IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 136

Deliberative Democracy in
Cuba: A Reality
Fernando Palacio Mogar
Cuban Liberal Solidarity Party
Havana, Cuba

T

he world progresses just as societies in different countries do,
but Cuba has remained behind
with regard to the enjoyment of citizens’
freedoms. For more than fifty years, Cubans have endured the restrictions and
repressions of a dictatorial and repressive system. Every day, there are more
citizens who are completely convinced
of the notion that for ideas about democracy and freedom to reign, civil society
and ordinary citizens must take on a historic role and participate. Thus, there is
an intense but peaceful search for the
establishment of a democratic system
that would allow for the creation of
spaces in which citizens in communities
and all over the country could actively
participate in decision making. Democracy implies having a specific objective
or purpose and valuing citizens as political actors. In Cuba, the pyramid is upside down: citizens offer explanations to
the governmental apparatus instead of
the government offering explanations to
its citizens and civil society. The establishment of a democracy would allow
independent civil society and citizens to
develop at various levels, as in the mak-

ing of decisions via a discussion among
free people and equals; searching for
alternatives to solving problems via deliberation among all those affected or
their representatives; using arguments
presented by participants and for participants, and those stemming from the authorities; sharing basic convictions,
which have resulted via negotiation, for
the purpose of achieving a consensus,
and all this in a reasonable and impartial
manner. Cuba’s independent, civil society has and will have a weighty role to
play on the difficult and uneven road
towards democracy. Today, it is becoming stronger, shows evidence of maturity
and unity among the different, politically
oriented, independent groups and organizations within it. These have readjusted
their line of work and taken the path of
joint work in search of unity: they have
left behind the elements that divided
them and fully embraced those that unify
them. An example of this is the composition of the Mesa de Unidad de Acción
[Unity of Action Table] MUAD, which
contains representatives from more than
thirty organizations. Many people wonder if simply leaving behind the divisive

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