MIAMI, United States – Cuba ranked 135th in the 2024 Democracy Index published by the British weekly The Economist, with a score of 2.58 points. The report, which analyzes the democratic situation in 167 countries, once again classified the Cuban political system as an "authoritarian regime" and reflected a further decline in its score compared to previous years.
Cuba's 2024 score is lower than that of 2023 and 2022, when it recorded 2.65 points, and 2021, which was 2.59. The downward trend is also observed in comparison with 2020 and 2019 (2.84 points) and with 2018, when Cuba reached 3 points.
The Democracy Index evaluates five fundamental aspects: electoral processes and pluralism, government functioning, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. In the case of Cuba, these indicators reflect a constant deterioration, consolidating its position among the least democratic regimes in the world.
The Economist report notes that, globally, democracy continues to decline. In 2024, only 45% of the world's population lived under a democratic system, while 39% are under authoritarian regimes and 15% under hybrid systems, which combine democratic elements with autocratic tendencies.
The analysis concludes that global democratic health reached its worst level since the Index began in 2006. "These regimes not only intensify their repressive tactics individually, but also learn from each other, exchanging strategies to consolidate their power and neutralize opposition," the report warns.
The countries with the worst scores in 2024 include Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea, Central African Republic, Syria, and Sudan. In contrast, the most consolidated democracies are in Europe, led by Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Iceland, and Switzerland.
Latin America and the Caribbean: A Declining Region
The report also analyzes the state of democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the average score decreased from 5.68 in 2023 to 5.61 in 2024. In the region, only Costa Rica and Uruguay were classified as "full democracies," while 10 countries were classified as "flawed democracies," eight as "hybrid regimes," and four as "authoritarian regimes": Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
A significant change in the region was the degradation of Paraguay, which went from a flawed democracy to a hybrid regime after the implementation of a law that restricts the work of non-governmental organizations.
Furthermore, the study warns about the rise of populist leaders in the region and the growing rejection of representative democracy. "The overwhelming victories of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador and Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico in 2024 seem to show that many voters in Latin America are willing to sacrifice the checks and balances of representative democracy in exchange for tangible improvements in living standards and personal security, provided by authoritarian leaders," The Economist notes.
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