The mechanisms of direct democracy in Cuba: design and reality

<p class="Default">In Cuba the 1940 Constitution regulated different mechanisms of direct democracy (mdd) that were not implemented; while the 1976 Constitution in force, although committed from the norm with the direct participation and popular sovereignty, was unambitious in regula...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: (Teodoro) Yan Guzman Hernández
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede México 2017-07-01
Series:Perfiles Latinoamericanos
Subjects:
Online Access:http://perfilesla.flacso.edu.mx/index.php/perfilesla/article/view/931
Description
Summary:<p class="Default">In Cuba the 1940 Constitution regulated different mechanisms of direct democracy (mdd) that were not implemented; while the 1976 Constitution in force, although committed from the norm with the direct participation and popular sovereignty, was unambitious in regulating these mechanisms. After the Revolution, direct participation has had different expressions that have been nominated wrongly as some of the mdd, that political theory today recognizes on the ba­sis of certain assumptions. This article examines the mdd in Cuba from 1940 until the present. For this purpose it makes a critical analysis of its regulation, based on the criteria that political theory and constitutional law have offered for the configuration of these mechanisms, and tak­ing into account the particularities and results of the implementation in the Cuban context. The main conclusion of this work is that Cuba regulates forms of participation that directly involve the citizenry, but require changes in its design, so that they become real mechanisms of direct democracy that contribute to the political empowerment of citizens.</p>
ISSN:0188-7653
2309-4982