The Cuban Communist Party (PCC) has replaced top leaders in two provinces Artemisa and Matanzas following rather contradictory patterns.

In Artemisa, the provincial first secretary, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, was abruptly booted out without any explanation. In his place, authorities selected José Antonio Fariñas, who until this latest promotion was head of the Industry and Construction Department at the PCC’s Central Committee.

This was surprising because no one ever criticized Guilarte publicly. A young professional from the former province of La Habana, this rising star was known for being popular, efficient and straightforward. He distinguished himself during the Sixth Party Congress and its debates over the Lineamientos (guidelines).

When Guilarte was named to head the PCC apparatus in the new province of Artemisa, there was unanimous approval, and many saw him as a potential Politburo member. His implementation of reforms in Artemisa and his handling of the Mariel port project made him even more visible, and foreign observers began praising him.

An official communique said Guilarte would be named to a new position, but nothing further was ever said about that new job.

One thing is clear: his replacement, Fariñas, doesn’t measure up in any way. He’s much older and for many years now has been disconnected from current reforms going on in Artemisa and the neighboring province of Mayabeque, which were both spawned by the dissolution of La Habana province. Having been a department head at the Central Committee implies a strong bureaucratic style where taking orders is standard procedure.

The overwhelming public perception is that this marks the end of Guilarte’s political career.

A few days later, the first secretary of the PCC in Matanzas province, Omar Ruíz Martín, was appointed to the Secretariat of the Central Committee. Replacing him is Manuela Teresa Rojas Monzón, an industrial engineer with 20 years of grass-roots Party experience who did not come from the Central Committee’s bureaucracy.

These two examples highlight the contradictions within the Party, which are senseless and stand in the way of the PCC’s long-awaited attempts to modernize itself.