Institutional Order

Cuba is politically and administratively divided by a territorial division created in 1974 and it comprises the following:

1. 14 provinces: Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Ciudad de La Habana, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, and Villa Clara
2. 169 municipalities
3. and one special municipality on the Isle of Youth

The following outline describes Cuba's institutional order of political associations, institutions, and organizations:

I. political organizations - function as the political vanguard of the population
political sub-system comprised of the Partido Comunista Cubano (PCC) - Cuban Communist Party and its juvenile organization, the Union de Jovenes Comunistas (UJC) - Communist Youth Union

• notable characteristics of the political sub-system are:
  1. Leninist design
  2. selectivity of membership
  3. class distinction
  4. programmed discipline

• most important characteristics of the political sub-system are:
  1. single political party
  2. sanctioned powers of the PCC in the constitution

II. associations and mass organizations - consist of ensemble organizations representing specific sectors of the population
principal functions of the political system are:
1. representation of sectoral interests
2. socialize political decisions and proposals defined by the system
3. mass mobilization and;
4. the construction of the consensus
   • these ensemble organizations have been integrated by pre-existent organizations at the beginning of the revolution in 1959 proper to the objectives and conditions of the new political system by those begun during the first years of the revolution:
     pre-revolution
     1. Centro de Trabajadores Cubanos (CTC) - Center for Cuban Workers
     2. Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU) - Federation of University Students
     first years of the revolution
     • Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (ANAP) - National Association of Small Farmers
     • Comités de Defensa de la Revolución (CDR) - Committee for the Defense of the Revolution
     • Federación de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC) - Federation of Cuban Women
     • Federación Estudiantil de la Enseñanza Media (FEEM) - Federation of Middle School Students
     most recent
     1. Asociación de Combatientes de la Revolución (ACRC) - Association of the Cuban Revolution Combatants

III. state organizations - the assembly of institutions that make up the state
1. Asamblea del Poder Popular - National Assembly of the People's Power: representative legislative body that is constituted as the maximum authority of the state at the municipal, provincial, and national levels.

2. Organ of government: designated by the National Assembly and corresponds to the application of laws, regulation and planification of the economy and society, the application and formulation of political development, and the administration of public activities. These organs are constituted by the Council of Ministers and integrated by the President, Vice-president, Secretary, Ministers, and other members determined by law in representation of their perspective organizations.

3. Armed institutions: are the armed organizations in charge of defense, national security, and the internal order that are subordinate to the central government's institutions. The principal armed institutions are the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR) - Revolutionary Armed Forces; Fuerzas de Seguridad del Estado - the State Security Forces and Policía Nacional Revolucionaria - Revolutionary National Police are subordinate to the Ministerio del Interior (MININT) - Ministry of the Interior.

4. Organizations that carry out the administration of justice: are agencies responsible for the imparting of justice and control of the law - comprised by the Corte Suprema del Pueblo - People's Supreme Court and Tribunales Populares - Popular Tribunals are constituted at each territorial level. The Tribunals' and Fiscalías - Prosecutor's offices are state organizations with functional independence. The judicial system and the Fiscalía General de la República - Attorney General of the Republic are only subordinate to the Asamblea del Poder Popular and the Council of State.

Source: Juan Valdes. "Notas sobre el sitema politico cubano." In Haroldo Dilla. ed. 1996. La Democracia en Cuba y el Diferendo con los Estados Unidos. Havana, Cuba: Centro de Estudios sobre America (CEA)

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Government and Politics of Cuba.  Copyright © 1998-2002 by Armando F. Mastrapa III.  All Rights Reserved.