Elections and Cuban Democracy: A Simple Analysis Produces a Simple Answer

Cuban elections are coming up soon, and with them comes much debate on the degree of democracy available in that country. Many people defend the elections in Cuba as democratic, often citing that they are more democratic than the United States. Usually when I’m discussing Cuba with people that defend the system, my opinion that the elections are not free is often countered with the question on what I think the value of my vote in Canada is. As I’ve mentioned many times, there always seems to be a need to talk about the flaws of our system to defend, or at least debate the system in Cuba. Most certainly there are many flaws in the Canadian system, and even more in the United States. However, I think when criticizing a particular system a good idea is to isolate it and do an analysis.

When I attended a presentation about the Che Brigades, a summer program for foreign volunteers to work and attend functions in Cuba, I noticed in the agenda in the brochure that there was a lecture a few hours long to explain democracy in Cuba. It’s complicated, I suppose. I hear frequent arguments about how people are elected at the grass-roots level, and ultimately Castro is elected by an elected electorate etc etc. However, Cuba is not democratic no matter how it is explained. The following are some simple, rational questions that can be answered in most democratic systems. They have no answers when applied to Cuba

Who are the candidates in the upcoming provincial and federal elections? What are their platforms?

If a Cuban citizen is not satisfied with the way Cuba is currently being run, who are the alternatives to choose from in the upcoming election? What are their platforms?

Are there debates? Issues? What are the topics of debate? Who is the official opposition, or other candidates profiled in the media? Can I read articles about them? Can I read published criticisms of Castro?

Are there profiles of candidates on Cuban television? Are there profiles on candidates and opposition throughout all levels of media available to the common citizen?

Fidel was apparently elected in the last elections. Who did he defeat? What were the final tallies of votes? Who are the other parties and candidates that ran last time and lost? What were their issues and criticisms of Fidel?

In most democracies, even ones with flaws, these basic questions can be answered quite easily. There are and will be numerous articles in the coming month, especially from Cuba, that will try to defend the democracy there. There is talk about the high rates of voter turnout. There are explanations of how the electorate works and how “grass roots” the elections are. Yet, none of the simple questions I outlined ever gets answered. The alternatives are never discussed, the candidates are never discussed, and the current regime is never criticized. If their aren’t any openings for alternatives, whether the people vote for them or not, there isn’t democracy.



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