Report

Cuba: a vote without stakes in Parliament, against a backdrop of economic and social crisis

A banner inviting Cubans to vote in Sunday's legislative elections, hangs on a wall in Havana on March 23, 2023. AFP - ADALBERTO ROQUE

Text by: RFI Follow

5 min

More than 8 million Cubans aged 16 and over are being called to the polls this Sunday, March 26 to renew the National Assembly of People's Power. A one-party system requires that for the 470 seats in the unicameral Parliament, 470 candidates are running. The life of the population remains no less difficult, and even more and more. Report.

Advertising

Read more

With our special correspondent in Havana, Stefanie Schüler

On the communist island of Cuba, voting day is not synonymous with choosing between several candidates from different parties. On the contrary, it is a question of confirming, by more than 50% of the votes cast, candidates preselected at the beginning of the electoral process, which began last year.

The 470 candidates who submit to the vote this Sunday are thus chosen before the election, and there is no electoral campaign. Half of the contenders come from local committees organized in each constituency. The other half is proposed by social organizations close to the government.

The Parliament thus constituted then elects the Council of State and the President of the country. In theory, the electoral system allows every Cuban citizen to access the National Assembly. But the opposition denounces a process in which the Cuban Communist Party – with its influence and the vote of its militants and supporters – excludes any possibility of an opponent being elected.

Ailyn Justiz Aguila is running for the first time for the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba. © Stefanie Schüler / RFI

« I will be there to represent the people »

We meet Ailyn Justiz Aguila at the International Press Center in Havana, whose representatives attend our interview. The 35-year-old is well known to Cubans. Head of the Center for Atmospheric Physics, she presents the weather every day on state television. This is the first time she has been a candidate.

She admits that she does not yet know exactly what her role as an MP will be. "But what I am sure of," she says, "is that I will be there to represent the Cuban people. Whatever responsibilities are given to me, I will assume them with determination and dedication while preserving the gains of the revolution to go further.

Like all Cuban elected officials, Ailyn Justiz Aguila will not receive any salary for her mandate as a deputy and will therefore continue her work as a meteorologist. This mother wants to contribute to the development of her country, "in order to alleviate these moments of despair that many people are going through. We have to show the people that we can build a program of life."

Report: meeting with a candidate for Parliament

Stefanie Schüler

« We are going through a very serious crisis »

These are the first legislative elections since President Miguel Díaz-Canel came to power. Cuba has been hit by a serious economic and social crisis that has driven nearly 300,000 citizens to leave the country last year alone. Faced with the increasingly difficult living conditions of the population remaining on the island, the government's mobilizing power seems to be eroding.

The real issue in these elections could therefore be abstention, while shortages, inflation and power cuts make life increasingly difficult for Cubans. In the capital, finding food is now the main concern of citizens.

« 

As a mother, feeding my baby is not easy, says a woman I met in Havana. My family is entitled to 2.5 kg of rice, a little beans, sugar, oil per month. It's not enough. And often there is no milk. We are going through a very serious crisis in our country.

Congressional candidate Denisse Ricardo with a voter during a tour in Havana, March 21, 2023. AP - Ramon Espinosa

« Crime in Cuba is unprecedented »

Since the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2021 currency reform, Cubans' meagre incomes are no longer sufficient to meet their basic needs. "I have three jobs," says one man. But it's still very hard: per month, I earn the equivalent of 24 dollars.

A precariousness that produces consequences hitherto unknown in Cuba: the inhabitants of the capital note a clear increase in delinquency. This Havanese has suffered several assaults and snatching: "For two months, I do not go out at night because I am afraid. Delinquency in Cuba is unprecedented! I am 69 years old. I have never seen violence in my country like I do today.

Despair grips the population. "We are completely demotivated. We get up every morning to make sure everything runs smoothly. But as soon as we set foot outside, our hope collapses. "The majority of the population will not vote. And many others will vote blank. Because they know that no matter who the candidate is, he won't solve their problems.

Reportage: Cuban voters' concerns

Stefanie Schüler

► READ ALSO: Cuba voted in municipal elections, the opposition denounces "pressure"

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Read on on the same topics:

• Cuba
• Economic crisis
• Our selection
• Miguel Díaz-Canel