percent of legislative vote - 100%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly of People's Power or Asemblea Nacional
del Poder Popular (number of seats in the National Assembly is based
on population; 614 seats; members elected directly from slates
approved by special candidacy commissions to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 January 2008 (next to be held in January
2013)
election results: Cuba's Communist Party is the only legal party,
and officially sanctioned candidates run unopposed

Judicial branch:

People's Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo Popular (president, vice
president, and other judges are elected by the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:

Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Fidel CASTRO Ruz, first secretary]

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Human Rights Watch; National Association of Small Farmers

International organization participation:

ACP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES,
LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962),
OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNITAR,
UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none; note - Cuba has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy,
headed by Principal Officer Jorge BOLANOS Suarez; address: Cuban
Interests Section, Swiss Embassy, 2630 16th Street NW, Washington,
DC 20009; telephone: [1] (202) 797-8518; FAX: [1] (202) 797-8521

Diplomatic representation from the US:

none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Swiss Embassy,
headed by Chief of Mission Jonathan D. FARRAR; address: USINT, Swiss
Embassy, Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado, Havana; telephone:
[53] (7) 833-3551 through 3559 (operator assistance required); FAX:
[53] (7) 833-1653; protecting power in Cuba is Switzerland

Flag description:

five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom)
alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the
hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center

Economy
Cuba

Economy - overview:

The government continues to balance the need for economic loosening
against a desire for firm political control. It has rolled back
limited reforms undertaken in the 1990s to increase enterprise
efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods,
and services. The a