Vietnam Unveils Draft of Plan Aimed at Making Socialism Work
Vietnam’s Communist leaders unveiled a draft program Friday that they claimed will lay the foundation for changing one of Asia’s most backward states into a socialist paradise.
The plan, released to journalists, proposes little change in the Communist Party’s 36-year-old grip on power. It said Vietnam will stick to socialism and will not abandon its struggle against capitalism.
However, officials said most of the present leaders, many of whom led Vietnam through wars against the French, Japanese and Americans, will step down next year.
The program, which is to last for 10 to 15 years, commits Vietnam to continuing its policy of opening up the economy, but it calls for market mechanisms to work in tandem with state management.
“Our people are unswervingly resolved to follow the path of socialism. That is the goal our party and people have striven for in the past and will strive for in the future,” the program states. “Our chosen course is in keeping with the general evolutionary trend of our time.”
Officials said the program, approved by the party’s leadership during a meeting that ended this week, will be discussed by officials across the country before a full party congress next May.
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