A new political phenomenon is implied Cubaan island where unanimity by raising hands is the rule: abstaining from the ballot boxes. More than eight million citizens were able to participate in the municipal elections last Sunday, the first part of the electoral cycle that should result in the formation of the government in 2023. People’s Assembly (Congress)tasked with appointing the president. this National Electoral Council (CEN) just reported this monday 68.58% voted The number of men and women who are in a position to do so. What is striking is that 22 percent of the cast votes were blank. and according to official information, 5.60% were cancelled.
CEN president Alina Balseiro nonetheless described the day as “perfect”. Esteban Lazo Hernández, the current official of the People’s Assembly, also highlighted the election and dedicated it to the memory of Fidel Castro, who died on November 25 at the age of six. grandmother, In this regard, the Official Gazette reminded that the election system was one of the greatest legacies of the late Commander-in-Chief. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez was even more eloquent. He said that calls not to vote from abroad were inconclusive. “They don’t make a dent in our town.”
Beyond government enthusiasm, the novelty of the review did not go unnoticed. 68.5% turnout is a relatively well-known figure in some Latin American countries. disappointment with institutions or discredit the elite. Cuba, with a single party, Communist (PCC), was a kingdom of compromise for decades. Cohesion was expressed strongly at the ballot boxes. Popular consultation in 1976 to approve the Magna Carta, which institutionalized the revolution, was attended by 98% of the electorate. The 2019 referendum was a fallout: only 84.4% of Cubans voted. It was still a high number back then.
new scenario
In the heat of the crisis we are in, Social epidemic of July 11, 2021 The fate of a progressive Family Law, the biggest point of tension, was determined at the ballot boxes. On this occasion, 68.91% of citizens voted. As analysts pointed out at the time, this decline in participation was not unrelated. political detachment increased in the last months of deprivation and power cuts.
Returning from a trip to Algeria, Russia, Turkey and China, President Miguel Díaz-Canel did not miss the difficult circumstances in which the election was held and spoke of the “economic suffocation” he said was a result of US sanctions. , at the same time “smear campaigns“Information filtered through social networks in a country where nearly eight million cell phones circulate receiving information no longer controlled by the State. Beyond the pressures, Díaz-Canel said the elections were Cuba’s “political and social stability” and “socialist democracy was perfected” despite the adversities.