The People’s Power in Cuba is generated from basic constituencies and popular councils, bringing together residents in each of the 168 municipalities in the country and from which arise nominated and elected by the vote of the people to shape governance structures, in expression of full participatory democracy. People power is a proposal for the construction of Marxist socialism or democratic socialism through a model of participatory democracy in which the organization of the socialist state would be sustained.
It is based on the general will (popular sovereignty) and consists of two exercises, direct and indirect:
The transfer of powers from the government to the community organized elected local councils in popular assemblies.
Through suffrage, both for the election of representatives to the various instances of popular power, as for making important decisions in the various types of referendum in each National Legislation.
The Cuban system governs the Constitution, which stipulates general elections every five years for deputies to the National Assembly and delegates to provincial and partial elections every two and a half years for district delegates and municipal assemblies.
The process calls the base members and is an authentic expression of participatory Democratic, without internal or external influences, with the obligation to whom it is elected to be accountable to voters, who have the power to remove the charges for defaulting to their obligations.
After a preparatory period, as a general rehearsal, the June 30, 1974 began in the province deMatanzas -100 kilometers east of the capital of the country- the first elections for delegates to the Local Bodies of People’s Power, and the day 21 was constituted the initial Provincial Assembly delegates from the 14 municipalities of this territory.
On December 11 of that year, for the first time in the history of Cuba, neighborhood assemblies in Matanzas began to listen to the Surrender of its delegates Account. The fruits of that essay materialized in decisions to structure the system of state representative institutions, culminating in the creation of the People’s Power in the 169 municipalities, 14 provinces and the national authority.
On 10 and 17 October 1976, on first and second rounds of voting, 95.2 percent of Cubans over 16 years-including militares– by secret ballot and direct chose from over 30,000 nominees by self 10,000 people and 725 elected delegates (councilors) who formed the 169 municipal assemblies (councils) of People’s Power.
The constitution of the National Assembly of Popular Power, December 2, 1976, the election of the State Council, its President and Vice, and the appointment of the Cabinet, strengthened the democratic essence of the Cuban Revolution.
