14ymedio, Mexico City, 15 August 2024 — The general election in Venezuela on July 28 and its outcome have had an important regional and international impact. Despite the existence of different options on the ballot, Venezuelans witnessed an election in clear conditions of competitive inequality, opacity and state control of the electoral, judicial and military authorities, as well as limited access to information and the financial resources of the opposition. This electoral authoritarianism has generated a critical reaction from important global powers (USA, Europe) and a majority of Latin American countries, and even from academic organizations of progressive orientation (LASA).
Cuba is perhaps the most atypical case of today’s Latin American autocracies. Its history of democratic elections dates back to the period from 1940 to 1950. From the democratic rupture of March 1952, the elections have been irregular, and from 1959 until the institutionalization of the pro-Soviet single-party political system in 1976, there were no elections. From this date the elections have been manipulated, with single-party candidates pre-selected by criteria of ideological fidelity.
The last general election for president in conditions of multi-party competition was held in Cuba on June 1, 1948
Strictly speaking, the last general election for president and 50% renewal of the House of Representatives and Senators, under conditions of multiparty competition, was held in Cuba on June 1, 1948. The Cuban electoral calendar of the time, governed by the Electoral Code of 1943, defined general and partial elections combining the rule of plurality with a system of provincial votes to elect a president with a system of relative majority in multi-member constituencies, with representation of minorities for the Senate and the election of representatives from proportional representation with the Hare formula of ranked choice voting with 50% renewal in midterm elections every two years.
The electoral results of the period were not only conditioned by this combination of electoral rules (P/RP) but also by the characteristics of t