By Santiago Cardosa Arias
First it was the rain, torrential and somewhat cold. Then when we sheltered in "old Rafael's" carpenter's shop, with its pleasant, pungent smell of sawdust, plywood, pine and caoba shavings and neighbours' furniture waiting to be mended, there was darkness for a few moments, an electrical short. Deft hands hurried to correct the fault, light was restored and a small tape recorder sparked to life, with the national anthem ready to play for the neighbourhood at the high point of the evening.
The few minutes' wait gave time for an initial reflection. Neither the rain, the blackout nor the heat in the small room kept people away. No-one was going to lose enthusiasm for the greatest event in the history of community area meetings.
Just like the other 13,855 electoral districts around the country in 169 municipalities, we were going to elect our candidate for delegate to the Municipal Assembly of People's Power by open vote and, if the person was nominated, he or she would go on to a list of candidates to be elected by direct and secret ballot in a new election. On obtaining more than 50% of the vote, our candidate would be elected at that level.
But there was more. According to the new Electoral Law, our candidate could become one of the 1190 provincial delegates in a second stage of the process using the same system of universal voting. The candidate could even become one of the 589 deputies who would go to make up the National Assembly, the number of seats corresponding to the 10,821,684 inhabitants in the country at the end of June.
That is why there was an air of expectation in the neighbourhood that night. "ico", our present delegate, was there as always, but this time with a certain impatience, staring at the fleeting storm-cloud, along with the officials of the grassroots organisations: Paneque, Arrinda, Toly and the ceaselessly industrious Ada. The second secretary of the party in the 10 de Octubre municipality was also there, alongside Mario the municipal coordinator of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDRs) and a number of Pioneers who shouted and laughed as though it were a great game every time the lights flickered and went out before coming on for good.
The rain stopped, and almost in a mad rush the long wooden benches, lent by Caridad ("Puchita") Rojas from CDR number 10, were returned to their places outside the carpenter's
shop. At that time in the evening there was no noise from the nearby Cuban Steelworks (formerly American Steel), and Claudio, the section head of the National Revolutionary Police, was controlling the flow of cars, motorcycles and bikes.
It started just a few minutes after nine. Other residents arrived and there was hardly enough room for us all.
The Cuban national anthem rang out vibrant and full of contagious patriotism.
The microphone also began to act up. "ico" wasn't worried. His voice sounded strong, so much so that it seemed he didn't need the mike, but it was also fixed in moments.
His account of what he had done as a delegate in the previous term of office was brief. He didn't harp on his achievements. Rather he talked about all there was left to be done. Of course, he had to mention how a huge water leak in one street was fixed and the other urgent things that had to be done. He gave special mention to an award received by Monaco fruit and vegetable market for its efficient distribution of goods on the Food Program.
Then the much-awaited moment arrived.
"Time to make suggestions for candidates", said the president of the Electoral Commission.
The first person to raise her hand was a woman. "Coco" Malmierca, as she is known affectionately to everyone, respected because she is a lieutenant colonel in the ministry of interior (to me she will always be my travel companion in the delegation to the Helsinki World Youth Festival in 1962), detailed in her proposal the merits, virtues and experience of one of her neighbours, Portela, whose modesty caused him to look at the floor when he heard the things she was saying about him.
Another proposal was made. Once again it was from a well-
respected neighbourhood resident, a retired worker who had always devoted himself to all revolutionary activities. "I don't have", he said in simple language, "the same facility with words as the previous comrade. I can't say pretty things, but I don't think they are needed. All of us here know our delegate, ico, and know what he has done. In my opinion he has all the qualities necessary to go on being a delegate ..." And he didn't say anything else, just listened to the applause.
The president asked once, twice, three times if there were other proposals. But there weren't.
Then the voting took place. First for Portela, according to the
order in which they were proposed. The secretary added up the votes. Next for ico.
The current delegate, Antonio (ico) Pérez, received the most votes. The margin between the two was minimal, but there was a majority.
Democracy had been fully implemented. Among other things, I left thinking about integrity, and how I couldn't even exert influence in my own family of four. Three of them voted for a different candidate than I did.
The meeting was an example of Cuban democracy. If Bush, although he can't now come as president, has any doubts, he would have seen it with his own eyes, if he had been here on a health tourism package.
[From Granma International.]