News

On January 5, 1961, counterrevolutionary groups supported by the United States murdered 18-year-old volunteer teacher Conrado Benítez García, along with five peasants, in the Escambray Mountains. This crime, committed just six days after the start of the National Literacy Campaign, was intended to intimidate the young literacy volunteers, but instead of halting the campaign, it strengthened their resolve. In response, the literacy brigades adopted his name, and that same year, Cuba was declared a Territory Free of Illiteracy.

On January 1, 1959, the Cuban Revolution triumphed. Immediately afterward, the new Revolutionary Government dissolved the previous political institutions and undertook a series of profound transformations. Among the key measures of that first year were the creation of new institutions such as the National Revolutionary Police, the enactment of the Agrarian Reform Law to eliminate large landholdings and distribute land to peasants, and the beginning of a comprehensive educational reform. Actions were also taken to lower rents, nationalize businesses, and promote cultural development, with the stated objective of eradicating inherited social inequalities and asserting national sovereignty in the face of opposition from the United States.

During the month of December, five of the six planned visits to the branch schools and training centers related to the Western Regional Training Center of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) were carried out, namely, GESTA (MINDUS), PREGER (MITRANS), CESPANEC (ANEC), CECOFIS (MFP) and CNCA (AZCUBA), in the interest of resuming the exchange of experiences, improving teaching methodologies and strengthening mutual collaboration, in order to raise the quality and impact of the training and improvement of professionals.

The Planning Matrix course was held at the headquarters of the Directorate of Research, Methodology, and Training of the Comptroller General's Office. The course took place during the month of December and was taught by Professor Lemay Fernández Velázquez.

The Audat course was held at the headquarters of the Directorate of Research, Methodology, and Training of the Comptroller General's Office. The course, which ran from December 15th to 19th, was taught by Professor Yilian Hernández Caballero, M.Sc.

The final days of 1958 in Cuba were tense as the Rebel Army's victory over Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship approached. At dawn on January 1, 1959, Commander Fidel Castro learned of the tyrant's flight and mobilized the people.

He arrived in the Sierra Maestra unarmed and barefoot. Some commanders refused to take him on because of his small stature and sickly appearance, but Commander Fidel Castro accepted him. Celia Sánchez gave him Mexican-style boots and a large peasant hat, and his comrades began calling him El Vaquerito (The Little Cowboy).

Haydée Santamaría Cuadrado, Heroine of the Republic of Cuba, was born on December 30, 1923, 102 years ago, in Encrucijada, former province of Las Villas, and from a very young age had an intense revolutionary life until her death.

The meeting of Western Region Trainers, chaired by methodologist María del Carmen Ribero Caballero, was held at the headquarters of the Directorate of Methodology, Research, and Training of the Comptroller General's Office of the Republic of Cuba. Participants included representatives from training centers in Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Havana, and Cienfuegos, as well as staff from the Directorates of Quality Control, Information Technology, Organization, Planning, and Communication, and specialists from the Directorate of Methodology, Research, and Training itself.