Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Cuba's system of representative government, the Organs of People's Power (Organos del Poder Popular, OPP), established in the 1976 Constitution, includes the Local Organs of People's Power (Organos Locales del Poder Popular, OLPP), consisting of 169 municipal assemblies and the nine provincial assemblies, and the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular, ANPP), which alone has legislative powers. Cuban representative government operates on the basis of consultation, oversight, conflict resolution, and consensus building. The theoretical and historical background of the “socialist representative government” derives from theories based on the convergence of civil and political societies, and the instructed delegate model ( mandat impératif ) found in Rousseau , Marx , Engels , Lenin , and Hans Kelson; as well as the historical precedents set by the 1871 Paris Commune , the soviets of 1905 and 1917, the first constitution of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union in the post-Stalin era. Among the themes which influenced socialist practice in general, and Cuban socialism in particular, were the following: economic and political equality, unity and consensus (general will) above partial and private interests, close identification of constituents with their elected representatives who are legally bound to follow constituents' mandates, non-professional politicians, ... log in or subscribe to read full text