Cuba’s Parliament: Unanimity vs. Institutionalism

Cuba's Parliament: Unanimity vs. Institutionalism
July 5, 2012
Fernando Ravsberg*

HAVANA TIMES — President Raul Castro has criticized false unanimity on
several occasions, but if there is an entity holding the undisputed
record in this regard, it is Cuba's parliament. This body has managed to
legislate for almost four decades without a single deputy ever voting to
the contrary.

Made up of 600 men and women from across the country — people of
different social classes, from twenty-something to retired grandparents
— the representatives within this body are presented with all types of
issues pertaining to national life, but curiously they always wind up
with everyone in agreement.

This would be a rarity anywhere else in the world but, knowing the
tendentious nature of Cubans, here it could be described as a miracle.

The problem is that many people have stopped believing in that unanimity
and are suspecting that something's fishy.

It might be a useful instrument to govern centrally and pass laws by the
National Assembly as a mere formality, but if the aim is to
institutionalize the country, parliament should be one of the first
places to transform.

The deputies are elected by the people and should defend the interests
of their constituents. It would help them to turn things around, to stop
considering themselves as central government officials in their
communities and act like representatives of their people before the
central power.

Reports to the parliament by the ministers or from the president receive
only the applause of the deputies. But this isn't a popularity contest;
the task is to lead a nation that is in need of critical minds to
permanently correct its course.

Legislative passivity in Cuba is such that instead of being a country of
laws, it has become a state of "resolutions," "directives" and
"executive orders" issued by government officials – sometimes
conflicting with the law and even with the constitution itself.

I never heard of one deputy in parliament ever protesting the
unconstitutional ban on Cubans entering hotels or a representative from
the eastern provinces discussing the restrictions imposed on their
constituents from moving to the capital.

Institutionalization means putting one's house in order so that everyone
can play their role within the powers granted to them by law. The main
task of a parliament is to legislate, in addition to exercising control
over the executive on behalf of the citizens.

Little of that happens right now, and it will be difficult to transform
parliament as long as it is directed in the same way that it has been.
In this sense, it's already being rumored that the coming generational
shift could facilitate change within that institution.

A different mentality will also be needed within the Communist Party,
whose members fill 90 percent of the parliamentary seats. These men and
women cannot fully exercise their role as members of the legislature
while they're subject to party discipline.

Democratic centralism gives communists the opportunity to discuss
internally, but then forces them to support the majority decision. It
therefore becomes practically impossible for a party member in
parliament to question a minister coming before that body who is in the
leadership of that same party.

No one believes that the deputies hold office to enrich themself, like
in other countries; but that doesn't mean that they enjoy much prestige
among Cubans. Few have the hope that "their representative" will solve
the problems of their community.

To change this perception, an active parliament is needed, one that
looks at reality with a critical eye, remaining vigilant against the
central power, not fearing public debate but approaching the national
interest as a synthesis of the various local interests represented by
the deputies.

The task isn't easy but it's essential at a time of transformations that
require changing not only the laws but the even the constitution. Many
people say the reforms are moving forward too slowly, but the truth is
that not even with the slow movement is the parliament able to play
catch up.

It may be that the approval of a new immigration law doesn't depend on
that body, but the parliament has delayed in approving the Family Code
that regulates the rights of children, the elderly and the LGBT
community – despite that body having spent five years "debating" the
legislation.

The announcement of the upcoming session of parliament set for July 23
caused me to start thinking about the potential, capabilities and
possibilities of deputies at the grassroots. I know some personally, and
I know that they're good, decent, dedicated and intelligent people.

Obviously they are not the problem; the problem lies with the model of
government, it mechanisms and a mindset that prevents elected officials
from acting like representatives of their communities and properly
playing the role required of them in an institutionalized country.
—–

An authorized translation by Havana Times (from the Spanish original)
published by BBC Mundo.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=73682