Cuba is a communist country with Raul Castro, brother of Fidel Castro, acting as the president of the Council of the state. Cuba has a constitution that ascribes to the role of the Communist Party of Cuba to be the "leading force of society and of the state" and as such has the capability of setting national policy. however, Cuba has elections for the different roles with in their government. Suffrage is only allowed for citizens that have recited on the island for at least two years. Such citizens must be aged over 16 years, must not have been found guilty of a criminal offense, and cannot be mentally handicapped.

Also, Cuba officially considers themselves a "people's democracy" rather than a liberal democracy like other western countries. The Cuban system has been described as participatory (as opposed to representative), "basal" (as opposed to hierarchic) and "substantial" (as opposed to formal). Cuba thus rejects criticism of its political system as a lack of apprehension for different forms of democracy other than those in capitalist states.

other significant action in Cuba is the closing of a Russian military base in January 2002.

Communism in Cuba