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(designed Enrique Luis Varela, sculpture by Juan José Sicre and finished in 1958. Havana. Source: Ricardo Stuckert/ABr. 27/09/2003 ] Politics of Cuba takes place in a framework of a one party Presidential Republic , whereby the President is the Head Of Government . Executive Power is exercised by the government. Cuba is led by President Fidel Castro , who has been Chief of State, Head of Government, Prime Minister, First Secretary of the CPC , and/or commander in chief of the armed forces since 1959. Raul Castro is constitutionally designated the successor of his brother. The Ministry of Interior is the principal organ of state security and control. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH Cuba has an elected national Legislature , the National Assembly of People's Power (''Asamblea Nacional de Poder Popular''), which has 609 members, elected every five years and holds brief sessions to ratify decisions by executive branch. According to Erickson (2005) "The National Assembly must ratify all high-level appointments. However, the Cuban National Assembly only meets twice a year for a few days {Link without Title} . When the National Assembly not in session, it is represented by the Council of State, which has the power to hire and fire government ministers. ." Castro has been the president of the Council of State throughout its history. Although the Assembly has eight standing committees, they do not exercise any effective authority to publicly debate or modify bills. During its biannual plenums, the Assembly plays a passive role as audience for various government speakers. Once the Council of State's legislative proposals have been presented, they are summarily ratified by unanimous or near unanimous vote of the general chamber. Petitions Although the constitution hypothetically allows legislative proposals backed by at least 10,000 citizens to be submitted directly to the National Assembly, in 2002 the government rejected a petition known as the Varela Project , supporters of which submitted 11,000 signatures calling for a national referendum on political and economic reforms. In response, the government arrested dozens of activists in March 2003 for participating in the Varela Project. In October 2003, Project Varela organizers submitted a second petition to the National Assembly with an additional 14,000 signatures. The government has not accepted this petition either. Political parties and elections The Communist Party Of Cuba (''Partido Comunista de Cuba'') is constitutionally recognized as Cuba's Only Legal Political Party . No political party, including the Communist Party Of Cuba , is permitted to nominate or campaign for any candidate. Candidates are nominated at local levels by the local population at small "Town Hall" type meetings. Suffrage is afforded to Cuban citizens resident for two years on the island who are aged over sixteen years and who have not been found guilty of a criminal offence. The national elections for the 609 members of the National Assembly of People's Power were held according to this system at 19 January 2003. All the 609 candidates who ran uncontested for the National Assembly were elected. According to IPU , all seats were won by the Communist Party Of Cuba . Next to the Communist Party Of Cuba , various political parties are illegally active in the country. The most important of these are the Christian Democratic Party Of Cuba (''Partido Demócrata Cristiano de Cuba''), the Cuban Socialist Democratic Current (''Corriente Socialista Democratica Cubana''), the Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party Of Cuba (''Partido Social-Revolucionario Democrático de Cuba''), the Democratic Solidarity Party (''Partido Solidaridad Democratica''), the Liberal Party Of Cuba (''Partido Liberal de Cuba'') and the Social Democratic Co-ordination Of Cuba (''Coordinadora Social Demócrata de Cuba''). JUDICIAL BRANCH See Also: Cuban Legal System Although the constitution theoretically provides for independent courts, it explicitly subordinates them to the National Assembly and to the Council of State. The People's Supreme Court is the highest judicial body. The constitution states that all legally recognized civil liberties can be denied to anyone who opposes the "decision of the Cuban people to build socialism." Cuban courts are organised into three tiers that match the governmental divisions (national or Supreme Court, provincinal, and municipal). Most civil and criminal cases tried at the municipal and provincial levels are adjudicated by a panel of two lay judges and one professional judge. Cases that involve a potential sentence longer than eight years or complex civil law issues are heard, at the provincial or supreme level, by a panel of three professional judges and two lay judges. Both professional and lay judges are elected to their positions by the legislative assembly that is responsible for that level of government. FOREIGN RELATIONS OF CUBA See Also: Foreign relations of Cuba , former Soviet premier.]] CARICOM Ties between the nations of the and Cuba. In December 2005, during the second CARICOM/CUBA summit held in Barbados, heads of CARICOM and Cuba agreed to deepen their ties in the areas of socio-economic and political cooperation in addition to medical care assistance. Since the meeting, Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including: Antigua And Barbuda , Dominica , Suriname , and Saint Vincent And The Grenadines . This development makes Cuba the only country to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community {Link without Title} . Brazil With the electorial win of the President of Brazil, bloc of countries. China As the economy of the Soviet Union fell into a decline during the 1990s, China has emerged as a new a key partner for Cuba's foreign relations. Relations between Cuba and China continue to grow including deals for China to setup a possible military base in Cuba, and an agreement was signed between China and Cuba for China open more factories producing local goods such as televisions. The Government of China has also donated shipments of diesel-electric locomotives to Cuba with the aim of providing a boost to Cuba's national infrastructure {Link without Title} . Global Relations with other American countries have often depended on the proximity of their governments and the American one. In general, leftist governments have been friendly to Cuba and rightist ones hostile. The newly emerged post-Soviet European countries in general are hostile {Link without Title} to the Cuban government, and their representatives often banned . Sandinista Nicaragua received help from Cuba. Cuba has assisted the governments and peoples of several Third World countries, both militarily and in development. There are or have been programs of scholarships for gifted students from Western Sahara and Ethiopia . There are several thousand Polisario (Sahara) children in Cuba and there has been a colony of them on the Isle of Pines for a good number of years. Venezuela The Bolivarian Republic Of Venezuela has agreed to barter Venezuelan oil, in exchange for Cuban medical assistance. United States The governments of Cuba and the United States have been confrontational since before the Bay Of Pigs Invasion . More than a million Cuban Exile s live in the US, mainly around Miami . These Cuban-Americans have prospered in the US, and maintain an active intellectual life. There are two Cuban-American US senators and three Cuban-American members of the US House of Representatives. The Guantanamo Base is an American military base in Cuban territory, Leased in Perpetuity since 1902. EXTERNAL LINKS
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