Human Rights in Cuba
U.S. State Department Report on Cuba’s Political and Civil Rights
Cuba is an authoritarian state led by Raul Castro, who is President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers, Communist Party (CP) First Secretary, and Commander in Chief of security forces. The constitution recognizes the CP as the only legal party and the leading force of society and of the state. A CP candidacy commission preapproved all candidates for the April municipal elections. The government ran these elections with relative administrative efficiency, but they were neither free nor fair; the government treated non-CP candidates differently. The national leadership, including members of the military, maintained effective control over the…
