Cuban local elections, 1900

Last updated

Municipal elections were held in Cuba on June 16, 1900. [1] The elections were held under the auspices of the U.S. Military Government with a system of restricted suffrage. 7% of the Cuban population took part in the polls, which saw some important victories for pro-independence sectors.

Cuba Country in the Caribbean

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square kilometres (42,800 sq mi). The island of Cuba is the largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006 square kilometres (40,543 sq mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11 million inhabitants.

United States federal republic in North America

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Suffrage right to vote

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections. In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.

Contents

Military Order No. 164

The elections for posts for municipal mayors, treasurers and judges were convened by the U.S. Military Government in Cuba, through the Military Order No. 164, issued on April 18, 1900. According to the Military Order, elections were to be held on June 16, 1900 and the elected officials would take office on July 1, 1900. The elected officials would hold office for one year. [2]

Candidates for mayoral seats had to present themselves to the de facto mayors named by the Military Government, and provide a register of signatures of between 250-500 voters (depending on the size of the municipality) from the town in support of the candidature. [2]

The Military Order also specified that Scrutinizing Centres (Juntas Escrutinadoras) would be formed across the island, with the task of appointing voters eligible to take part in the elections as well as to supervising the counting of votes. [2]

Electorate

Out of a population of 1,572,797, a total of 150,648 were given voting rights. 110,816 of those eligible took part in the elections. [1] Voting was completely restricted to males. Furthermore, the voter had to be Cuban-born, the son of Cuban-born whilst their parents were temporarily abroad, or a former Spaniard who had renounced his citizenship. The minimum age for eligible voters was 20. They had to be resident in the municipality where they intended to vote for at least thirty days ahead of registration on the electoral roll, as well as being free of felony convictions. Moreover, they had to be literate and own property worth at least USD 250. However, the U.S. Military Governor Leonard Wood was wary of the risk of dissent from Cuban ex-army men and the literacy requirement was waived for soldiers and ex-soldiers. The property prerequisite was also waived for soldiers of the Liberation Army. [3]

Leonard Wood 5th Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Leonard Wood was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor General of the Philippines. He began his military career as an army doctor on the frontier, where he received the Medal of Honor. During the Spanish–American War, he commanded the Rough Riders, with Theodore Roosevelt as his second-in-command. Wood was bypassed for a major command in World War I, but then became a prominent Republican Party leader and a leading candidate for the 1920 presidential nomination.

By not adopting universal suffrage, the U.S. administration hoped to secure a victory for pro-American conservative forces. The decision to implement limited suffrage had been taken in Washington months before the polls. In the American political debate, it was often argued that the Cuban masses were illiterate and unsuited to have a say in politics. General James H. Wilson rebuffed Cuban demands for universal suffrage as 'rot'. Furthermore he stated that "[s]uffrage, like any other privilege of citizenship, should be based upon qualifications and its exercise not permitted merely because one happens to belong to the male species." The U.S. Secretary of War Elihu Root thought that limited suffrage would be useful to ensure that Cuba would not fall into "perpetual revolutions" and instead would provide a stable conservative leadership for "control of Cubans by Cubans". [3]

Universal suffrage Political concept

The concept of universal suffrage, also known as general suffrage or common suffrage, consists of the right to vote of all adult citizens, regardless of property ownership, income, race, or ethnicity, subject only to minor exceptions. In its original 19th-century usage by political reformers, universal suffrage was understood to mean only universal manhood suffrage; the vote was extended to women later, during the women's suffrage movement.

James H. Wilson American Civil War Union major general

James Harrison Wilson was a United States Army topographic engineer and a Union Army Major General in the American Civil War. He served as an aide to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan during the Maryland Campaign before joining Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army in the Western Theater, where he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1864, he transferred from engineering to the cavalry, where he displayed notable leadership in many engagements of the Overland Campaign, though his attempt to destroy Lee’s supply lines failed when he was routed by a much smaller force of Confederate irregulars.

Elihu Root American politician

Elihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt and as Secretary of War under Roosevelt and President William McKinley. He moved frequently between high-level appointed government positions in Washington, D.C. and private-sector legal practice in New York City. For that reason, he is sometimes considered to be the prototype of the 20th century political "wise man," advising presidents on a range of foreign and domestic issues. He was elected by the state legislature as a U.S. Senator from New York and served one term, 1909–1915. Root was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912.

Campaigning

The electoral process was marred by irregularities. In the province of Las Villas, there was a campaign of violent intimidation carried out by the party of the provincial governor José Miguel Gómez, the Federal Republican Party of Las Villas. The campaign successfully forced all potential competitors away from the polls, and the party won the election in the province by default. [1]

During the entire first half of 1900, Military Governor Wood himself worked behind the scenes for the sake of supporting pro-American conservative sectors, trying to cobble together viable conservative electoral coalitions. [4]

Results

In many parts of the islands the elections were a success for the independentista Cuban National Party, much to the dismay of the U.S. administration. In Havana, the Cuban National Party candidate Alejandro Rodríguez won with 12,027 votes. The electoral victories of the independentista sector emboldened pro-independence Cubans to exert more pressure on the Americans, for example through raising demands for speedy implementation of the Joint Resolution. [1] [4]

In Santiago de Cuba, the Republican candidate Tómas Padró Griñán was elected. In Matanzas, the elections were won by Republicans. [5]

The manning of polling stations and counting of votes were done by Cubans, and U.S. soldiers were not present at the polling stations. [6] However, after the elections the elected mayor had to swear an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Military Government before taking office. [5]

Aftermath

After the holding of the municipal polls, the Military Government issued another Military Order on July 25, 1900, convening elections to a Constituent Assembly. [7]

Less than a year later, on June 1, 1901, fresh local elections were held . [8]

Related Research Articles

Carlos Prío Socarrás President of Cuba

Carlos Prío Socarrás was the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new elections were to be held. He was the first president of Cuba to be born in an independent Cuba and the last to gain his post through universal, contested elections. He is sometimes called Charles Prio Socarras in English.

The Party of the Cuban People – Orthodox, commonly called Orthodox Party, was a Cuban left-wing populist political party. It was founded in 1947 by Eduardo Chibás in response to government corruption and lack of reform. Its primary aims were the establishment of a distinct national identity, economic independence and the implementation of social reforms.

1970 Salvadoran legislative election

Legislative elections were held in El Salvador on 8 March 1970. The result was a victory for the National Conciliation Party, which won 34 of the 52 seats. However, the election was marred by massive fraud. Voter turnout was just 41.6%.

1968 Salvadoran legislative election

Legislative elections were held in El Salvador on 10 March 1968. The result was a victory for the National Conciliation Party, which won 27 of the 52 seats. Voter turnout was just 36.6%.

The Cuban Revolutionary Party – Authentic, commonly named Authentic Party, was a political party in Cuba most active between 1933 and 1952. Although the Partido Auténtico had significant influence, it eventually became unpopular and, despite significant reforms, Fulgencio Batista returned to power.

The Cuban National League was a political party in Cuba. The league was one of two political groupings that emerged from the Junta Patriótica in Havana in March 1899.

The Democratic Federal Republican Party of Santiago de Cuba was a political party in eastern Cuba.

The Cuban Socialist Party was a political party in Cuba. The party was founded in March 1899 by Diego Vicente Tejera. The founding of the Socialist Party represented the first attempt in Cuban history to build a political party representing the working class.

The People's Labour Party was a short-lived political party in Cuba. It appeared in public with its programme in August 1901. The party was a continuation of the People's Party of Diego Vicente Tejera. However, it appears that Diego Vicente Tejera had no links to the People's Labour Party.

The Saguan Democratic Party was a short-lived political party in Sagua la Grande, founded in 1899. The party was led by Calixto Casals, José V. Andreu and Eduardo F. Rodríguez. The party gathered local interests which opposed the U.S. military occupation of Cuba.

The People's Party was a short-lived political party in Cuba. It was founded on November 7, 1900 by Diego Vicente Tejera. The People's Party sought to mobilize the working class of Cuba into political action. However the party failed to make any significant political breakthrough. Tejera took part in the Constituent Convention of 1901 as a delegate from the People's Party.

The Republican Party of Havana was a political party in Cuba. The party was founded in the end of 1899. It was led by Dr. Domingo Méndez Capote. Prominent party members included Mario García Menocal, Eugenio Sánchez Agramonte, Fernando Freyre de Andrade, Manuel María Coronado, Manuel Despaigne and Juan Gualberto Gómez.

The Federal Republican Party of Las Villas was a political party in Las Villas, Cuba. The party was founded in 1899 by the provincial governor José Miguel Gómez and Carlos Mendieta y Montefur. Pelayo García Santiago was the president of the party. Prominent party members included General José B. Alemán, Dr. Rafael Martínez Ortíz, General José de J. Monteagudo, José Manuel Berenguer, Francisco López Leyva, Lic. Benito Besada, José L. Robau, Eduardo Domínguez, Dr. Orestes Ferrara and Enrique Villuendas.

The Independent Republican Party was a political party in Cuba, led by Juan Gualberto Gómez. It was formed around 1900, after splits in the Republican parties in Havana, Matanzas and Las Villas. The split was caused by the opposition of the Republican parties to Gualberto Gómez's radical position against the Platt Amendment. The Independent Republican Party supported Gualberto Gómez's position on the issue.

The Cuban National Party was a political party in Cuba. At the very beginning of the 20th century, it was one of the three main political parties on the island. The party favoured independence for Cuba.

The Democratic Union Party was a political party in Cuba. The party was founded in 1899 by conservative sectors. In an alliance with the Republican Party of Havana, the DUP won the Constitutional Assembly elections in 1900. The DUP was dissolved in 1901.

A general election was held in Honduras on 27 November 1993. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President of the Republic and a new Congress.

1971 Honduran general election

A general election was held in Honduras on March 28, 1971. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President of the Republic and a new Congress.

A legislative election was held in Honduras on 7 October 1956. The people elected 58 deputies to the Constituent Assembly.

María Digna Collazo y del Castillo was a Cuban midwife, essayist, editor, suffragist, and feminist activist. She was one of the architects of Cuba's women's suffrage campaign of the 1910s, along with Amalia Mallén and Aída Peláez de Villa Urrutia. To this end, she participated in the foundation of the first organizations that sought to allow women to vote in her country, such as the Cuban Suffragists (1912) and the National Suffragist Party (1913) – of which she was vice president. Furthermore, together with Carmen Velacoracho de Lara, she founded the Feminist Party in 1918.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Averhoff Purón, Mario. Los primeros partidos políticos. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. pp. 52-53
  2. 1 2 3 Averhoff Purón, Mario. Los primeros partidos políticos. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 50
  3. 1 2 Pérez, Louis A. Cuba between Empires, 1878-1902 . Pitt Latin American series. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983. pp. 309-310
  4. 1 2 Pérez, Louis A. Cuba between Empires, 1878-1902 . Pitt Latin American series. Pittsburgh, Pa: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1983. p. 312
  5. 1 2 Averhoff Purón, Mario. Los primeros partidos políticos. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 54
  6. ↑ Holladay Latané, John. The American Nation, a History . New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 177
  7. ↑ Averhoff Purón, Mario. Los primeros partidos políticos. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 55
  8. ↑ Averhoff Purón, Mario. Los primeros partidos políticos. La Habana: Instituto Cubano del Libro, 1971. p. 65
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.