards advertising the Oct. 8-10 gathering.

The slogan, splashed against a backdrop of a young Castro and other rebels hoisting rifles in triumph, refers to a government rooted in Castro's 1959 revolution and his subsequent embrace of socialism.

U.S. moves to tighten the 3-decade-old embargo against Cuba and recent explosions at Havana hotels, blamed by the government on U.S.-based groups, have been used to support the harder ideological line.

During a rare interview on Cuban television earlier this month, Castro said a return to capitalism would signify ``the most terrible thing that could occur in a society.''

Still, there are indications of softening. Some complain that a draft of the party document focuses too much on Cuba's past and too little on its future.

Culture Minister Abel Prieto, a member of the party's ruling Politburo, said party members still were discussing the document.

``In the most difficult times we are not going to renounce debate, participation nor democracy,'' Prieto said.

Cuba has struggled to remain afloat economically without sacrificing socialism since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

But hardships forced Cuba's leaders to adopt reforms they previously never would have considered. U.S. dollars were legalized and small, private businesses were authorized.

The economy has improved some, but government-projected growth for this year is just 4 percent. With another disappointing sugar harvest this year, some independent economists call that projection optimistic.

``The party may be trying to distract people,'' said economist Andrew Zimbalist, a Cuba specialist at Smith College in Northhampton, Mass.

The upcoming congress has been harshly criticized by four dissidents jailed since July 17. Authorities have not said whether their critique of the draft led to their arrest; the four said it failed to offer solutions to Cuba's economic crisis.

The party newspaper, Granma, acknowledged that some Communists also had demanded specifics on ways to emerge from the economic crisis and ``political strategy for the future.''

But few, including Zimbalist, expect dramatic changes.

``I think there will be some incremental changes that will not address the real problems,'' he said.

The last Communist Party congress was in 1991, shortly after Cuba saw most of its socialist allies in Europe collapse. The Soviet Union dissolved two months later.

AP-NY-08-27-97 1645EDT