Sunday, October 21, 2007

Cuba's Electoral Farce

Publicado el 10-20-2007
Cuba's Electoral Farce

Right now, Cuba is holding what they call elections to choose delegates
from the Communist Party to what is defined as People's Power Municipal
Assemblies. This is a farce with no institutional or ideological
meaning. It is a convocation to what could be a sort of communist
gymnastics so that the people may feel that they are participating in
the exercise of public power, although that is something held only by an
elite hierarchy, what is called the "nomenklatura" in Russian.

In Marxist-Leninist totalitarian Cuba there is nothing that could be
interpreted as democratic elections to choose their authorities.
Therefore, no one should be deceived into believing that there are
elections, even if fraudulent, but elections anyway. What takes place in
Cuba is a sham to deceive those outside the island more than those
inside, although there it serves the purpose of having some sectors of
the Communist Party believe that they have been taken into consideration.

Since almost forty-nine years of a totalitarian tyranny have gone by in
Cuba, there are people fifty years old and older who do not know what
democratic institutions are with elections as a form of government. An
effort should be made to let the people inside Cuba realize that these
are not elections as defined by a political dictionary or by the regular
dictionary. There certainly will be those who compelled by the
circumstances surrounding them will go to the polling places that
actually have no civic or political goal in the integral meaning of the
concept. These are formulas prefabricated by the tyranny and many people
are compelled to vote. There will be many who will not vote, although
without taking a strong stand against the tyranny.

It is important to make this clear outside the island because there are
many who, in the urge to find explanations to the terrible political
phenomenon that the Cuban people have been suffering for almost
forty-nine years, believe that this is a popular election and that the
authorities elected are more or less legitimate. There is nothing
legitimate about them. This is one more mockery for the Cubans in the
island and for the civilized world.

http://www.diariolasamericas.com/news.php?nid=38718

No comments: