If there is a word that is still used and abused today, it is democracy, one of the most deeply rooted concepts in civilized history.
Various definitions of the term have been given. But the most universal is that of Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Proclamation of 1861: "Government of the people, by the people and for the people." Hence those that appear in dictionaries have been derived: it is the system in which the people intervene or participate in the government of society.
An organized society must have a government that exists for the people. That democratic government must be elected and controlled by its people. That is the idea from the Greek civilization until today.
The difference between other models that claim to be democratic and the Cuban one is that in ours the process does not end with the electoral phase, but effectively and genuinely develops popular participation in the system of government, the true content of the concept of democracy, which seeks to achieve possible equality between men. The rest is pure fiction, mere utopia.
The essential principle of our democracy, from its first founding steps (Matanzas, 1974), was to legally convert the participation of the masses in the exercise of state power in all its instances, an aspiration achieved as a result of a superior civic culture.
In Cuba there is a genuine, authentic and singular electoral system coherent with the aforementioned definition of Lincoln and with full legal protection. First, in the Constitution of the Republic in its articles from 204 to 210 the principles that support it and a specific norm that is Law 127 are established.
This Law 127, Electoral Law of July 13, 2019, regulates the organization and operation of the processes within the Cuban electoral system, which do not take place in a single act, but are a set of popular participation processes: the mass and student organizations proposing the future candidates, the work of the candidacy commission, the nominating delegates and, later, the legitimizing act of the direct and secret vote.
The norm, with broad guarantees, grants the right to any Cuban citizen with legal capacity and over 16 years of age to elect and also be elected (for deputy must be over 18 years of age) even to occupy the highest positions of the State, directly or through their elected representatives, which translates into an effective exercise of the power of the people.
Institutionality in any modern society has an inevitably representative character. In ours, the citizen delegates part of his powers to his elected representatives and they exercise a role of mediation between the individual and the governing bodies of society.
From my personal experience of more than 30 years in these conflicts, I am convinced that it is not a finished work. This is a process under construction that is being perfected and can be surpassed more and more towards more effective forms of citizen participation, and a greater bond with the voters.
It is a goal, but there are various and important innovations that have been introduced to the system, its methods and mechanisms, and constant efforts in this direction that far exceed the so-called representative democracies that today are submerged in a deep structural crisis, in which the one with the most money is in charge to finance advertising campaigns and television debates, where “all the dirty laundry” is removed, including promises that are generally not fulfilled afterwards.
A seat in our National Assembly entails a sustained vocation to public service, to be the voice of the feelings and heartbeat of its constituents. This is an arduous and complex task in terms of expanding and consolidating the legal system process with its legislative schedule provided for in the Constitution, stimulating popular participation and control as a genuine exercise of government, turning neighborhoods into the main stage of action transformative and, to the municipality, in the center of the economic and social life of the country, among other important tasks.
In compliance with article 3 of the Electoral Law, on December 1, 2022, the Council of State issued the call for national elections, on Sunday, March 26, 2023, to elect the deputies who will constitute the National Assembly of People's Power.
The Constitution of the new National Assembly for its X Legislature will have a lower composition than the current one, in terms of the number of deputies, which will be 470 on this occasion, having changed the proportion of inhabitants (1x30 thousand) in the country. Of them, 26 will represent the province in the highest body of state power in Cuba.
A look at the integration of the candidacy for Guantánamo shows a reflection of our society and its diversity, only five deputies are ratified as proposals, and as an essence of the system, 12 are constituency delegates, which incorporates a deep popular component.
It is not a candidacy of leaders, as some badly express themselves due to ignorance of our essences. There are comrades who, due to the important functions they perform, whether in the State, the Government, the Party, the mass organizations or in a company, have to be involved in the analysis, debate, and decision-making that is important for the life of the country. , but there are also doctors, athletes, artists, jurists, troubadours, specialists and officials of the People's Power, in short, the people themselves.
The exhortation or call for a united vote is not a slogan or an imposition, it is a revolutionary strategy, an essential line from the point of view of maintaining unity as the banner of all patriots, to guarantee our cohesion as the identity of a whole country.
In my opinion, it is an antidote against the brutal campaign to discredit the Revolution and its political system. For this reason, and for more, on the 26th we go for the 26 deputies of Guantanamo.
Digital Site We Will Overcome
Written by MSc. Ángel Rafael Ferro Martínez // Illustration: Miguel Antonio Dalmau Poveda
Posted on March 20, 2023
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