A Global Perspective

Chapter 21: Employment Protection and Equal Opportunity

Cuba

In 1959, Fidel Castro took over the government in Cuba and has ruled ever since. The Republic of Cuba is located in the Caribbean. It is the largest and most western island of the West Indies found between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Florida. Cuba is one of the wealthiest islands in the Caribbean because of its fertile soil and abundant harbors. It produces tobacco, sugar, and coffee.

Cuba is slightly smaller than the state of Pennsylvania. Ninety-five percent of its population is literate. Many Cubans migrate to the United States to escape the clutches of communism, using homemade rafts or falsified visas. In the year 2000, 3,000 people fled to Florida from Cuba.

Cuba is a Communist state. The president is both the chief of state and the head of government. The National Assembly elects the president and vice president. The National Assembly consists of 601 seats elected directly from slates approved by special candidacy commissions. Members serve five-year terms. The Cabinet is proposed by the president and appointed by the National Assembly.

The legal system in Cuba is based on Spanish and American law, with large elements of Communist theory intermingled. The National Assembly elects the People’s Supreme Court.