The Communist Party of Cuba (Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba, established on October 3, 1965, as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution. Formed through the merger of the 26th of July Movement, the Popular Socialist Party, and parts of the Revolutionary Directory, the party governs Cuba as an authoritarian one-party state where dissidence and political opposition are prohibited and repressed. The Cuban constitution designates the PCC as “the leading force of society and of the state.” The party’s highest body is the Party Congress, which convenes every five years, while day-to-day governance is vested in the Politburo and Central Committee. Headquartered at the Palacio de la Revolución in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, the party operates under Marxism-Leninism, Castroism, and Guevarism, maintaining a state socialist command economy despite long-term U.S. embargo. The party’s official newspaper is Granma, and it maintains mass organizations including the Young Communist League and the Union of Journalists of Cuba (UPEC). The PCC pursues interventionist foreign policy supporting left-wing movements globally and maintains extensive medical diplomacy programs across the developing world.