Fidel argues that a one-party system is suitable for Cuba because rapid change was needed to establish a brand new regime which would not be possible in a more democratic system. Also, continuity is required that would not be possible under a multi-party system.
Fidel also argues that there is democracy – just a one-party democracy, and that the system allows direct free discussion and debate about government policy, so this is a more participatory democracy. This is supported by research showing that most people have had a chance to discuss and feedback on the new economic reforms, and that the policies have been adapted on the basis of this feedback. Also discussions with the general population indicate that the view is that if the perception had ever been that Fidel Castro was not serving the interest of the Cuban people, he would have been ousted.
The Cuban people – as part of their defense against US aggression are a relatively armed population, so it would not be easy to exploit a large mass of the population against their will.
Another common defense against Western criticism of one the Cuban one-party system is on grounds of hypocrisy. For example Fidel claims that instead we should be questioning a system like the US multi-party democracy that allows self-interested business to fund political campaigns – he claims that this leads to a government of vested interests who also control the means to affect mass opinion via their massive budgets. The public can only vote on the basis of what information they have, and few have the inclination or capability to dig deeper to find out the real truth. The fact that a small group of hardliners who hate Cuba have managed to dictate US policy to the island for over 50 years also raises questions about how democratic the US system is. These are people who had done very well under the Batista dictatorship who fled to Miami, Florida when Fidel Castro came to power, and hate him for taking over their property. Some of these Cuban exiles have worked with the CIA to try to assassinate Fidel Castro. Even though they are only a small minority, they have worked hard to gain political influence in Florida, and because Florida is a marginal state, it is particularly important electorally, so both Democrats and Republicans have made efforts to assure this group that they will continue to take strong measures against Cuba. In this way a very small majority have affected the foreign policy of a large superpower for 6 decades. This is something Barak Obama has vowed to change before his presidency ends, but he needs Congress support to do this, which may be difficult to come by due to the political influence of this very vocal minority.