CIENFUEGOS—Argelio Cabrera has lived an intense life. His years of experience make it possible for him to reflect on the electoral processes that existed before the Revolution’s triumph and those of today. His active mind brings back memories that lead him to affirm: "The elections back then were all tricks and lies."

Under capitalism, those processes, he explains, always responded to the political situation of the country, one that was ruled by an exploiting class.

"The people who ran the electoral campaigns were at the service of the politicos, the well-dressed thieves who had good professional or political positions. Propaganda was everywhere; the candidates’ faces and their slogans always made them out to be good people, busy and concerned with the people...

"The elections used to be characterized by corrupt politics. The party candidates were only seen in public and only made themselves available to publicity during election time, making promises that they never kept."

Those who ran the elections had no scruples – they just "did politics" and went after money, he emphasizes.

Regarding the day when people went to cast their ballots, he recalls, "As it has been said, on that day the ballot boxes were guarded by soldiers: in the countryside by the rural guards and in the towns and cities by the police and army, with rifles and bayonets. A lot of people wouldn’t even go near there, because they were not interested in voting.

"And there was no lack of political bullies, characters who bought voters’ IDs, who offered money...They formed a real mafia. They only defended the candidate that they represented."

Cabrera remembers that many mayoral candidates were doctors or other individuals who held influence over voters. "When they were campaigning, they would offer free doctors’ visits, but after they were elected or the elections were over, they charged everyone, and if you didn’t have money, you couldn’t go to the doctor’s."

Argelio continues to be an active revolutionary. His descriptions of electoral realities are characterized by objectivity, given that he has plenty to compare.