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Cuba | Freedom House Cuba | Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/cuba A. ELECTORAL PROCESS: 0 / 12 A1. Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 0 / 4 Every five years, the National Assembly designates the members of the Council of State through a noncompetitive process. This body in turn appoints the Council of Ministers in consultation with its president, who serves as both chief of state and head of government. The draft constitution approved by lawmakers in December 2018 would separate those roles, creating the post of prime minister to serve as head of government and stipulating that members of the Council of Ministers could not also be members of the Council of State. Raúl Castro, having served as president since he succeeded his brother Fidel in 2008, stepped down in April 2018, and the National Assembly named Díaz-Canel to replace him. The draft constitution set a limit of two consecutive five-year terms for the presidency, as well as an age limit of 60 years for the start of a president’s first term. Raúl Castro, who turned 87 in June 2018, remained first secretary of the PCC. Díaz- Canel, who turned 59 in April, pledged that Castro would continue to “lead the most important decisions for the present and the future of the nation.” A similar process of generational transition and partial decoupling of top party and government posts was unfolding across the executive. Only 9 members of the PCC’s Political Bureau also sat on the Council of State chosen in April; following the 2013 elections, the overlap had been 13. A2. Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? 0 / 4 In the 2018 National Assembly elections, held in March, voters were asked to either support or reject a single PCC-approved candidate for each of the unicameral body’s 605 seats. All candidates were elected. A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant election management bodies? 0 / 4 The only Cuban elections that offer a choice of more than one candidate per office are those for municipal assemblies, but no campaigning is allowed. This is not expected to change under the new electoral law that will follow ratification of the new constitution in 2019. Ahead of the municipal voting held in late 2017, the government worked to intimidate voters, manipulate nomination meetings, detain or jail opposition figures, and 1 of 8 7/26/2019, 2:59 PM Cuba | Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/cuba otherwise thwart the candidacies of a group of 175 opposition activists associated with the Otro18 coalition, none of whom were ultimately able to secure a place on the ballot. Activists also faced detentions and intimidation while attempting to monitor polling places and vote counting. B. POLITICAL PLURALISM AND PARTICIPATION: 0 / 16 B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system free of undue obstacles to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings? 0 / 4 Political parties other than the PCC are illegal. Political dissent is a punishable offense, and dissidents are systematically harassed, detained, physically assaulted, and frequently imprisoned for minor infractions. Supposedly spontaneous mob attacks, known as “acts of repudiation,” are often used to silence political dissidents. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), a nongovernmental organization, reported 2,873 arbitrary arrests of peaceful opponents during 2018, a significant decrease from the 5,155 detained in 2017 and the 9,940 held in 2016. Such brief politically motivated detentions were a key repressive tactic under the government of Raúl Castro, but the 2018 total was the lowest in eight years. B2. Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? 0 / 4 The PCC and the Castro brothers in particular have dominated government and politics in Cuba since 1959, allowing no transfer or rotation of power between rival groups. While the unprecedented attempt by dissident groups to field independent candidates in the 2017 municipal elections was aimed at challenging the PCC’s monopoly, the authorities’ successful campaign to block opposition candidacies ensured that those elections and the subsequent provincial and national elections in 2018 would again feature no independent candidates. B3. Are the people’s political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group that is not democratically accountable? 0 / 4 The authoritarian one-party system in Cuba largely excludes the public from any genuine and autonomous political participation. The military and intelligence agencies play an important role in suppressing dissent. Several members of the extended Castro family hold important government positions, though none (apart from PCC first secretary Raúl Castro) were granted seats on the PCC’s Central Committee during the Seventh Party Congress in 2016, and none currently serve on either the Council of Ministers or the Council of State. B4. Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, religious, gender, LGBT, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and electoral opportunities? 0 / 4 Since political rights are denied to all Cuban citizens, women and members of 2 of 8 7/26/2019, 2:59 PM Cuba | Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/cuba minority groups are unable to choose their representatives or organize independently to assert their interests in the political sphere. The PCC leadership does exhibit a growing gender and racial diversity. At the 2016 party congress, the proportion of women on the PCC Central Committee rose to 44.4 percent, from 41.7 percent in 2011. Afro-Cubans accounted for 35.9 percent, up from 31.3 percent in 2011. Women also now hold more than half of the 605 National Assembly seats and make up almost half of the 31-member Council of State; Cubans of African and mixed-race descent make up about half of each body. Half of Cuba’s six vice presidents are black, including First Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa, and three are women. C. FUNCTIONING OF GOVERNMENT: 1 / 12 C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government? 0 / 4 None of Cuba’s nominally elected officials are chosen through free and fair contests, and major policy decisions are reserved for the PCC leadership in practice. The National Assembly, which the constitution describes as the “supreme organ of state power,” has little independent influence and meets for brief sessions only twice a year. C2. Are safeguards against official corruption strong and effective? 1 / 4 Corruption remains a serious problem in Cuba, with widespread illegality permeating everyday life. The state enjoys a monopoly on most large business transactions, and there are no independent mechanisms to hold officials accountable for wrongdoing. During his 10 years as president, Raúl Castro prioritized the fight against corruption; a new comptroller general was installed, and long prison sentences were imposed on high-level Cuban officials and foreign businessmen found guilty of corruption-related charges. However, the government has not enacted internal reforms that would make the system more transparent and less prone to abuse, nor does it allow civil society groups, journalists, or courts to serve as external checks on its authority. C3. Does the government operate with openness and transparency? 0 / 4 Cuba lacks effective laws that provide for freedom of information and access to official records. Recent demands by journalists for a new media law that would grant citizens the right to information and offer legal protection for the emerging nonstate media sector have made little headway with the government. D. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND BELIEF: 5 / 16 D1. Are there free and independent media? 1 / 4 The news media are owned and controlled by the state. The tiny independent press corps is illegal, its publications are considered “enemy propaganda,” and its 3 of 8 7/26/2019, 2:59 PM Cuba | Freedom House https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2019/cuba journalists are frequently harassed, detained, and prohibited from traveling abroad. Government agents routinely accuse independent journalists of being mercenaries, and many face charges of “usurpation of legal capacity” or other trumped-up offenses. Despite these obstacles, independent digital media outlets have continued to emerge in recent years. President Díaz-Canel has publicly rejected the need for any fundamental change in the state-run media model. In April 2018, he signed into law Decree 349, which aimed to extend state control over the thriving independent artistic community by requiring prior Ministry of Culture approval for both public and private cultural activities. It also banned audiovisual material with ill-defined unpatriotic symbols, pornography, violence, or “sexist, vulgar, or obscene language,” as well as books with content that is harmful to “ethical and cultural values.” Only a small percentage of the population has access to the global internet, as opposed to a government-controlled national intranet. Critical blogs and websites are often blocked. Under a program that began in 2015, the state telecommunications monopoly Etecsa continued to deploy Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces such as parks, with the number reaching 800 by the end of 2018. It also extended its rollout of home-based internet access, which reached 67,000 homes by December. The first- ever 3G mobile internet access for Cuban citizens was launched that month, but high prices put the service out of reach for most, and the connections were reported to be slow and riddled with technical problems.
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