Pink Slip for 10 Cuban Council Members

HAVANA, Cuba, March 4, — -- Cuban President Raul Castro ousted 10 members of the Council of Ministers and made other key personnel changes this week after a disastrous first year in office that saw bureaucratic inertia, wild spikes in commodity prices and three hurricanes bury his inaugural promise to better administer the state-dominated economy and improve people's "spiritual and material lives."

The government billed the 22-person cabinet shuffle, which included the promotion of two military generals and mostly middle-age Communist Party cadre, as a step toward restructuring and gaining greater economic efficiency. The changes included combining four existing ministries into two

The shakeup followed the appointment of three senior officials, including another general and a revolutionary commander, as vice presidents of the Council of Ministers, along with a younger party cadre earlier this year. Half a dozen other ministers have met similar fates since Raul Castro officially took over from his brother Fidel Feb. 24, 2008.

The Cuban economy grew 4 percent last year, but the trade deficit jumped 70 percent on a 43 percent increase in imports, the government said. The balance of payments went from a $500 million surplus in 2007 to a more than $2 billion deficit. The budget deficit also increased significantly.

Raul Castro ended the year by admitting the troubles had slowed plans to overhaul the government and improve economic performance by providing more incentives for those who labor and fewer subsidies for those who do not.

Analysts said the new cabinet removed any doubt that Raul, not his brother, was in charge.

"For those who still had doubts, these changes demonstrate once and for all that Raul is the pilot, not co-pilot, of this plane," Rafael Hernandez, editor of the often critical Temas Magazine, said.

"The fundamental changes were in the economic realm, indicating the intention to carry out a new economic policy, in other words, reform," he said.