Raul Castro: Elections in Cuba significant

[radmilitant]

Critics don't understand Cuban elections! Here's the process: a town hall meeting takes place in which ANYONE can be nominated (usually between 8-12 people); they're usually respected members of the community etc. Next, every town hall votes its nominee. The nominee does NOT have to belong to the Com Party. There's no campaigning, only materials posted about the nominee. A month later is election day. It's really a referendum on a town hall vote, not an election. Hence one name on the ballot.

[cadorrune]

@centauriblue2 You fail at life. Do research moron.

[Livingrevolutionary]

Haha..that was quick considering there's only ONE candidate on your ballot..elections..please! you hope they elect you for representative!? It's almost guaranteed you will win since no one is running against you!

[mackan35]

i choose raul before the burro of bush

[samot8728]

At least the "burro of bush" is term limited by the US Constitution, while Raul's power is virtually unchecked and indefinite under Cuba's dictatorial system.

[mackan35]

they haev their system of elections, if u ask me i don´t see wich is better,USA`s or Cuba´s, the only thing I see it´s that in Cuba the medical care nd the education is for veerybody for free, I am from Chile and if I compare Cuba with my own coutry then u woul comprehend.

The problem is, with the US contitution, that it regulates the goverment and the states intitutions but it dosen`t regulate the Economy, and that s a democrathy problem.

[samot8728]

What I comprehend is that you do not understand the Cuban electoral system.

[samot8728]

(2) In what democratic country is 100% of the National Assembly made up of government supporters, in what democratic country is everything approved by 99% of the vote? It only takes a few neurons and some common sense to realize that Cuba's electoral system is a farce, where the opposition is intimidated, jailed and not allowed to campaign, while the government uses every form of mass media in the country for propaganda purposes.

[samot8728]

(2) And yes Cuba has free health care and education but at an economic and political cost which has been WAY too high for the Cuban people. And by the way, there is no such thing as "free" health care or education. The money to pay from it comes from somewhere. In Europe its from taxes while in Cuba it comes from the money the Cuban government DOES NOT pay its citizens. It's hypocritical when a college professor makes $30/month all his life and then the govt claims his education was free.

[samot8728]

I'm sure that in Chile you are able to freely become a member of any political party, even if it's not part of the Concertacion, that in Chile you can conduct a peaceful protest, that you can get a college degree even if you oppose the government, that you can access any webpage, even if it criticizes president Bachelet. Why do you wish to restrict Cubans acccess to these same freedoms you can enjoy?

[mackan35]

If you limited the word democrathy to elect or to be elected, then wi are talking of diferents wiews, at the first they got elections in Cuba, if they are according what u or your friends lije that´s another problem, but got the posibility to vote orget elected, if you defind democrathy to the action of speeks what you want then that if posible in Cuba too, however you must auderstand that Cuba is not perfection and al the systems have defections even yours.

[ProjectM555]

I hear Raul vows to modernize Cuba. Yesterday he announced the 1962 Ford Falcon.

[aramaris]

I have laughed so hard that I had a hard time picking myself up from the floor. Does Raul really believe that the rest of us believe that? Come on! If he is going to lie through his teeth, he can come up with a better farce than that. What elections? It was decided by FIDEL a long time ago he'd get elected. PERIOD. I am sure the only ones who are happy are the homosexuals because it is public knowledge he is a confessed queer. An now with Vilma gone, he is FREE to get it on with his boys