User:Zleitzen/Cuba is not a democracy issue

"Cuba is the only state in the Western Hemisphere that is not a democracy" [1]

The aim of this guide is not to prove that Cuba is a "democracy". The report was written taking into account Wikipedia policies and guidelines concerning NPOV and Verfiability

The below report was drawn up following a debate on the Cuba page over whether the article should carry the statement "Cuba is the only state in the Western Hemisphere that is not a democracy" in the articles opening section. It is to illustrate the very broad meaning of the term "democracy" and to establish that there is a significant and verifiable belief that Cuba employs certain democratic practices. The information is arranged in order to question whether the statement should be given without citation, context and some counter argument.

Relevant statement from Wikipedia:Neutral point of view policy

"Wikipedia is an international, collaborative project. Probably, as we grow, nearly every view on every subject will (eventually) be found among our authors and readership. To avoid endless edit wars, we can agree to present each of these views fairly, and not make our articles assert any one of them as correct. And that is what makes an article "unbiased" or "neutral" in the sense we are presenting here. To write from a neutral point of view, one presents controversial views without asserting them; to do that, it generally suffices to present competing views in a way that is more or less acceptable to their adherents, and also to attribute the views to their adherents."

Relevant statements from Wikipedia:NPOV_tutorial concerning word ownership

"A common source of obstinacy in NPOV disputes is the belief that one group "owns" a word and has sole authority to define it."

"At the same time, the fact that you disagree with the way a word is used or defined does not automatically imply that there is a POV problem. You must also ensure that your assertions about alternative uses are both significant and verifiable, using appropriate attribution and citation."

Definitions of the word 'democracy'

"The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides" George Orwell, from his essay Politics and the English Language 1946 [2]

“Democracy, shouldn’t be regarded in a simplistic, binary manner. There is no single characteristic according to which a nation definitely is or definitely is not democratic. There are, instead, a number of basic characteristics which go into making a viable democracy, and a nation may have some but not all of them. In addition, a country may do well on some of the characteristics it has, but do worse on others".[3]

Philosophers, political scientists, students of semantics and others have debated the meaning and implementation of the term "democracy" since the time of Plato. As a consequence, many different interpretations have arisen. Below are a few examples and definitions.

Dictionary Definitions

The definitions of the word democracy fall into to broad catagories, that of the governmental system and that of a principle of social equality.

medieval Latin democratia < Greek dēmokratia "rule of the people" < dēmos "people" + kratos "rule"[4]

"Oxford Dictionaries

A form of government in which the people have a voice in the exercise of power, typically through elected representatives.
A state governed in such a way.
A control of a group by the majority of its members.

American Heritage Dictionary

Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
A political or social unit that has such a government.
The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
Majority rule.
The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1989, ISBN 051768781X

government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
a state having such a form of government.
a state or society characterized by formal equality of rights and privlieges.
political or social equality; democratic spirit.
the common people, of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

Varying models of democracy

centralized democracy

pluralist democracy

polyarchy/democracy

direct democracy

other definitions

Oldest Living Participatory Democracy on Earth: Iroquois Confederacy
From totalitarian democracy to polyarchy
Benjamin Geer article: Democracy Without Borders?
Vandana Shiva book, subtitled Justice, Sustainability, and Peace; titled: Earth Democracy
Jean Grugel book: Democracy without Borders

Varying Wikipedia Definitions of democracies

Wikipedia Democracy disambiguations.

Democracy — a broad article on democracy, especially its application in modernity.
Liberal democracy — representative democracy with protection for individual liberty and property by rule of law.
Athenian democracy — democracy as originally invented; a majoritarian model.
Direct democracy — implementations of democracy in more pure forms.
Democracy (varieties) — all the other approaches to democracy in existence.

Scaling to global democracy
Referenda and semi-direct democracy
Indirect democracy
Alternative models of democracy

Approval voting is a voting system used for elections, in which each voter can vote for as many or as few candidates as the voter chooses.
Anticipatory democracy which relies on some degree of disciplined and usually market-informed anticipation of the future, to guide major decisions.
Athenian democracy (sometimes called classical democracy) was the democratic system developed in the Greek city-state of Athens (comprising the central city-state of Athens and its surrounding territory Attica).
Bioregional democracy (or the "Bioregional State")
Bloc voting refers to a class of voting systems which can be used to elect several representatives from a single multimember constituency.
Bucklin voting is a type of rank preference ballots voting system that can be used for single-member districts and also multi-member districts. It is also known as the Grand Junction system.
Cumulative voting A cumulative voting election is counted very similarly to a simple plurality election with the winners being the top vote-getters, however cumulative voters are allowed to split their own vote to some degree amongst multiple candidates. Cumulative voting is used heavily in corporate governance.
Corporatism a process by which the state uses officially-recognized organizations as a tool for restricting public participation in the political process and limiting the power of civil society.
Condorcet method is a kind of single winner election method, in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. A Condorcet method is a voting system that will always elect the 'Condorcet winner'; this is the candidate who voters prefer to each other candidate, when compared to them one at a time.
Consensus decision making is a decision process that not only seeks the agreement of most participants, but also to resolve or mitigate the objections of the minority to achieve the most agreeable decision.
Constitutional Democracy similar, or synonymous with Liberal democracy
Democracy (varieties)Wikipedia article about types of democracy.
Democratic capitalism is an economic ideology based on a tripartite arrangement of a market-based economy based predominantly on economic incentives through free markets, a democratic polity and a liberal moral-cultural system which encourages pluralism.
Deliberative democracy which focuses on hearing out every policy alternative, from every direction, and providing time to research them all.
Demarchy which has people randomly selected from the citizenry to either act as representatives, or to make decisions in specific areas of governance (defense, environment, etc.). One of the results of this would be the cessation of political parties and elections.
Democratic centralism a organizational method where members of a political party discuss and debate matters of policy and direction and after the decision is made by majority vote, all members are expected to follow that decision in public.
Democracy fallacy argumentum ad populum a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that "If many believe so, it is so."
Dominant-party system is a party system where only one political party can realistically become the government, by itself or in a coalition government.
Discursive democracy is a theory of democracy advocated by Mike Williams, a Research Fellow at the University of Surrey, UK, involving public participation as a feature of state governance and as a tool for forwarding the position and interests of the state.
First Party System is the term historians give to the political system existing in the United States from about 1792 to 1820 which did not involve the political party system but which pitted the Federalists against the Jeffersonian Republicans.
Fourth Party System was similar to the Third Party System, practiced in the USA from 1896-1932, with the major difference being a larger role of campaign financing as a political power, corporate influence on the Republican Party and the advent of an opposition from a Progressive movement.
Grassroots democracy emphasizing trust in small decentralized units at the municipal government level, possibly using urban secession to establish the formal legal authority to make decisions made at this local level binding.
Instant-runoff voting is an electoral system used for single winner elections in which voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Jacksonian democracy A form of democracy popularized by President Andrew Jackson promoted the strength of the executive branch and the Presidency at the expense of Congressional power
Japanese Party System, also described as the New Party System, a democratic system theory brought forward by the political scientist Roger W. Bowen in his book ISBN/0765611031 and by Ronald J. Hrebenar in his book ISBN/0813330572 Japan's New Party System.
Jeffersonian democracy a form of government named for American statesman Thomas Jefferson.
Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy (either a constitutional republic or a constitutional monarchy) where the ability of elected representatives to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law, and usually moderated by a constitution.
Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or agenda which asserts that a majority (sometimes categorized by religion, language or some other identifying factor) of the population is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and has the right to make decisions that affect the society.
Multiparty democracy A two-party system requires voters to align themselves in large blocs, sometimes so large that they cannot agree on any overarching principles.
New Democracy is a Maoist concept based on Mao Tse-Tung's "Bloc of Four Classes" theory in post-revolutionary China.
Non-partisan democracyis a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections (by secret ballot) take place without reference to political parties.
Oligarchy is a form of government where most or all political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, family, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence).
Parliamentary system a democratic system of government where the executive branch of a parliamentary government is typically a cabinet, and headed by a prime minister who is considered the head of government.
Participatory democracy which involves consensus decision making and offers greater political representation, e.g., wider control of proxies others trust them with, to those who get directly involved and actually participate.
Party-list proportional representation a family of voting systems used in multiple-winner elections (e.g. elections to parliament), emphasizing proportional representation. In these systems, parties make lists of candidates to be elected, and seats get allocated to each party in proportion to the number of votes the party receives.
Plurality voting system a voting system used to elect a single winner in a given election.
Polyarchy rule by the many may be accomplished through multiple elites representing distinct communities in a polity.
Preferential voting is an electoral system in which voters rank a list of candidates in order of preference. In other words (on the most common kind of ballot paper used) the voter writes a '1' beside her first choice, a '2' beside her second preference, and so on.
Proportional representation an electoral system in which every vote counts equally in the overall outcome of the body or bodies of representatives, creating a close match between the percentage of votes that political parties receive and the number of seats they obtain in legislative assemblies.
Range voting uses a ratings ballot; that is, each voter rates each candidate with a number within a specified range, such as 0 to 99 or 1 to 5. Unlike cumulative voting there is no limit on the total ratings given, just on the rating given to each candidate.
Referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.
Second Party System A form of democracy practiced in the United States from about 1824 to 1854 that involved the advance of a well developed two party system of democracy.
Semi-presidential system is a system of government that features both a prime minister and a president who are active participants in the day to day functioning of government.
Single-party state is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election.
Single Transferable Vote a preferential voting system designed to minimise wasted votes and provide proportional representation while ensuring that votes are explicitly for candidates rather than party lists.
Social democracy A political philosophy that calls upon government to be for the people. In contrast to Socialists, modern Social Democrats do not believe in nationalizing Industry.
Soviet democracy is a form of democracy in which workers elect representatives in the organs of power called soviets (councils).
Third Party System as practiced in the United States from the mid to late Ninteenth Centure was characterized by intense voter interest, routine high turnout, unflinching party loyalty, dependence on nominating conventions, hierarchical party organizations, and the systematic use of government jobs as patronage for party workers.
Workplace democracy is the application of democracy to the workplace as opposed to conventional top-down management hierarchy.
Westminster system is a democratic system of government modelled after that of the United Kingdom system, as used in the Palace of Westminster, the location of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature.

World democracy

Illustrative Google searches

Google search Cuba "Not a Democracy" 44,900 hits

Google search Cuba "direct democracy" 62,500 hits

Google search Cuba Democracy 18,800,000 hits

Google search Cuba secret ballot 517,000 hits

Google search Cuba "Secret Ballot" 85,100 hits

Citations

The below is a selection of citations which refer to this case. These citations are concerned with studies of democracy, others contain individual citations which describe Cuba as a democracy, describe Cuban practices as democratic or illustrate the Cuban electoral process.

UN Commission on Human Rights resolution 2001/36 reaffirms that "while all democracies share common features, there is no one universal model of democracy"[5]

UN: the Report on the situation of human rights in Cuba submitted by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Carl-Johan Groth, in accordance with Commission resolution 1997/62 states: "In addition to the election propaganda put out by the government press media (the only ones allowed in Cuba), members of the Party and of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, as well as children outside school hours, made house-to-house calls to persuade people to go and vote, although in theory voting is not compulsory. Furthermore, all the voters know about the candidates is what is contained in the biographical notes distributed by the government press, and candidates are not able to present their own electoral platform. All in all, the electoral process is so tightly controlled that the final phase, i.e. the voting itself, could be dispensed with without the final result being substantially affected." [6]

From Community Power and Grassroots Democracy by Haroldo Dilla Alfonso with economist Gerardo González Núñez", The underlying theoretical proposition is that Cuba’s democratic and participatory maturity will only be possible within a socialist framework, so that democracy and socialism appear in a direct and inseparable relationship, whereby the latter draws from the former not just its goals for human realization but, in more pragmatic terms, the very fundamentals of its own ability to govern."[7]
Pushing Polyarchy This paper by William I. Robinison makes the argument that the Western defition of 'democracy' is actually a form of 'Polyarchy' which is distinct and different than the form of popolar democracy practiced in Cuba. "...one particular definition of democracy, that of polyarchy, has achieved, in the Gramscian sense, hegemony among scholars, journalists, charismatic figures, policymakers, and diplomats, not just in the United States, but in the international community and publc discourse in general. As an essentially contested concept, the polyarchic definition competes with the concept of popular democracy."

Boris Yopo writes with Latin American Perspectives on the Cuban Transition scathing criticism of the Cuban direct democracy model, yet acknowledges in the bottom paragraph of page six that "...there are 'different types of democracies'..." and goes on at length with arguments that the Cuban type of direct democracy is bad. Yopo also writes that "Cuba’s long dependence on the Soviet subsidies, it’s efficient economy, and it’s rejection of pluralist democracy have all diminished the appeal and credibility of the Cuban experience in the eyes of Latin Americans."

Chapter XIV of the Cuban Constitution describes the electoral sytem of Cuba, including: "All citizens...have the right to take part in the leadership of the state, directly or through their elected representatives..." .

The website Cubaverdad [8] makes some basic points about the system: "For the local elections candidates are nominated in open meetings run by the CDR (Committees to Defend the Revolution)that are closely linked to police and security forces. They report and sanction dissent. Prison terms of 4 years threaten those that openly oppose the regime in that public meeting filled with informants. People not supporting can be threatened with losing their home, job, .... These "candidates" then are to be approved by "electoral committees" stuffed with representatives of the communists front organizations (see the Cuban electoral law). For national elections the local "elected candidates" at the local level can "select" candidates from a restricted list drawn up by the communist front organizations." The voters are presented with only one "candidate" per seat.

Dan Christensen website CUBA: Issues & Answers page trying to rebut arguments that Cuba is not a democracy. "... a broad conception of representative democracy, based on popular sovereignty, in which the functions by which power is exercised are performed by persons chosen in free and fair elections...", "...every Cuban of voting age has an equal opportunity -- regardless of socioeconomic condition or political connections -- to nominate a candidate of their choice and to run for public office...", "...The democratically elected [Cuban] Municipal Assemblies nominate one candidate for each seat in the Provincial and National Assemblies. Candidates can be accepted or rejected by voters in a secret ballot. If a candidate is rejected by the majority, the Municipal Assembly must put forth another one and hold another election soon afterwards. ", "the Cuban people fully support their own unique form of representative democracy which can be seen to be free of the influence of money and party politics. ", "It is in no one's interest to put forth an unpopular candidate if he or she is likely to be rejected by voters. The nomination process includes an extensive consultation with community and labour groups expressly to avoid such rejections.", "...blank or spoiled ballots. ... this is how protests are registered and that it is possible ... to reject any or all candidates in this way, if the majority so chooses.", "...the secret ballot, which at both the provincial and national levels, allows voters to reject any and all candidates." .

PARLINE database on Cuban elections: "Blank or spoiled ballots can be a sign of protest, as dissidents on the island had urged people to cast blank ballots. "

Latin American Perspectives article by Donald W. Bray and Marjorie Bray. "The academic and popular discussion of Cuba in the United States mostly misses the key point: the revolution is achieving a new form of democracy based upon shared social goals."

Miguel A. Faria in an article titled A Social(ist) Democracy presents an argument harshly critical of the present incumbent goverment in Cuba. Though even with this harch criticism Mr. Faria acknowledges Cuban democracy with the statement that: "Cuba should reject ... being ruled as a social democracy (democratic socialism)...". Essentially complaining that Cuba has the wrong type of democracy, not that Cuba has no democracy.

In the journal Foreign Affairs May 2006 article titled Left vs. Left in Latin America scholar Jorge G. Castañeda argues that Fidel Castro holds power in Cuba through ongoing popular support: "... the Castroists and Communists all came together -- and they remain together today..."

In the book Work and Democracy in Socialist Cuba Linda O. Fuller writes "In contrast to the common image of Cuba as a totalitarian dictatorship, Linda Fuller argues that, as Cuban socialism has matured, important democratic advances also have been made."

The CIA World Factbook describes elections in Cuba.

From the British Embassy in Cuba "The UK along with EU partners, shares the goal of a peaceful transition to a pluralist democracy in Cuba." and makes reference to the EUROPA statement which describes the electoral process in Cuba.

Political scientist Robert Dahl defines a democracy as "a political system that is completely responsive to all of its citizens, adding that it is a totally "ideal" system in the sense that there are no examples past or present and may, in fact, be impossible. Instead, he places existing and possible systems on a two dimensional continuum between dictatorships and polyarchies, where polyarchies are systems with high levels of "public contestation" (liberalization) and high levels of "inclusiveness" (citizen participation)." [9]

A Short Discussion of the Cuban Electoral System from Cuban govenment files "...The above manifests the essence of Cuban democracy, of the system instituted, endorsed, and supported by the immense majority of Cubans. However, we do not claim to have reached the development of a perfect democracy."

British political figure and writer Peter Taaffe writes in Cuba:Socialism And Democracy "A planned economy had been established but was there real workers’ democracy in Cuba? What were the international dimensions and the effects of the Cuban Revolution? These issues were hotly debated at the time, and have been a source of constant controversy since."

Commitees in solidarity with Latin America & the Caribbean write "Critics continue to say that Cuba is undemocratic, closed off, repressive, and that critical ideas in general are suppressed. An investigation of the education system and the young people in Cuban schools paints a very different picture"

From Socialism and Democracy Online "It is clear, however, that Cuba remains committed to its original social and political objectives in crucially important areas such as education, the justice system, health, sports and recreation, and various forms of participatory democracy at the local level."

From Globalization And The Developing Countries "Cuba remains a one-party or no-party “representative democracy” that allows a measure of political participation in the selection and election of candidates for public offices, except the presidency."

Steve Ludlam, politics professor from the University of Sheffield attends the election of candidates for Cuba’s municipal elections. Descibes his experiences in a piece called "Participation is key to Cuba’s democracy"

The International Socialist Review August 2003 article Cuba, Democracy and the Bush Doctrine laments that "...workers have never been in power in Cuba. The local councils, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, transmit government policy and sometimes act as the regimes eyes and ears, but they are not democratic instruments for setting or influencing state policy. " This article is C because it contains a harsh criticism from the point of view of the 'left' aimed at the electoral system in Cuba, and is notable that the essence of the complaint is that the workers fail to exercise effective electoral control at the level of the local councils. A harsh criticism, but regardless, it fundamentally is based on the premise that electoral power in Cuba rests with the local councils. In short, Cuban democracy is a defective, corrupt and failed form of democracy, but none-the-less, a form of democracy.

A BBC article titled Cuban elections reaffirm socialist identity describes the January 1998 elections in Cuba giving special emphasis to the socialist framework of the election. Of special interest is the description of " Some 5.01% of the votes were not valid because they were blank or annulled.", which may be an indication of a form of democratic electoral expression in opposition to the incumbent government.

In an article titled Democracy in Cuba, Teresita Jorge writes: "Cuban elections are an authentic way for people to participate in the life of the nation, far from the politicking, fraud and the marketing of votes that takes place in many countries."

On a British website, the journalist Ivan Terrero reports on the Cuban Elections, March 2005, writing in part: "The fact that we are in Cuba, witnessing this full participation by the Cuban people in electing their own leaders from the grassroots, is extremely interesting, and vindicates the significance of the role of the Cuban Revolution,...".

In an editorial on the Venezuela News And Views website, editorialist Val Prieto writes in part: "...there are elections every 5 years in Cuba - for national and municipal candidates, where the Communist Party has no role. There have been plenty of non-Party members elected... including priests. 95% of people voted and 5% of the ballots were spoiled or left blank, if you want to guage opposition."

Website devoted to detailed information and statistics on Cuban electoral process from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The New York based monthly periodical Political Affairs Magazine April 2005 issue includes an article about the Cuban electoral process which states in part: "The upcoming municipal elections, which have been organized every two years since 1976, are scheduled for April 17 and, in cases where it is necessary, a second round takes place on April 24. In order to arrive at the act of voting (secret and non-obligatory)) the electoral process was initiated in January and its most important stage has just concluded (February 24- March 24): the assemblies to nominate candidates for delegates. It is a highly participative process.".

Encarta Encyclopedia entry for Cuba "The revolution professed centralized democracy, meaning that popular participation occurs within designated mass organizations established and controlled by the state. The Communist leadership believes that traditional democracies in Latin America often become military dictatorships or become subject to government corruption, which renders their democratic institutions meaningless. In theory, the Cuban government avoids dictatorship and corruption by creating a strong, centralized political structure that makes every effort to incorporate the opinions of the people when making policy decisions. This, to their way of thinking, qualifies Cuba as a democracy and not a totalitarian government. However, Castro makes all major decisions, without popular referendums."

US Lawyer and consitutional analyst Tom Crumpacker states in his paper An analysis of democracy, oligarchy and US-Cuba Policy that "(Cuba has) forged a political system that seeks to preserve their sovereignty and independence, with institutions that achieve democracy by participatory consensus rather than class warfare or clashing ideologies." And asks the question, "does our oligarchy fear that if the Cuban revolution continued to succeed (based as it is on real democracy) that the US own drive for world empire might fail by regime change or perhaps even progressive political system change here?"

Susan Babbitt writes in an article called Cuba, Democracy and the armed owl in the "Journal on African Philosophy" that "When people on the left claim that Cuba is not democratic, they generally cite a number of reasons. One, of course, is that there exists a single-party political system. Another is that there is no U.S. - style free press. 1 But we might wonder why democracy, which means rule by the people, must necessarily involve these two features. Perhaps, the arguments are that the single-party system and the absence of an American-style free press are such that in fact the people are prevented from taking control of their own destiny, of ruling themselves. But if this were the case, it would seem that the arguments should involve some discussion of what it means for a people to rule itself and, given a defensible articulation of this notion, evidence that the kind of one-party system that exists in Cuba does not fulfill its responsibility. Indeed, it would seem to be important to discuss what it means, in fact, for there to be “a people”. Often, I have noticed, well-intentioned North American liberals come to Cuba and claim as a result of their investigations that “the people” are dissatisfied with Cuban socialism. But it is not clear why those who are not members of the Communist Party should have more of a claim to being “the people” than the large number who are. And even if we could be sure about what the majority thinks, it is not clear how, without begging some questions about real interests, this can provide evidence that Cuba is or is not democratic"

Los Angeles based pro Cuba journalist, Walter Lippmann wrote this editorial entitled Cuba's Diverse Challenges quoted in part: " In Cuba, voting is completely voluntary. The authorities do what they can to make it as easy as possible. Where I stay in Havana's Vedado, there are three polling stations within ONE BLOCK of my door. What we would call election precincts, they call circumscriptions. It's a secret ballot there as it is here. One big difference is that the Cuban system isn't automated. The ballots are hand-counted. The ballot boxes are guarded by elementary school children who belong to the Young Pioneers. In Cuba candidates don't spend any money. Indeed, they're forbidden to spend money and the only literature is a single sheet which lists their individual qualifications. Candidates make personal appearances, but campaigning and debating US-style doesn't occur. "

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated in 2005 [10] "People ask how I can support Fidel if he’s a dictator? But Cuba doesn’t have a dictatorship, it’s a revolutionary democracy."

Article titled: The Myth of Cuban Dictatorship by Charles McKelvey, Professor of Sociology, Presbyterian College, Clinton, South Carolina [11] "Cubans tend to enthusiastically defend their (electoral) system. They point out that the elected members of the assemblies are not professional politicians who must rely on fund-raising to be elected"
Article titled "Is Cuba Democratic?": [12]"...no political party, including the Communist Party, is permitted to nominate or campaign for any given candidates."
1999 Usenet posting by Dan Christensen[13] "Democracy – REAL democracy – is alive and well in Cuba. Unlike the rich man’s "dollar democracy" that we have come to know, it unifies the people and gives full expression to their collective will."
Author Peter Roman, a political scientist who teaches at Hostos Community College in New York City in his book ISBN: 0742525651 writes: [14] "Roman argues that a key to understanding the Cuban concept of democracy is the mandat imperatif (which he calls the "instructed delegate model") as developed by Rousseau, the Paris Commune, and later incorporated into the Soviets. The mandat varies in important ways from the Lockean traditions that spawned bourgeois democracy. The central idea here is that representatives should be truly accountable and responsive to their constituents. Thus, for example, it matters less what a delegate thinks than what his constituency thinks. Also key in understanding the historical origins of contemporary Cuban democracy are the ideas of the centrality of unity and consensus, and the rejection of a distinction between political and civil society."
Article, Democracy in Cuba, by Louis Proyect of Columbia University: [15] "Candidates were nominated in a public gathering, usually consisting of 500 people. Any citizen has the right to nominate any other. Personal integrity and the respect of the community are decisive factors in selecting a candidate. "
Article: Democracy in the USA and in Cuba by John Gilman: [16] “Cuban elections are founded on a rejection of conventional electoral politics on the grounds that it creates a class of politicians and divorces economics from politics.”
Article: Democracy in Cuba By Barry Sheppard "...to become a member of the CP, a candidate must be approved by his or her fellow workers by majority vote. These same workers can remove a member from the CP if there is evidence of corruption or other bad behavior. ... elected in a secret ballot by the population. To be elected, a nominee must receive 50% plus 1 of the votes. Vote counting for elections to all levels of the government is done publicly at the district level with all who want to observe."
Ross Douthat July 7, 2001: scathingly critical National Review article which quotes Reverend Lucius Walker: "Why is the United States government so pathologically obsessed with the destruction of Cuba? I thing the answer is simple…. Cuba is a good example which capitalism cannot tolerate." ; and Ellen Bernstein: "I know of no more democratic country in the world than Cuba." ; Arnold August: "the Cuban Revolution…heralded the realization of true democracy."
IFCO/Pastors for Peace website

What can we learn from Cuba on elections? Interview conducted by Barbara Jean Hope

Reverend Lucius Walker Jr. ""The world tells us that Cuba is a dictatorship. If Fidel Castro is a dictator, he is the only dictator who is elected. Anyone running for office is nominated by people in a town meeting. Nobody nominated is allowed to put forward more glossy material than another. That means that a Bush would have no better chance of swaying public opinion than anybody else. ...[Cuban elections are] the most democratic in the world. There’s no ability to buy elections, no possibility for the type of corruption that has occurred in Florida. ... [Cuba has] a democratic system that should be adopted by more countries in the world. If we would look at the Cuban system, it would be useful."