‘Cooperation, Not Competition’: Democracy and Participation in Revolutionary Cuba

Abstract This chapter discusses Cuban democracy and political institutions, demonstrating that the relationship between the ‘government’ and the ‘people’ is extremely permeable, and that popular support has been vital to the survival of the socialist state for nearly seven decades. It refutes the key tenets of ‘Cubanology’, an academic school politically opposed to Cuban socialism, including that Fidel and Raúl Castro have personally dominated policy, impeding democracy and repressing civil society; interpretations which shape international discourse on Cuba. It identifies five distinct mechanisms of participation and representation in revolutionary Cuba: (1) the National System of Peoples’ Power; (2) neighbourhood representation; (3) mass organisations, (4) national debates and public consultations; and (5) democratic access to resources and opportunities. The chapter argues that Cuban democracy is fundamentally grounded in cooperation over competition, and that unity, solidarity and consensus-building are central to socialist Cuba’s resilience in the post-Soviet era.