Historical-legal analysis of the form of government in Cuba from 1940 to 2019

Abstract

Introduction: this paper analyzes the evolution of the form of government in Cuba between 1940 and 2019. Objective: to elucidate how historical contexts, the influence of foreign models, and internal political projects shaped the architecture of state power in the country. Method: a historical-legal analysis methodology was employed, integrating documentary analysis, the historical-logical method, exegesis of constitutional texts, and comparison, to critically review the constitutional transition. Results: the study identifies an evolution from a liberal presidentialist model (1940), interrupted by a dictatorship (1952), towards a socialist assembly system institutionalized in 1976, which was updated in 2019 without altering its foundations of unique and centralized power. Conclusion: it is concluded that the form of government in Cuba has maintained a republican designation while its system of government has shifted towards a structure where, beyond the normative design, an effective concentration of power in a central executive and political core persists.