Cuba flag Cuba: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Cuba

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Miguel Diaz-Canel (since April 19th, 2018)
Prime minister: Manuel Marrero Cruz (since December 21st, 2019)
Next Election Dates
Legislative: March 26th, 2023
Main Political Parties
The Cuban Constitution only recognises one legal party: the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) whose first secretary is has been Miguel Díaz-Canel since April 2021.
However, there are other - unrecognised - parties in the country. Most of these parties receive funds and support from organisations based in Miami, and are connected to anti-Communist organisations and agencies of the U.S. government, even though it is illegal for a political organisation to receive funds from a foreign government under Cuban law.
Executive Power
The President is the head of state and is indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a term of five years, which can be renewed once. The Prime Minister is the head of government and chairman of the Council of Ministers. The President has executive powers, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and controls most aspects of Cuban life through the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party is the de facto leader of Cuba, as that is the highest office in the country, followed by the President, and the Prime Minister.
Legislative Power
Legislative power is unicameral and is vested in the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular). Its 605 members are directly elected by absolute majority vote and serve a term of 5 years. Candidates are elected without formal party involvement, though elected assemblies predominantly consist of members of the dominant party alongside non-affiliated candidates. Assembly members are charged with selecting the Council of State, which consists of one president, one first vice president, five vice presidents, one secretary and 27 other members. The National Assembly is also responsible for deciding on the constitutionality of laws and making changes to the Constitution, if necessary. In July 2019, the National Assembly passed a new legislation which reduces the number of members from 605 to 474; it will be effective with the 2023 general election.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
171/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
7/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: December 2023