Cuba at the Onset of the 21st Century: Socialism, Democracy and Political Reforms

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Notes

1. The concept of transition is understood here in the classical Marxist sense, i.e., the transformation of society toward a higher stage of socialism as a system, as opposed to the notion of regressing to capitalism. In this article, transition refers to the revolutionary transformation from capitalism to socialism in all spheres of economic, political, social and cultural development. We are not talking about the “transition to democracy” that aims to restore liberal (bourgeois) democracy as the only model. The issue is more complex in the Cuban case because this latter concept of “transition” is part of the US interventionist and subversive project as outlined in the Report to the President by the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba that was approved by the Bush administration in 2004 and reaffirmed in 2006.

2. Political legitimacy in a particular system is achieved when there is a consensus, recognition and social acceptance of that system. Illegitimate power ceases to be power and becomes nothing more than domination. According to Maurice Duverger, “the only basis, the only source of legitimate power, is when it conforms to the scheme defined by the system of values and norms of the community where it is exercised and there is internal consensus regarding said scheme” (Duverger 1983: 184). Political consensus – without which no legitimacy is possible – is agreement or affinity among members of a society regarding cultural values and norms, as well as social goals and means to achieve them. It is expressed in the acceptance and social recognition of a political system. Two factors that characterize the Marxist approach to legitimacy and consensus are: the emphasis on real and effective participation of broad sectors of the population in policy-making, and the prominence in political relations of an ethic that stresses socialist political values.

3. The point of departure is the idea of not limiting the concept of a political system to include only the political structure or organization of a society, but rather seeing it to include also other elements such as: relations within the political organizations and their relationship to society as a whole; regulatory elements of the system (political and legal norms, especially the Constitution and the laws of a country); and the political culture and ideology aimed at strengthening, developing and maintaining a particular social system (see Duharte 2004, 2006a). It also defines the concept of the political system of socialist transition to be a combination of: the Party; State; youth, mass, and professional organizations, and to comprise agencies and institutions that guide the process of building the new society and serve as vehicles for the increasingly active participation of the populace in the direction of economic, political and social processes (Duharte 2006b: 301f).

4. The president and vice president of the Council of State are known in other countries as president and vice president of the Republic. But the Cuban political system is not presidential.

5. For details, see Duharte (2004).

6. For details on previous periods, see Duharte (2006b: 301–323).

7. At the end of the article I will revisit the theme of the Cuban Communist Party as a leading force and the ways to reform and improve it.

8. For a full exposition, see Duharte (2006c).

9. A new constitutional reform was introduced in 2002. Articles were added that ratified the irrevocability of socialism, which does not mean that socialism is “untouchable” – a term that was used in an early stage of these debates but which is incompatible with the affirmation that the system is not static or inflexible, but rather can be improved by corrections and reforms.

10. The general elections of January 11, 1998 for delegates to the provincial assemblies and deputies to the National Assembly displayed high rates of participation, vote quality (percentage of votes that are valid), and full-slate votes. Women, young people, and other social sectors were well represented and there was significant turnover. A complex process of selection via meetings held by the candidacy commissions occurred at all levels (for details see Granma, January 13 and February 25, 1998). The results of the 2003 elections were not much different: a slight decrease in participation, an increased vote quality, a slight decrease in full-slate votes, an increase in the number of women, Afro-Cubans, and mixed race representatives. Municipal delegates made up just under 50% of the Parliament (See figures in Lezcano, 2003: 92; Granma, March 7, 2003).

11. For more detail see Granma, October 27, 2007: 1–2, and October 30, 2007: 1.

12. Granma, January 1, 2008: 3.

13. Studies of the vote-quality and of regional differences must be expanded. Such studies would be strategically important in making decisions. Sufficient data do not currently exist. Vote-quality is more often mentioned in Cuban publications, although it is not subject to rigorous political analysis. Regional differences are less frequently addressed and are only alluded to in the press and in a few studies (such as Lezcano 2003).

14. See bibliography for a listing of his pertinent speeches.

15. Cuba has two simultaneously circulating currencies: the Cuban national peso for use by the Cuban population, and the convertible peso, which is pegged to hard currency and is for use in Cuba by foreigners and Cubans with access to hard currency.

16. Not all citizens have access to the convertible peso via their salary. Here gratuidades does not refer to important social gains by the people, which will be maintained, but rather to claims that are irrational, unjustified and unsustainable.

17. Prohibitions have to do with such things as holding more than one job (which was approved in 2009) or staying in tourist hotels designed for foreigners (also resolved, although prices keep the hotels out of reach for most Cubans). There are still limitations on offering private services or running small businesses, as well as excessively strict migratory and foreign travel regulations, etc.

18. Standing committees are in most cases made up not of professional experts, but rather of deputies who at certain times of the year are granted leave from their jobs in order to carry out parliamentary duties.

19. Doble moral in Cuba refers to the psychological, political and moral attitude of individuals who manifest a double standard between their public stances and their private behaviors.

20. Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas or League of Communist Youth.

21. See Duharte (2008); Garcia Brigos (1998); Hernández (2003); Lezcano (2003); Machado (1990); Martínez Heredia (2005).

22. For more information see García Brigos (1998: 100–108); Duharte (1998, 2006c, 2007, 2008).

23. In the theoretical canon, workplace assemblies were not viewed as part the political system of a society in transition to socialism. The idea began to take shape in the social science literature of socialist countries in the first half of the 1980s, owing to the increasing sociopolitical role of these assemblies and the need to scientifically ground the ways of improving that role. Unfortunately this did not happen.