President Fidel Castro Ruz exercises his right to vote at electoral college No.76 of district 13. Havana, Cuba.

Photo: Fidel Soldier of Ideas website

This March 26, an election process of genuine democracy is taking place in Cuba to elect the deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power.

Which leads us to remember a concept of Fidel Castro Ruz about the most intelligent strategy to follow: "The united vote is not a technical question, it is a political question: it is the strategy of the patriots, it is the strategy of the revolutionaries".

“We wanted a correct strategy and we found the correct strategy with the concept of the united vote;

We found the correct strategy when proposing that the patriotic vote, the revolutionary vote should not be divided, that it should not be dispersed, and the negative consequences and injustices that the dispersion and division of that vote could entail.

The need for a united vote was evident.

Sometimes I say the united and concentrated vote, however, the word united contains the concept of what we mean;

It can be expressed in many different ways, but it seems to me that the phrase 'united vote' expresses the idea quite well.”

“We wanted the idea of ​​a united vote not to be seen as a slogan but as a revolutionary strategy;

that the idea of ​​the united vote not be seen as an act of discipline but as an act of conscience;

that it be understood, that it be seen that it is the fairest thing in the world that we can do with our votes, the fairest thing in the world if we wanted a truly representative assembly, if we wanted humble citizens of this country to be elected deputies to the National Assembly or delegates to the provincial assemblies.

If we wanted justice, if we wanted equality, if we wanted our system to be better."

“We have very solid reasons to base the idea of ​​a united vote as a revolutionary strategy, as a political strategy, as something very moral, as something very fair, as something very legal.

It is the right that we revolutionaries have to demand of ourselves, to ask of ourselves;

the right that patriots have to demand of ourselves, to ask us for something, but for a deep reason, and we must do it that way, and we would feel happier if we did it that way: that nobody did it as an act of discipline, but everyone who do it, do it as an act of conscience;

that everyone who does it, does not do it as someone who complies with a slogan, but as someone who complies with a revolutionary strategy, and the reason for that strategy, the reason for that conscience”.

“We need strength, unity, to send that message that we would be sending to imperialism, to the enemies.

If we show ourselves weak, if we show ourselves divided, they will multiply their efforts to liquidate us, and we have to make them see that they will not be able to liquidate us or they will have to physically liquidate us if they want to liquidate the justice that the Revolution has brought to our homeland."

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"I think the greatest merit of the united vote is that it was a conscious, very conscious, deeply conscious vote, and it speaks, of course, very loudly of the revolutionary spirit of our people, of their conscience and their political culture."

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Regarding the selection process, Fidel reflected:

"They will not be able to challenge the extraordinarily democratic characteristic of our process, in the first place, due to the way of election or selection of the candidates."

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Electing the deputies to the National Assembly of People's Power will be much more than an action, it will constitute the selection of those who will represent the interests of the people, debate and draw up policies to continue building a better society.

Regarding the role of the deputies, he expressed:

“(…) a deputy must do everything he can for his country wherever he is, he cannot become a sectarian, think only of his district;

but the deputy must do everything he can for his district, and when he can't do anything, talk to the voters whenever he can and explain to them what can be done and what can't be done, what can be done and what can't be done. it can be done.

You constantly have to be giving explanations.”

"With this system, the deputy has a double representation: he represents the district and the municipality, and he represents the nation, neither of the two things should be forgotten."

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Grades:

Speech at the second working meeting with the candidates for deputies to the National Assembly, delegates to the Provincial Assembly of People's Power of Havana City, and other guests, February 20, 1993

Speech delivered at the closing of the constitution session of the National Assembly, in its fourth legislature, and of the Council of State, on March 15, 1993

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