Cuba — Castro period (1959–2008)

Cuba

Basis for the estimate: One-party communist state, nationalization, foreign military missions.

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Official system and how it worked in practice

Official system	Socialist state led by the Communist Party of Cuba (one-party state; current constitution from 1976)
In practice, 1959	Electoral autocracy multiparty elections, but without sufficient freedom, fairness or protection of basic freedoms
In practice, 1960–2008	Closed autocracy no multiparty elections for the chief executive

“In practice” is V-Dem’s Regimes of the World classification for Cuba, 1959–2008, from expert-coded data (V-Dem Regimes of the World (v2x_regime), V-Dem dataset v16, March 2026). V-Dem codes each country as it stood at the end of each year, so the first and last years can reflect the previous or next government. The official system is the constitutional form during the period.

Political placement

Map dimension	Score (0–100)	Reading
Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market	4	strongly toward collective / planned
Social Progressive ↔ Traditional	41	near the center
Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian	90	strongly toward authoritarian
National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist	81	toward nationalist
Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention	71	toward intervention

All nine underlying dimensions

Dimension	Score	Reading
Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership	2	strongly toward collective ownership
Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions	85	toward state restrictions
National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist	81	toward nationalist
Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist	44	near the center
Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic	96	strongly toward autocratic
Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical	35	toward egalitarian
Economic management Free market ↔ State planning	94	strongly toward state planning
Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention	71	toward intervention
Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority	33	toward secular state

Country and government scores interpret the policies of a specific government or period; they are not an authoritative ranking of countries, and official constitutional structures can differ from how power is exercised in practice. How scores are made.

Key positions (estimated)

Statement	Position	Basis
Social media companies should be legally required to remove misinformation.	Strongly agrees	from their record
A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
Abortion should be illegal in most or all cases.	Strongly disagrees	from their record
Major industries should be publicly owned rather than privately controlled.	Strongly agrees	estimated
National borders should become less important over time.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
A strong leader who gets things done matters more than following proper procedures.	Strongly agrees	estimated
Markets generally distribute goods more effectively than government planners.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
Reducing the gap between rich and poor should be a major government goal.	Strongly agrees	estimated
Foreign wars should be avoided unless national territory is directly threatened.	Strongly disagrees	estimated
During a pandemic, governments should be able to order people to stay at home except for essential reasons.	Strongly agrees	estimated

Closest ideologies

Marxism–Leninism90% similar position State Socialism90% similar position Authoritarian Socialism89% similar position Maoism89% similar position Titoism85% similar position

Most similar governments

China — Mao period (1949–1976)92% similar Germany — East German government (1949–1990)91% similar Cuba — Government (2018–present)89% similar Venezuela — Maduro administration (2013–2026)89% similar Venezuela — Chávez administration (1999–2013)89% similar

Sources

Wikipedia: Cuba under Fidel Castro (Wikipedia search)

Last reviewed October 11, 2026.