Cuba

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Cuba Cuban coat of arms This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Fidel Castro, in front of statue of José Martí (designed Enrique Luis Varela, sculpture by Juan José Sicre and finished in 1958. ...

Insitutions Constitution National Assembly of People’s Power Council of State Council of Ministers Supreme Court Provinces Committees for the Defense of the Revolution People and organizations The Council of State is a thirty-one member body of the Republic of Cuba elected by the National Assembly of People’s Power. ... The Council of Ministers is the cabinet of the Republic of Cuba. ... The Peoples Supreme Court is the highest body of judicial power in Cuba, which is elected by, and accountable to, the National Assembly of People’s Power. ... Provinces of Cuba Cuba consists of 14 provinces, plus one special municipality. ... Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (Spanish: Comités de Defensa de la Revolución), or CDR, is a network of committees across Cuba designed to combat counter-revolutionary activity. ... President Fidel Castro Vice President Raúl Castro Prime Minister Political parties Communist Party of Cuba Opposition Varela Project Democracy and Human Rights This page contains a list of presidents of Cuba. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (born June 3, 1931) is the First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State and currently, Acting President of Cuba. ... Flag of the Prime Minister Prime Minister of Cuba is a term given to the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba. ... Political parties in Cuba lists political parties in this country. ... The Communist Party of Cuba (Spanish: Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is currently the only political party permitted to assemble or engage in any political activity in Cuba. ... Or Opposition to a Participatory Democracy (of Only Party) created by the Popular Socialist Revolution, named The Cuban Revolution The Opposition to Fidel Castros Cuban government is largely unofficial and illegal within Cuba due to the political system led by Fidel Castro being a one party state. ... The Varela Project was a citizens initiative undertaken by Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas of the Christian Liberation Movement and others in Cuba. ... Elections Human rights Foreign Relations Elections in Cuba gives information on election and election results in Cuba. ... According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government has broad authority to restrict freedom of speech, association, assembly, press, and movement. ... Foreign relations Cuba-China relations Cuban-Soviet relations Cuba-United States relations

Other countries • Politics Portal view • talk • edit

The National Assembly of People’s Power (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular) is the legislative parliament of the Republic of Cuba and the supreme body of State power. It has 609 members elected from single-member electoral districts for a term of five years. The Assembly's current President is Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada. The assembly meets twice a year, between sessions legislative power is held by the 31 member Council of State. The most recent elections were held on 19 January 2003. Cubas once-ambitious foreign policy has been scaled back and redirected as a result of economic hardship and the end of the Cold War. ... Cuban relations with Peoples Republic of China are based on trade, credits, and investments which have increased significantly since the 1990s. ... Following the establishment of diplomatic ties to the Soviet Union, Cuba became increasingly dependent on Soviet markets and military and economic aid becoming an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold war. ... Cuba and the United States of America have had a mutual interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... Dr. Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada (born 21 May 1937, Havana) is the speaker of the National Assembly (ANPP) of Cuba since 1993. ... The Council of State is a thirty-one member body of the Republic of Cuba elected by the National Assembly of People’s Power. ... January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Overview

The Assembly is a one-chamber Unicameral Parliament, and the only body in Cuba that is invested with constituent and legislative authority. It holds two regular sessions a year, which are public unless the Assembly itself votes to hold them behind closed doors for reasons of state. It has permanent commissions to look after issues of legislative interest at times when the Assembly is not in session. Unicameralism is the practice of having only one legislative or parliamentary chamber. ... States currently utilizing parliamentary systems are denoted in red and orange—the former being constitutional monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament, and the latter being parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state. ...

The National Assembly has the power to amend the Constitution, pass, amend, and repeal laws, debate and approved national plans for economic development, the State budget, credit and financial programs, the guidelines for domestic and foreign policies. It hears the reports from national government and administration agencies and can also grant amnesties. Among its permanent or temporary commissions are those in charge of issues concerning the economy, the sugar industry, food production, industries, transportation and communications, constructions, foreign affairs, public health, defense and interior order. The National Assembly also has permanent departments that oversee the work of the Commissions, Local Assemblies, Judicial Affairs and Administration. The Cuban government oversees the the largely state-controlled planned economy, though there remains significant foreign investment and enterprise in Cuba. ... Cubas once-ambitious foreign policy has been scaled back and redirected as a result of economic hardship and the end of the Cold War. ... The Cuban government operates a national health system and assumes full fiscal and administrative responsibility for the health care of its citizens. ... National security Under Castro, Cuba became a highly militarized society. ... The substantive and procedural laws of Cuba were based on the Spanish Civil laws and were influenced by the principles of Marxism-Leninism after that philosophy became the guiding force of government. ...

History

The Assembly originated from the nation-wide elections held in 1976 following the ratification of the 1976 Constitution of Cuba. Elected officials, according to the procedures established by law, met for the first time on December 2, that year, thus formally setting up the Cuban Parliament. The Constitution, approved in a Referendum on February 14 1976, empowered the National Assembly as the supreme body of State power. Ballots of the Argentine plebiscite of 1984 on the border treaty with Chile A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

Elections

See main article:Elections in Cuba

The assembly deputies are nationally elected every five years. The vote is an endorsement of pre-selected candidates rather than a choice between rivals. Half of the candidates are nominated at public meetings before gaining approval from electoral committees, while the other half are nominated by official mass organisations (such as trade unions, farmers organisations and Students' unions). Elections in Cuba gives information on election and election results in Cuba. ... The contents of this page have been moved to http://en. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... A students union, student government, or student council is a student organization present at many colleges and universities, often with its own building on the campus, dedicated to social and organizational activities of the student body. ...

The Assemby itself elects the 31 members of the Council of State; their terms expire when a new Assembly is elected. The assembly elects the President, Vice President and Secretary of the Council of State, who must report to the National Assembly on all its work and tasks. It also elects the Council of Ministers, the members of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General Office of Cuba. The Council of Ministers is the cabinet of the Republic of Cuba. ... The Peoples Supreme Court is the highest body of judicial power in Cuba, which is elected by, and accountable to, the National Assembly of People’s Power. ...

Composition

See main article Cuban legislative election, 2003

External link

Cuba Portal

• (Spanish) Official website