The official government is the Communist Party of Cuba and there is no opposition. This party has been officially in power since 1992. Before that, though Fidel Castro was still the leader (as he has been since 1959) the country was known as a Socialist Republic. From 1992 Castro changed his title from Prime Minister to President. As his health has got worse, his brother Raul has taken on more of his functions.

Cuba has long had very severe restrictions on private enterprise, such as the number of people that can be employed by a business. While the same Communist Party is still in power today and there has been no official change from socialism, in practise many of these rules have been relaxed in recent years. Since 2008 it has been easier for Cubans to interact with foreigners and communicate with the outside world, and at the moment there is a big shift towards private enterprise.