36 Chapter 2
abroad—to cope with this crisis (Vidal, 2009; 2010; Pérez et al., 2009;
Pérez, 2010).
Democracy through Consensus?
The Cuban political system in the first decades of the Revolution had
a political unity that facilitated the existence of a consensual democ-
racy with massive political participation.^20 A new constitution and rev-
olutionary laws as well as new political and mass institutions emerged
rapidly in the first five years of the revolution (1959-1964). Formal
institutionalization was achieved only in 1975, however, after the first
congress of the Cuban Communist Party. This consensus democracy
emphasized social rights such as education, health care, housing, and
employment in order to allow citizens to take a real part in political
and social life.
The political system had the following features:^21 a state with a one-
party system and political (the Cuban Communist Party, the Union of
Communist Youth) and mass (the Central Union of Workers, the
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution) organizations, among
others. A new juridical system corresponding to the laws and values of
the new society also emerged.^22 The materialization of a new political
culture, based on the history of Cuba and its tradition and, giving pri-
- The masses received enormous benefits in the first decade of the revolution. This,
together with the fostering of values such as solidarity and internationalism, may explain
the fact that in surveys done in 1960 the revolution had more than 90 percent support.
On the basis of this consensus and because of the role played by the media and political
organizations in disseminating the teachings of a charismatic leader such as Fidel Castro,
the great majority of Cubans had a new sense of mission. The mistakes of the 1970s and
1980s and the inequalities that emerged with the Special Period have eroded this broad
consensus and made it necessary to replace merely formal political participation with real
political participation in decision making and not just in discussion. - Dictatorships such as Machado’s in the 1930s and Batista’s in the 1950s had the
result of discrediting liberal political democracy and traditional political parties in Cuba.
The perception of the leadership and the masses was that unity against the national oli-
garchy was more important than the corrupt and dictatorial rule supported and control-
led by the United States. - This system has as its main objectives the achievement of social equality. It guaran-
tees that no one can be dispossessed of his land or his house and establishes nonbureau-
cratic forms of justice such as popular tribunals.