this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2025
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Quick correction: you didn't bother me, I saw you commenting here about the meme I posted and wanted to set the record straight on my end. I am a different person from the one you initially replied to on this thread, so no worries.
As for Cuba, there is a large variance in what people who think Cuba isn't democratic actually believe. There are many people who think they don't even have elections, or are otherwise entirely unfamiliar with the Cuban electoral structure. For these people, looking at what the Cuban government says about its structure is massive, there's really no reason not to trust their stated legal structure as reality just like there isn't much reason to think US legal code isn't reality either.
Once we are aligned on structure, then we can talk about how well the structure performs, or what hang-ups it may or may not have. Once everyone knows at least what the Cuban system is, then we can discuss how it works in practice. Without evidence of the system not working well, though, all that remains as a negative opinion on Cuba is through the lens of a media apparatus under the control of an Imperialist regime that seeks to recolonize Cuba.
Does that make sense? To use your own example, I would trust DPRK legal code to be enforced as it says it is, the effectiveness or net results are what can be debated on.
Like I said I was starting on "step 2" where you start with internal + external analyses = a result. A system is what is written and what is lived, I just assume it's where we start in politics / economics / whatever. What is prescribed is a simple data point. That's why I looked at the statements "Cuba is X, for proof here's the governments website" as absurd. I didn't realize people were speaking about hypotheticals, and reacted at the idea that someone would use that kind of logic to explain how something functions in reality.
"Cuba's democratic structure is X" does not provoke suspicion of what X is without reason. Further, there were other websites provided.
It might help people to see some local journalistic coverage of Cuban elections. Seeing the kinds of things Cubans say publicly about and during the elections can give people a more intuitive understanding of what Cuban democracy is actually like for the people participating in it, as well as start to reveal the outlines of the overton window there.
Journalism is my preferred medium for understanding the political landscape of other countries; for an example I like to watch friendlyjordies on youtube for a peek into Australian politics. I'm not sure if it would be very easy to find English translated Cuban sources though.
You're on the money with most Cuban sources being in Spanish, it's not as common to find English sources.