38 Chapter 2
with formal power but not with resources; delegates feel that they
have no power to solve the problems expressed by the population
because municipal priorities have to conform to the priorities of the
state. Consultation and discussion prevail over the transformation of
demands into working strategies at the local level. As a result, partici-
pation does not lead to the sharing of responsibility by the various
actors in the decision-making process (Rodriguez, 2009: 107).^23
A great debate within the party and the mass organizations has
been promoted by President Raúl Castro since 2007, but the mere cre-
ation of opportunities for debate has not necessarily led to broad pub-
lic participation. The media have not reflected this debate in all its
richness and do not normally publish alternative points of view (Val-
dés, 2009; Rodríguez, 2009; M. Domínguez, 2009; J. Domínguez,
1978; Evenson, 2009).
The Foreign Policy of the Cuban Revolution
The main arguments of several U.S. governments (Eisenhower, Ken-
nedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and G. H. W. Bush)
against the Cuban Revolution were its close relations with the USSR
and its support for liberation movements. Since the crumbling of the
USSR, the conditions (dating to the Carter administration) set by Clin-
- In 1965, the Cuban Communist Party was created and Fidel elected as its first secre-
tary. In 1976, a new socialist constitution-replacing the Fundamental Law of 1959, an
adaptation of the Constitution of 1940-established the Asamblea Nacional del Poder
Popular (National Assembly of People's Power-ANPP), with regional assemblies at the
local level. Elections at the municipal, provincial, and national levels take place every five
years. The president of the National Assembly is elected by its deputies, and they are also
responsible for electing members of the Council of State, Cuba’s highest executive body,
which consists of a president, a first vice president, and various other vice presidents.
From 1976 until 2008 Fidel was always elected as president of the Council of State. In
February 2008, because of Fidel's resignation due to illness, Raúl Castro was elected as
president of the Council of State. In 1980, 1986, 1991 and 1997 the II, III, IV and V
Congress of the Cuban Communist Party were held. During thirteen years no Congress
of the Party has been celebrated. On November 8, 2010 Raúl Castro announced that the
Congress VI of the Party will be celebrated in the second fortnight of April, 2011. The
following day were published the Guideliness of Economic and Social Politics of the
Congress and a wide discussion of this draft is being held in Cuba. The final version of
this paper was concluded on October 30. For this reason an analysis of the above men-
tioned Guideliness is not one of the aims of this paper.