Circles Robinson Online

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Location: Havana, Cuba

is a blog to give a fresh angle on a fascinating and beautiful Caribbean Island country that, despite being relatively small and with only 11 million people, has been a major player in American and world politics for a half century. I also suggest you try www.havanatimes.org

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Why Cuba’s Elections Draw Little Interest

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES — This coming February 3, Cuba will hold one of its every-five-year parliamentary elections. It’s a process that goes almost unnoticed and there are reasons why.

Cuban officials often wonder out loud why their parliamentary elections are barely mentioned in the foreign press. I want to share some of the reasons why the process to elect provincial and national legislators draws so little interest on the island and virtually none abroad.

The top reason for the lackluster balloting is that no issues are discussed by the candidates, who are not allowed to campaign.

The candidates are only permitted to post resumes/synopses of their adult life. Voters are asked to cast their ballot for them because they were selected by nomination committees as the most qualified to support the central government’s policies and programs.

Voters have no idea if the candidate has any priorities or new strategies for dealing with the problems and concerns of the citizenry, whether they approve of all government policies 100 percent or if they have any criticisms.

Here’s the punch line: For 612 seats in the National Assembly of People’s Power there are 612 preselected candidates.  For the different Provincial Assemblies of People Power there are a total of 1,269 candidates for 1,269 seats.

Then the National Assembly members will elect a Council of State including the president of the country and several vice presidents.

Voting itself is very easy. Registration is automatic for all citizens 16 or over and over 90 percent of the population routinely vote, which is voluntary, but many believe that those who don’t participate could face future reprisals.

Supporters of the Cuban electoral process often cite the abhorrent million-billion dollar US campaigns as the justification for going to the other extreme and not allowing any campaigning or fundraising in Cuba.
Billboard: Vote for our ideas and our values. 

The concept of a paid politician is absent in Cuba and even the national parliament representatives derive no financial compensation for their civic work, which usually involves two brief three or four day sessions a year.

Since virtually all decisions are made as executive orders by the Council of Ministers, the parliament is relegated to rubber stamping decisions already made and sometimes already implemented.

Virtually all votes are unanimous and any debates among the members are held behind closed doors. Even an abstention is highly rare. This is to say 612 deputies routinely agree with every executive order passed by the Council of Ministers

Seen as a strength by most of the Party leadership, this type of unity doesn’t wash with a growing segment of the Cuban population, especially its youth, who in turn are apathetic to the process – even if they vote so as to not attract attention.

Friday, January 04, 2013

Hugo Chavez Battles for Life in Cuba

By Circles Robinson

HAVANA TIMES — Twenty four days since his last operation to extract cancerous cells, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez “has the same fighting spirit, of strength, with his usual energy and confidence,” said VP Nicolas Maduro upon returning from Cuba to the South American country on Thursday.

HT archives photo of an athletic Chavez.  Photo: Caridad
Out of the public eye since the December 11th operation in Havana, with no recorded messages broadcast, Chavez has suffered a setback in his recovery process “having confronted complications as a result of a serious lung infection,” informed the Venezuelan government on Friday.

“The infection has caused a situation of breathing insufficiency that has required Chavez maintain a strict medical treatment,” added the press release that did not state whether Chavez was using any life support equipment.

No mention has been made by the Venezuelan authorities as to the success of the operation in Chavez’ battle against cancer or the course of action to follow when the respiratory crisis is resolved.

“The government of Venezuela reiterates its confidence in Chavez’ medical team, which maintains an ongoing monitoring of the evolution of the patient and has acted with the utmost thoroughness with each difficulty presented,” said the press statement.

Maduro sharply criticized the Venezuelan opposition for their speculation as to the true state of Chavez’ health calling it a right-wing necrophilia, “when they long for a disastrous announcement.”

He noted that Chavez’s vital signs are stable despite the respiratory problems “that have affected him seriously”.

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