The Central Government

The highest-ranking executive body is the Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers), headed by Raúl Castro and comprising several vice presidents and ministers. Its Executive Committee administers Cuba on a day-to-day basis and is ostensibly accountable to the National Assembly of People’s Power, which “elects” the members at the initiative of the head of state. The council has jurisdiction over all ministries and central organizations and effectively runs the country under the direction of Raúl Castro, who since coming to power has replaced many ministers with loyal military figures.

The 614-member Asemblea Nacional (National Assembly) is invested with legislative authority but exercises little legislative initiative. It is mostly a rubber-stamp legislature, headed since 1993 by Ricardo Alarcón. The Assembly is elected for a five-year term but meets only twice annually. Deputies are elected directly by voters, but candidates (who must be approved by the Communist Party) run unopposed; most are drawn from the party bureaucracy.

The 31-member Consejo del Estado (Council of State) is modeled on the Presidium of the former Soviet Union, and functions as the Executive Committee of the National Assembly when the latter is not in session.

The Cuban Communist Party

The sole political party is the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC), of which Fidel Castro remains head and his brother Raúl vice secretary. The PCC, whose goal is “to guide common efforts toward the construction of socialism” occupies the central role in all government bodies and institutions. It is led by the Buró Político (Politburo) and steered by the Comité Central (Central Committee), whose members are selected by Castro. It meets every six months and is the principal forum through which the party leadership disseminates party policy.

At the base of the PCC chain is the party cell of 10 members organized at work and educational centers. Youth organizations are the most common avenue for passage into the PCC. Current membership is about 600,000 (about 5 percent of the population).

The Castros have drawn from “the elite of the elite” of the party to maintain their government. Loyalty takes precedence over all other considerations. Although the Council of State and Council of Ministers ostensibly make the decisions, Raúl Castro shapes those decisions, while Fidel pulls the strings from backstage.

Local Government

The country is divided into 14 provinces and 169 municipalities (municipios), dominated by the city of Havana, a separate province. Each province and municipality is governed by an Assembly of Delegates of People’s Power, representing state bodies at the local level. Members are elected by popular ballot and serve two-and-a-half-year terms.

The organs of poder popular (popular power) also serve as forums for citizens’ grievances and deal with problems such as garbage collection, housing improvement, and running day-care centers. The PCC closely monitors their performance.

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution

The linchpins in maintaining the loyalty of the masses and spreading the Revolution at the grassroots level are the neighborhood Comités para la Defensa de la Revolución. There are 15,000 CDRs in Havana, and 100,000 throughout the island. Almost every block has one.

On one hand, the CDRs perform wonderful work: They collect blood for hospitals, discourage kids from playing hooky, and so on. But they are also the vanguard in watching and snitching on neighbors (the CDRs are under the direction of MININT, the Ministry of the Interior). Above the voluntary CDR head is the jefe del sector, the sector boss in charge of four CDRs and who specifically looks for revolutionary delinquency.

Other Mass Organizations

Citizen participation in building socialism is manifested through mass organizations controlled by the PCC. Prominent among them are the Federation of Cuban Women, the Confederation of Cuban Workers, and the Union of Communist Youth. No independent labor organizations are permitted.

Membership in mass organizations is a virtual prerequisite for getting on in Cuban society. Promotions, access to university, etc. rely upon being a “good revolutionary” through participation in an organization.

The Judiciary

Courts are a fourth branch of government and are not independent. The individual in Cuba enjoys few legal guarantees. The judiciary is charged with “maintaining and strengthening socialist legality.” The Council of State can overturn judicial decisions, and Fidel Castro has frequently done so in political trials. Interpretation of the constitution is the prerogative of the National Assembly, not the courts. Cuba’s legal system is modeled on Alice in Wonderland’s topsy-turvy world in which defendants are required to prove their innocence, rather than for prosecutors to prove the defendants’ guilt. Hence, thousands of Cubans languish in jails for crimes the State finds it convenient to convict them of.

The highest court in the land is the People’s Supreme Court in Havana. The president and vice president are appointed by Fidel Castro; other judges are elected by the National Assembly.

Private practice of law is not permitted. The penal code accepts a defendant’s confession as sufficient proof of his guilt, and there are many cases of individuals pressured into confessing to crimes they did not commit. Capital punishment by firing squad remains for 112 offenses (79 for violations of state security).

Cuba, however, has a policy of criminal rehabilitation for all but political crimes. In meting out punishment, the penal system allows for amends and guarantees an individual’s job upon release from prison.

Military and Security

Cuba once boasted a formidable military under the aegis of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FAR, www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/minfar), commanded by Raúl Castro. However, the number of men and women on active duty has shrunk from over 180,000 in 1993 to about 55,000 in 2009. In addition, Cuba has more than 100,000 reservists supplemented by about 1.3 million in the territorial militias. (All males between the ages of 16 and 45 are subject to conscription; women between 17 and 35 may volunteer.) The key to defense is the “Guerra de Todo el Pueblo” (War of All the People): In the event of an attack, the entire population of Cuba will be called into action.

In 1991 the military was re-engineered to help the economy and now earns its way by investments in tourism, agriculture, and industry, and today employs 20 percent of all workers in Cuba. High-ranking military figures hold key positions throughout the economy and government.

State security is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior, which operates a number of intelligence-related services, plus the National Revolutionary Police (PNR). Other intelligence units—most notoriously, the much-feared Seguridad del Estado or G-2—are operated by the Department of State Security and the General Directorate of Intelligence. There are more security-linked officials than meet the eye.

© Christopher P. Baker from Moon Cuba, 5th Edition