Army General Raul Castro moved the maximum authorities of the capital and eastern province of Pinar del Río as part of the restructuring of his government which five months ago reached the other four regions, an official communique informs.
Former First Sec (PCC) of Havana Pedro Sáenz
At the proposal by his selected Politburo, reports AFP, the governing Cuban Communist Party (PCC) agreed to free Pedro Sáenz from his responsibilities as first secretary of the capital and Mercedes López was named to replace him in a plenary session of that body presided by Vice-President José Ramón Machado.
Lazara Mercedes Lopez
Sáenz (56), who held the post since 2003 will join the National Defense College as part of his advancement, according to the communique which also announced that López (45), a forestry engineer, was prior to the appointment responsible for education, science and sports sections of the Central Committee Secretariat of the PPC.
In another move announced today in the local press, the first secretary of the PCC in Pinar del Río, Olga Lidia Tapia, will move to the Central Committee, she is replaced by Gladys Martínez (38), an agronomy engineer, serving as a minor functionary of that province, AFP added.
Provincial leaders of the PCC are the maximum representation of government and all are members of the Central Committee whose first secretary Fidel Castro remains in that position despite being retired from power because of illness and second secretary Raúl Castro.
