Cuba to allow modest economic reforms

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HAVANA, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Cuba will allow more private business and foreign investment, but the basics of socialism will remain, the Communist Party is saying.

"Only socialism is capable of ... preserving the gains of the revolution," declares a 32-page document published Tuesday as a guide for discussion leading up to a party congress in April, El Nuevo Herald in Miami reported. It also says, "Planning will be paramount, not the market."

President Raul Castro already has put many of the proposed changes into effect, including allowing more self-employment and cooperatives, and encouraging foreign investment and tourism.

The food ration card, which provides 10 days' worth of food per month, will be "eliminated in an orderly fashion" in a drive to cut subsidies, the party paper said.

The document also suggested opening the real estate market, but warned that "the concentration of properties" will not be permitted.

Raul Castro said the guidelines were submitted before publication to his brother Fidel, who is still first secretary of the Communist Party.