The president of the Communist Party (PC) of Chile, Lautaro Carmona, stated this Sunday that Cuba "is a democratic system, from the historical perspective," in an interview with El Mercurio, just days before traveling to Havana to participate in an international meeting dedicated to Fidel Castro.
Carmona and the party's secretary general, Bárbara Figueroa, will attend the I International Colloquium "Fidel: Legacy and Future," scheduled from August 10 to 13, as part of the activities organized for the centennial of the birth of the Cuban dictator, reported T13.
During the interview, the leader defended the political system of the island and justified the existence of a single party by referencing the history of Cuban independence.
"Why is there a one-party system? That dates back to the time of Martí, when the Cuban people had to establish an organization to oust the Spaniards," he stated.
He also positioned Fidel Castro among the key figures of the international communist movement.
"Fidel is a very, very important reference for the communist movement of the 20th century; there is Lenin and there is Fidel as two great figures, as well as Mao and Ho Chi Minh," he affirmed.
The statements contrast with the position expressed during the 2025 Chilean presidential campaign by the then-candidate of the Communist Party, Jeannette Jara, who acknowledged that "Cuba is not a democracy."
When asked about that difference in criteria, Carmona responded that his party's historical stance does not depend on electoral considerations.
"The opinion held by the Communist Party as a historical viewpoint is not adaptable for winning or losing a vote," he noted.
His statements sparked criticism from various political sectors in Chile.
Former deputy Pepe Auth criticized on social media Carmona’s praise for Fidel Castro, Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh, stating, "as if nothing had happened in the last fifty years. As if they were unaware of the cruelty of the dictatorships inspired by them."
From the right-wing opposition, UDI representatives described the trip to Cuba as "inappropriate," while deputy Cristóbal Urruticoechea from the Libertarian National Party stated that Fidel Castro led a dictatorship whose consequences continue to affect the Cuban people.
For her part, Bárbara Figueroa rejected the criticisms and argued that there is a "double standard," noting that such questioning only arises when leftist leaders participate in international activities.
Carmona's statements also contrast with the assessments made by international organizations regarding the Cuban political system. In its report Freedom in the World 2026, Freedom House awarded Cuba 9 points out of 100, scoring zero points in political rights, and kept it in the category of "Not Free" country.
The Cuban Constitution of 2019 establishes the Communist Party of Cuba as the "highest leading political force of society and the State," without legal recognition for opposition parties.
It is not the first time Carmona has defended the Cuban regime. In January of this year, he publicly questioned then Chilean President Gabriel Boric after Boric described Cuba as a dictatorship in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País. That same month, Carmona visited Havana and met with Miguel Díaz-Canel and other high-ranking officials, who conveyed to him that Cuba is going through "the most complex moment in Cuba's history since the Revolution, including the invasion of Playa Girón".
In April 2026, the General Comptroller of Chile questioned the University of Chile for having provided its facilities for a event in which Carmona participated and a tribute was paid to Cuban military personnel who died during the operation that captured Nicolás Maduro.
The Chilean PC currently operates from the opposition following the rise of the ultraconservative José Antonio Kast in March 2026, a government that has taken an openly hostile stance toward the Cuban regime and which, in June 2026, declared that it would support a possible intervention by the United States on the island.
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