Cuban Cabinet
Jacob Stern, Chair
Ramiro Valdés Menéndez
Ramiro Valdés Menéndez born on April 28th 1932. He was among the one of the original
revolutionaries. He participated in the Assault on the Moncada Barracks after the assault failed
he was arrested and imprisoned in the Infamous Isle of Pines. He was released in May 1955
when amnesty was granted to political prisoners in Cuba under huge public pressure. After be
released he traveled to Mexico to help organize and train the expedition being led by Fidel
Castro to restart the fighting. While he was on board the Granma he was given the rank of
lieutenant. During the revolution he fought in many battles across Cuba and served as the
commander of a squad and deputy chief of the eight column, commanded by Ernesto Che
Guevara. By the end of the revolution he held the rank of commander. After the revolution he
held a number of position. Most notably he was Minister of Interior, which he held from 19611968 and again from 1979 to 1985, Minister of Information and Communications from 2005 to
2010 and his current position of Vice Presidents of the Council of State and Ministers.
Ricardo Cabrisas Ruíz
Ricardo Cabrisas Ruíz was born into a poor working class family on January 21, 1937 in
Havana. After going to school he joined the 26th of July Movement. After the revolution he
joined the Dirección de Inteligencia (Intelligence Directorate). In 1960 he was appointed ViceMinister for Foreign Trade and in 1980 he became minister of Foreign Trade which he held until
1999. In 2009 he was appointed to his current position of Vice President of the Council of
Ministers and its Executive Committee.
Ulises Rosales del Toro
Ulises Rosales del Toro was on March 8, 1942. He first attempted to join the rebel movement in
June 1957 in the region of Puerto Arturo however he was rejected by Israel Pardo due to his age,
later that year on December 3 he was allowed to join by Lieutenant Rivaflechas operating in the
region Lucero , La Trinchera and Dos Palmas. After the revolution he remained in the military
and was moved up its ranks over time holding multiple positions such as Chief of Staff, Head of
the Western Army of the, Revolutionary Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces, and Chief of General Staff. In 1997 he was appointed to his first
non-military position when he was made Sugar Minister a position he would hold until 2009, he
also served as Minister of Agriculture from 2008-2010, in 2009 he was appointed to his current
position of Vice President of the Council of Ministers and its Executive Committee.
Antonio Enrique Lussón Battle
Antonio Enrique Lussón Battle was born on February 5, 1930 in Santiago de Cuba. He finished
elementary school and went to High School but was forced to drop out when his parents could no
longer continue to pay for his education and returned home to work on the farm. He joined the
Orthodox Party when he was 18. After Batista coup he joined the rebel group Organización
Auténtica (OA). Later he leaves the group to join the 26th of July Movement. During the
Revolution he moves up the ranks in the 26th of July movement first being promoted to
Lieutenant and later to Commander. He’s held many positions both military and civilian
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Jacob Stern, Chair
following the revolution including Head of G-3 of Staff, Army Chief of Independent West, Head
of the Department of Tactical Officer School, First Deputy Chairman of the National Institute of
State Reserves (INRE), Chief Headquarters Special Troops, Minister of Transport, which he held
from 1970 to 1980, before being appointed to his current position as Vice President of the
Council of Ministers.
Marino Alberto Murillo Jorge
Marino Alberto Murillo Jorge was born on February 19, 1961. He excelled as a student, he went
to university at the Nation Defense College and did part of his university study in the Soviet
Union. After graduating from the Nation Defense College he took postgraduate classes on
economics and then worked as a professor. He’s held multiple government positions relating to
economics including at The Ministry of Food Industry , were he held positions of auditor, Audit
Director and Director of Economics and The Ministry of Domestic Trade where he was deputy
minister and then Minister of Domestic Trade from 2006 to 2009. In 2009 he was appointed
Minister of Economy and Planning which he held until 2011 and then was appointed to again in
2014. Currently he is Minister of Economy and Planning, Vice President and Head of the
Permanent Commission for Implementation and Development. He’s stated before that he wants
the Cuban updated economic model to function as a hybrid planned and market economy, but
that the planned economy should remain dominant.
Adel Onofre Yzquierdo Rodríguez
Adel Onofre Yzquierdo Rodríguez was born on 12th of June 1945. He joined the National
Revolutionary Militia , later he joined to the Armed Forces. He completed his undergraduate
studies at the Academy of Engineering “VV Kuibyshev” in the Soviet Union. He served as
Minister of Economy and Planning from 2011 to September 2014. Currently he is First Deputy
Minister of Economy and Planning and Vice President of the Council of Ministers.
Abelardo Colome Ibarra
Abelardo was born September 13, 1939 in Santiago de Cuba to a poorer family. He first studied
at a public school and later moved to private education, notably the School of Arts of Crafts in
Santiago de Cuba. He joined the revolution not originally for political reasons, yet rather to ditch
school. However, later on he fully joined the 26th of July Movement in 1955. During the
revolution he worked his way up through the ranks, at one point serving under Raul Castro. In
April of 1959 he was appointed as head of the Research Department of the Rebel Army. In 1960
he joined the delegation headed by Fidel which traveled to the headquarters of the United
Nations. In March of 1960 he was appointed head of the State Security. He later became head of
the National Revolutionary Police until 1962. In December of 1975 he was appointed as Chief of
the Military Mission of Cuba in the People's Republic of Angola. In 1976 he was promoted to
the rank of Major General and in 1980 was appointed First Deputy Minister of the FAR. On 1
January of 1989 he was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba, and was
appointed in 1989 as the Vice President of the State Council as well as the Minister of the
Interior of Cuba.
Cuban Cabinet
Jacob Stern, Chair
Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero
Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero was born in 1964. He has a degree in Agromic Engineering. He has
held multiple different posts such as head of an Agricultural and Industrial Sugar Complex and
provincial delegate of Agriculture to Deputy Minister for Agriculture of the Sugar Ministry and
Deputy Agriculture Minister. He was appointed to his current position of Minister of Agriculture
in 2010.
Mary Blanca Ortega Barredo
Ministry of Domestic Trade of the Republic of Cuba.
This body is responsible for directing, implementing, and controlling the policy of the State and
the Cuban Government for its wholesale and retail domestic trade, personal and technical
services, state run warehouses, and consumer protection, prioritizing basic goods, social based
distribution, cleaning up internal finance quality, and storage, preservation, and rotation of state
reserves. The current Minister of Domestic Trade of the Republic of Cuba is Mary Blanca Ortega
Barredo, who was appointed 2011. Mary has a BA in Economics, and has maintained various
purposes throughout her appointment, and always has yielded positive results.
René Mesa Villafaña
René Mesa Villafaña was born in 1959. He has a degree in civil engineering. He used to be
president of the Institute of Hydraulic Resources. In January of 2014 he said that the role of his
the state in construction and how the investment process will work in Cuba. In an interview with
Radio 26 he said “Among the objectives it seeks to make profits by reducing costs for
transportation and logistics arranged in the employed labor force, while also achieving a greater
impact on the wages of workers hired.” His ministry will have to decide how they will function
in the updated economic model.
Julián González Toledo
Ministry of Culture of Cuba
Julián González Toledo, the current Minister of Culture in Cuba, recently ascertained this
position March 6th, 2014. However, he is by no means inexperienced, as he early worked as the
Vice Minister of Culture, and gained a solid understanding of his position. What the Ministry of
Culture essentially does is preserve and defend Cuban Heritage as well as makes advised
decisions on Cuban cultural policies. Much of what the organization does is sponsor artists and
funds museums as well as cultural programs throughout the Republic of Cuba, to ensure the
people of Cuba do not lose their national identity.
Ena Elsa Velázquez Cobiella
Ena Elsa Velázquez Cobiella was born on April 19th, 1956. He has a doctorate in Pedagogical
Sciences, a Master degree in Science of Education, and a degree in Education specializing in
Chemistry. He held multiple position relation education at different levels such as Head of
Department, Deputy Dean, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Dean of the Faculty of Early
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Childhood Education, Vice Chancellor of Undergraduate, Rector of the University of
Pedagogical Sciences before being promoted to Minister of Education. He been involved with
multiple research groups dealing with education and his research has been published in multiple
national and international journals, especially the articles " Some considerations on the
integration of Academic and Workforce Components through the program of Physical Chemistry
of the ISP ". He has also helped design syllabi for parts of Cuba’s education. Much of his work
deals with trying to incorporate work experience into the curriculum for different subjects.
Rodolfo Alarcón Ortiz.
Ministry of Higher Education.
This institution is responsible for directing Higher Education in Cuba, with the aim of
implementing educational policy at a higher standard for higher education. The current Minister
of Higher Education is Rodolfo Alarcón Ortiz. The purpose of the institution is to provide
Cuba’s school children with a solid humanistic and politically correct agenda to help guide the
revolution through to the end. The ministry also sees to the training of professors within Cuba,
which along with Cuba’s graduates, are world renowned. The ministry also proposes policy
regarding various levels of education, so that each student has a specialized experience that
provides them with the information they need to be a good citizen of the world.
Leopoldo Cintra Frías
Leopoldo Cintra Frías was born on July 17, 1941 in the province of Yara (now called Granma).
He grew up on his fathers farm. He joined the rebels when he was 16 in 1957. After the
Revolucion he held the rank of lieutenant, and was later promoted to Captain by Fidel. After the
Revolution he went to Czechoslovakia to study at the School of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces, he later studied at the Academy of the General Staff of the USSR where he graduated
from in 1982. He commanded Cuban troops in Angola during the Angolan civil war. In October
2008 he was made First Deputy Minister Revolutionary Armed Forces he held this position until
He was promoted to his current position of Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces on
November 8th, 2011.
Lina Olinda Pedraza Rodríguez
Lina Olinda Pedraza Rodríguez was born on September 16th 1995 in Villa Clara. She has a
bachelor’s degree in Economic control. She held responsibility in the banking system in Villa
Clara for 15 years and was also president of the Economic Commission in Santa Clara. In 1994
she became an official of the Central Committee’s Economic Department. In 1996 she became
head of the National Audit office before being appointed Minister of Audit and Control a
position she held from 2001-2006. On March 3 2009 she was appointed to her current position of
Minister of Finance and Prices.
Maimir Mesa Ramos
Maimir Mesa Ramos was promoted to the position of Minister of Information and
Communications on June 13, 2012. Before she was promoted to this she was the First Deputy
Cuban Cabinet
Jacob Stern, Chair
Minister of Information and Communications. The Ministry of Information was established on
January 12 of 2000 , replacing the Ministry of Communications. The ministry oversees the Postal
Service, telecommunications, the electronics industry and broadcasting. One of the key goals of
the ministry is to encourage the use of information technology for the development of the
national economy. Private companies have been granted permission to operate in the
Telecommunications and Electronics sector of the Cuban economy and further reforms to the
way these investments or sectors are handled would be important for the Cuban economy.
María del Carmen Concepción González
María del Carmen Concepción González is the Minister of Food industries she was appointed to
this position in 2009. Before this she had worked as the First Secretary of the Communist Party
of Cuba in the Pinar del Rio Province. The Ministry of Food Industries mission is to satisfy with
quality and efficiency the consumers of goods from the Processed Food and Beverage Industries.
The industry is in charge licenses for fishing and industrial food processing, leading industrial
food processing, regulation the quality of the food and directing the constructing of machinery
and equipment for the food industry.
Salvador Pardo Cruz
Salvador Pardo Cruz was a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces for over 45 years. He is
a radio technician. From 1998 to 2009 he was Minister of the Union of Military Industry, and
then is 2009 he was appointed Minister of Iron and Steel Industry which he held until 2012. In
2012 he was appoint Minister of Industries. The Ministry of Industries was formed in 2012 with
the merger of the former ministries of the iron and steel industry, light and chemistry.
María Esther Reus González
María Esther Reus González is the Minister of Justice. She believes that the economic update is
necessary for Cuba. One of the main things she believe that needs to be done to help the Cuban
economy and make the new economic reforms work. She believes that there are too many laws
overlapping each other dealing with specific areas. Before she and her department began the
processes of consolidating laws there were 52 rules dealing with the purchase and sale of
Vehicles. She believes that the nation’s labor and tax laws need to be update as well as the
creation of new laws for foreign investment.
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla was born in January 22, 1958 in Mexico City. His Father José
María Rodríguez Padilla his father held senior management positions in Cuba after the Victory
of the Revolution including working as the the Director of the Office of Industrial Property and
Representing Cuba in the WIPO. He has a law degree from the University of Havana where he
also worked as a Professor of Public International Law. He served as an officer of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces in Angola. He has held numerous important positions including
working as the Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations from 1995 to 2003, in October
2004 he was appointed First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs a position he held until he was
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Jacob Stern, Chair
promoted to his current position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in March of 2009. Besides these
positions he’s lead Humanitarian missions in Haiti in 2004, and in Pakistan from 2005-2006.
Miguel Días-Canel Bermúdez
Miguel Dias-Canel Bermudez was born on April 20th 1960 in the Province of Villa Clara. He
graduated from university with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1982. After graduated from
University he joined the Military which he would serve in until 1985. After that he would teach
at the Central University of Las Villas and took part in an international mission in Nicaragua. He
starts work for the Cuban Communist Party in 1993 and holds many positions such as First
Secretary of the Provincial Committee in Villa Clara in 1994 and Holguin in 2003 that same year
he is appointed to the Politburo, in 2009 he is appointed to his first ministry position as the
Minister of Higher Education where he oversaw the restoration of Mathematics, Spanish,
History. In 2012 he is made a Vice President of the Council of Ministers, being in charge of
different agencies related to education, science, sport and culture, before finally being promoted
to his current position of First Vice President of Cuba. In several public appearances has
defended the need to strengthen the people's power as a way of promoting regional development.
He is one of the most powerful men in Cuba. His goal will be to oversee the changes in a way
that moves towards building a prosperous and sustainable socialism.
Roberto Morales Ojeda
Born in the province of Cienfuegos, Cuba, Morales Ojeda holds a medical degree with a
specialty in comprehensive and general medicine as well as a master’s in Public Health and other
courses in Health administration. Before becoming Minister of Public Health, he served as viceminister of health, provincial director of health and municipal director of health. As the Minister
of Public Health her reforms should be focused on promoting the Health of Cubans. She should
be focused with promoting reforms that will increase the standard of living and health of all
Cubans, such as by securing the much needed medicine that is current short in supply by
focusing on promoting trade and ensuring that no reforms harm the gains in Health that
happened during the Special Period or Cuba’s Health Care.
Margarita Marlene González Fernández
Margarita Marlene González Fernández was born on July 20, 1964 and holds degrees in
Industrial Engineering and Master in Human Resources Management. Currently she is the
Minister of Labor and Social Security. She was appointed to this current position in 2009 but
she’s been working in the ministry since 2001, before her current position she was the vice
minister and first vice minister of this position. As the Minster of Labor and Social Security she
should focus on passing reforms that benefit Cuban Workers as well as ensuring that the reforms
that are passed stay in accord with Cuban Labor laws and the Socialist principles those entail.
César Ignacio Arocha Masid
César Ignacio Arocha Masid was born on February 1, 1959. He graduated from Military school
and worked in the Soviet Union as a railway engineer, and later would work as a commander of
military transport units, military logistics and as the director general of bulk food in Cuba before
being appointed to his current position of Minister of Transportation on May 3, 2010. He should
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Jacob Stern, Chair
focus on promoting efficient transportation, as well as promoting agricultural and industrial
efficiency as the way to promote growth and development of the Cuban economy.
Manuel Marrero Cruz
Manuel Marrero Cruz was born on July 11, 1963. Currently he is the Minister of Tourism. This
position is actually very important when it comes to discussing economic reform in Cuba as
tourism is one of the most important and fastest growing sectors of the Cuban economy. He
should focus on economic reforms that increasing the quality, variety and promotion of tourism
offerings as well as promoting Diversification, growth and infrastructure improvements. He
would also favor expanding local entrepreneurship, such as private businesses like artists'
studios, specialty tours, B&Bs and restaurants as this adds diversity to tourism offerings and
helps promote sustainable tourism.
Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz
Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz was born on October 14, 1956 in Havana. He graduated with a degree
in Economics from the University of Havana in 1980 after this he did several postgraduate
courses including at the Higher Institute of International Relations in Havana in international
relations and negotiation techniques; at the External Trade Institute of the Ministry of Foreign
Trade in Havana, in foreign trade, and at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (CEPAL) and Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica (CIDE) (Economic
Research Centre) in Mexico City, in economic alternatives for Latin America. He also speaks
four languages: Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. He held numerous positions involving
foreign relations and foreign trade, such as being Cuba’s permanent representative to the United
Nations from 2005 to 2009, Cuba’s ambassador to Belgium, the EU, and Luxembourg from 2002
to 2005, Deputy Minister in his country's Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic
Cooperation from 1998 to 2002 as well as many other position in these fields. Currently he is the
Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment. He should focus on reforms that promote
more foreign investment into the Cuban Economy as well increasing Cuba’s international trade.
Ernesto Medina Villaveirán
Ernesto Medina Villaveirán is a Cuban Economist who graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in economics, who then worked in Angola and the Cuban Banking industry for 35 years.
He currently presides over the position of the Central Bank Governor of Cuba. His role will be
moderating monetary discussion and making sure that any proposed actions will be monetarily
sound, and therefore wields a large part of power within the Party.
Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya
Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya is the current Minister of Science, Technology and
Environment of Cuba. Her role will involve ensuring all decisions of the cabinet will be both
technologically progressive, given Cuba’s lacking technology industry, as well as making sure
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Jacob Stern, Chair
all decisions are environmentally friendly. Socialism and science go hand in hand, and if she can
manage to advance Cuban scientific interests she will have advanced our interests as a whole.
Alfredo López Valdés
Alfredo López Valdés is the current Minister of Energy and Mines of Cuba, who wields
control over the (quite obviously) industries of Energy and Mining. Currently, Cuba is facing
issues with the devaluation of nickel, which was one of our greatest exports, and Alfredo Lopez
Valdes should have knowledge of how much nickel is still left and how to effectively distribute it
to make a profit. He should also be concerned with the lack of energy within the more rural areas
of Cuba and how to mend this issue, in turn hopefully producing a stronger Cuban industry and
country.
Inés María Chapman Waugh
Inés María Chapman Waugh is the current Minister of Water Resources and Hydraulics
within Cuba, who should be strongly concerned with the growth of industry and its effect on the
water supply within Cuba. In turn, her strongest concerns should revolve around environmental
friendliness as well as ensuring that Cuba utilizes its water resources to its advantage, and should
consider legislation utilizing hydraulic power.
Julio Christian Jiménez Molina
Julio Christian Jiménez Molina has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, yet oddly
enough completely ignored that and became the President of the National Institute of Sports,
Physical Education and Recreation. His primary concern should be to pass legislation that will
help the Cuban people thrive as an active and healthy people, and therefore should often help
with larger legislation condoning the use of green energy as well as healthcare. Economic
reforms will often raise the standard of living of the Cuban people, making his job easier, and
therefore should also be a focus of this minister.
Danylo Sirio López
Danylo Sirio López is the current president of the Institute of Cuban Radio and
Television, making him essentially the head propaganda minister of Cuba. Because the standard
of living in Cuba is not very high, Danylo often has to work very hard to produce propaganda to
try and influence the population to believe in this Cabinet’s actions. Therefore, he should focus
on passing reforms raising the standard of living as well as generally assisting the Cuban
population, as it would make his job much easier and more enjoyable.
Cuban Cabinet
Jacob Stern, Chair