The 5th Party Congress: An important shift in thinking

5th PARTY CONGRESS

Time:March 27 to 31, 1982

Location: CapitalHanoi

Number of delegates attending the Congress:1,033

Number of party members in the country:Over 1.72 million

There were 47 international delegations attending.

Congress elected:

- General Secretary: ComradeLe Duan

- Central Executive Committee: 116 official members and 36 alternate members

- Politburo: 13 official members and 02 alternate members

GENERAL CONTEXT:

- The socio-economic situation of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries faced difficulties and gradually fell into crisis.

The economic and social reform policy in China (since 1978) has initially achieved positive results.

In Southeast Asia, international reactionary forces are increasingly seeking to intervene in order to control and influence. In particular, they are increasing their activities to sabotage the Vietnamese revolution.

- Vietnam is in a situation of both peace and having to face a multifaceted destructive war... at the same time, it must be ready to deal with the situation where the enemy may launch a large-scale war of aggression. The US continues to implement the policy of encirclement and embargo against Vietnam.

BUILDING SOCIALISM AND DEFENDING THE SOCIALIST FATHERLAND

The Congress listened to the Political Report of the Party Central Committee and many other important reports. The Congress pointed out the objective and subjective causes of difficulties and weaknesses. The Congress frankly raised the subjective causes, which were mistakes in economic leadership and management, social management. Grasping and understanding the actual situation, concretizing the Party's policies and implementing the policies had shortcomings and mistakes. It had not yet seen all the difficulties and complexities of the path to socialism from an economy where small-scale production was still common, administrative management mechanisms, bureaucracy and subsidies were maintained for too long, and policies were slow to change...

On that basis, the Congress set out the main directions, tasks and goals for the socio-economy from 1981 to 1985 and the 1980s; affirmed to continue implementing the socialist revolutionary line outlined by the 4th Party Congress.

The Congress determined: The years 1981-1985 were the years of further development, restructuring and promoting socialist transformation of the national economy.

These three aspects are closely combined with each other, aiming to basically stabilize the economic and social situation, meet the most urgent and essential needs of people's lives, alleviate the most serious imbalances of the economy, overcome an important step in the abnormal situation of distribution and circulation, and increase the premise and conditions for stronger and more solid progress in the following years.

On that basis, the Congress outlined the main directions, tasks, and goals for the socio-economy from 1981 to 1985, setting out two strategic tasks: Building socialism and firmly defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Congress approved:

+ Resolution on the direction, tasks and goals of the 5-year plan 1981-1985 and the 1980s of the 20th century;

+ Resolution on Party building;

+ Supplement the Party Charter.

The Congress elected the Central Executive Committee and comrade Le Duan was re-elected as General Secretary of the Party. On July 10, 1986, General Secretary Le Duan passed away. The Central Executive Committee held a special session on July 14, 1986, electing comrade Truong Chinh as General Secretary of the Party.

DOMESTIC EVENTS

- May 1, 1981: In Vientiane (Laos), the high-ranking delegation of the Party and State of Vietnam led by comrade Vo Nguyen Giap awarded the Gold Star Order - the most noble award of the Party and State of Vietnam to comrade Kaysone Phomvihane, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

- June 19, 1981: The Vietnam - Soviet Joint Venture Enterprise (Vietsovpetro) was established on the basis of the Intergovernmental Agreement between Vietnam and the Soviet Union on cooperation in geological exploration and oil and gas exploitation on the southern continental shelf of Vietnam.

- November 27, 1981: The State Council decided to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (This Convention was adopted by the UN on December 18, 1979)

- January 18, 1982: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam published a white paper entitled: "Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos - territory of Vietnam".

- March 1982: Inauguration of Noi Bai International Airport Terminal.

- July 7, 1982: Signing of the Agreement on common historical waters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the People's Republic of Cambodia.

- September 28, 1982: The Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) signed a decision to make November 20 every year Vietnam Teachers' Day.

- December 9, 1982: The Council of Ministers decided to establish Truong Sa district in Dong Nai province and decided to establish Hoang Sa district in Quang Nam - Da Nang province (now Da Nang city). On December 28, 1982, the National Assembly decided to transfer Truong Sa district in Dong Nai province to Phu Khanh province (now Khanh Hoa province).

INTERNATIONAL EVENTS

- January 20, 1981: Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President of the United States.

- April 14, 1981: The first American space shuttle named Columbia landed safely, marking an important turning point in space travel science.

- July 16, 1981: Mahathir bin Mohamad took office as Prime Minister of the Federation of Malaysia

- August 12, 1981: IBM announced the IBM Personal Computer 5150, opening up a new concept, the concept of personal computers.

- October 6, 1981: Egyptian President Sadat was assassinated

- March 25, 1982: Canada adopts the Constitution, after gaining full independence from Britain.

- June 6, 1982: Israel attacks Lebanon

- August 19, 1982: Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the second Russian woman to fly into space on the Soyuz T-7 spacecraft with two cosmonauts.

- November 5, 1982: Inauguration of the Itaipu hydroelectric dam. This was the largest hydroelectric dam in the world at that time and was a symbol of cooperation between the two neighboring countries of Brazil and Paraguay.

- November 10, 1982: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union L. Brezhnev passed away (1905-1982)

- November 12, 1982: Comrade Iu.V.Andropov was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

- December 10, 1982: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was born. The Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted by 107 countries in Montego Bay (Jamaica).