They get parties?
Other then the classic "Do what the Generalissimo says or we'll blow your goddamn head off" party?
I figured that after MacArthur, there'd be some semblance of a democracy.
So, here's the basic primer:
After MacArthur's death, he is succeeded by Robert F. Kennedy, who proceeds to make wide-reaching systemic reforms regarding things like bilingualism, civil rights, etc.
This leads to a major split between the old guard of MacArthur loyalists (led by Howard Buffett in Congress and supported by Havana casino mogul Fred Trump) and the new guard of Kennedy supporters (led in congress by Luis Posada Carriles and supported by the Rockefeller family).
The old ruling party, the National Salvation Front, would eventually split into two major parties by the end of the sixties. By the end of the seventies, that number would increase to five, plus several other minor parties.
Further complicating matters is that party lines tend to be rather fluid. The two major parties that spun off from the NSF could best be described as political machines, and many parties run on rather broad, generic platforms. Cuban political parties are typically run by family dynasties (or, as of late, celebrities), and party switching doesn't carry the same stigma that it does in other countries. Hence, the common half-joke that "Cuban politicians can levitate, which is why they stay up there without a platform".
The major parties are as follows:
National Party/Partido Nacional: The party of the old MacArthur loyalists. The National Salvation Front were the party of the yumas, the businessmen, the army, the Mafia, and the general elite. The Nacionalistas, in many ways, continue this tradition...except now the businessmen, Mafia, and elite speak Spanish as well as English. While repudiating MacArthur's racism, their call for "humane capitalism" and "the New Nationalism" recall some elements of MacArthurism. Originally, their main platform plank was to eventually regain control of the mainland, but only a tiny minority of older members still follow this plank.
The party is known for it's "big tent" philosophy, with members ranging from continental corporatists to nationalistic Cold Warriors to Evangelical Christians to "radical center" types. As such, the party is infamous for constantly changing its agenda depending on which faction is in charge this time. Cuban comedian Maximo, in his special "The Truth" once joked that "the National Party is the only political party in the world to have no goals or agenda"
The party's current leader is John Ellis Bush, a member of the Evangelical coalition. Their color is white (leading to the nickname of "Los Blancos"), and the party newspaper is The American Review.
Progress Party/Partido del Progresso: Quite possibly the last political party still advocating social liberalism in the world, the Progressive Party grew out of Kennedy loyalists in the NSF. They're less right-wing than the Nacionalistas, but still refuse to be classified as left or right wing. Rather, according to them, "The Progress Party repudiates the nanny statism of the mainland and the crony capitalism of the Havana elite. We stand for the Third Way, the American Way. We seek a cure not through the free market or the welfare state, but through the democratic center". Despite this, the Cuban right still accuses them of being insufficiently patriotic, and Cuban leftists (including Cuban exiles in the mainland) see them as being no different from the Nacionalistas.
The party gains many votes from rural voters (for their platform of farm subsidies), the urban poor, the middle class, and Afro-Cuban voters. Maximo, in the same routine, joked that "the Progress Party is technically just as corrupt as the Blancos, but they take bribes from union bosses and agribusiness instead of mobsters which makes their corruption better". The party color is blue (leading to the nickname "El Pitufos", or The Smurfs), and their newspaper is Progress
America First: The most recent political party, founded by National Party co-founder Fred Trump. The party was formed 1980 after the National Party dropped their opposition to bilingualism, which angered Trump so much that he called George H.W. Bush "the biggest traitor to American values since Norman Thomas" to his face. Their platform calls for, among other things, free trade, a withdrawal from the Alliance of Free States, ending the bilingualism policy, developing a nuclear arsenal, and building a seawall around the island to keep dissidents from fleeing. Their biggest electoral victory was in the 80's, where they at one point held 20 seats in Congress. Currently led by Fred's son, Donald, whose personal controversies (including multiple sexual harassment lawsuits and uncomfortably close relations with the West German far-right and Afrikaner nationalists in exile) keep his party from reaching major party status. Typically, they receive protests votes, and usually no more than five seats in Congress (often taken by members of Trump's family). Rumors persist that the only reason the party keeps going is that it's a honey-trap set by the mafia, and/or that employees of the Trump Corporation are forced to become members if they want to get promoted.
The party's color is gold, and their newspaper is The Free Domain.
Christian Democracy/Democracia Christiana: The party of the Catholic Church. Founded by Catholic preacher Rafael Benevido Cruz in the 70's, and inspired by the German Christian Democratic Union, this party advocates a womb to-tomb welfare state, communitarianism, the distributism of Pope Leo XIII, protection of the environment, and "traditional family values". It opposes the influence of the gambling industry in Cuban politics, abortion, the death penalty, "unfettered capitalism", secularism, and communism.
While popular among the religious segments of the population (especially Hispanics), their opposition to gambling tends to limit their chances of election, and thus they typically prop up minority governments. As for their supporters, any and all Catholic stereotypes can be applied here. The party's color is green, their symbol is a pelican, and their newspaper is El Heraldo. The party is currently led by Cruz's son, Teodoro Eduardo Cruz.
Partido de Cubanos: The main Cuban nationalist party, which views the US government as illegally occupying Cuba. While not officially communists, they are hostile to the FBU, and are at the very least considered "fellow travelers". Current leader Manuel Vasquez Portal once commented "I don't give a damn whether Cuba should be communist or capitalist, all I care about is that Cuba should be Cuba!" The party, which up until recently had abstained from Congress, has been threatened with closure three times. All have failed, with the most recent attempt at closure failing because the courts determined that too many of the members were NBI informants, some of which seem to be actively embracing the party...
The party's color is red, and their newspaper is Cuba Libre. Members get along surprisingly well with members of the Christian Democrats.
