Different political parties in Cuba

[R_P_A_S]

Ever since Fidel has been sick and handed power over to Raul Castro. There has been new talks about how a new Cuba will come about and how other parties should be allowed to campaign and run for office in Cuba, etc etc.

I was talking to this girl I'm dating and I was trying to explain to her from my perspective how it does make sense to have only one party. I told her that the communist party must remain in power always during a permeant revolution, and must guard its self from infiltration and corruption.

"no need for pointless parties that have other ideologies, when the goal of a revolution is to achieve socialism. it be like going backwards, people elsewhere don't understand that concept of a socialist revolution and of the socialist system that they quickly judge the one party state as a totalitarian dictatorship and undemocratic."

A few months back I asked "How can Cuba Improve" and no one really had any good responses. It seems if that embargo gets lifted they will end up like a China or Vietnam.

So would other parties help? are they even needed? and obviously these parties have to follow the socialist model and wanting to improve it. not set it back, not allow for more capitalism or for capitalist reforms...

what do you guys think?

[bezdomni]

You don't have to be a party member in Cuba to run for office, and there are some people who hold low-level elected positions that are not party members.

There would be no point in having other recognized political parties in Cuba, because there is plenty of room for disagreement within the Party...and if your disagreements are so sharp, you can leave it or never join it in the first place and still be elgible to be elected.

There are more differences, in general, between PCC members than there are between democrats and republicans.

A one-party system is not intrinsically undemocratic.

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

There are other political parties in Cuba, but political parties in Cuba don't sponsor candidates in elections/campaign, not even the Communist Party.

For example:
Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party of Cuba (http://www.psrdc.org/)
Christan Democratic Party of Cuba (http://www.pdc-cuba.org/)
Others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Cuba)