Remember the Red Scare, when Americans feared communism was secretly infiltrating our society? Well, as college students, we didn’t live through it, but we’ve definitely learned about it.

Today, only a few countries around the globe mark themselves red: North Korea, China and Cuba are among the few.

Recently, Cuba has been congratulating itself for having democratic elections.

Is there a little contradiction here? Communism and democracy are two words that never fit together in the puzzle.

Frequently, communist governments attempt to mask themselves by attaching some form of the word “democracy” onto their actions. For example, it happened in formerly communist East Germany and the now-dissolved U.S.S.R.

Cuba is simply another shining example of this contradiction.

President Fidel Castro, who has been in power since the overthrow of a dictator in 1959, said elections for city council members across the country was “the most democratic of all democracies.”

First, Cuba does not have a democracy. When an election has no campaign and one party — Communist — it is not a democracy.

Second, Cuba is not democratic. Although not all candidates were Communist party members, all of the neighborhood-nominated contenders support the ideology of Castro’s government. That is not democratic.

Cuba has held direct elections for city governments since the 1970s. Parliament followed in 1993. However, Castro said there won’t be a direct presidential election soon. This is not a democracy.

Also, when Castro clearly states that his successor will be his brother, Cuban Vice President Raul Castro, it is not a democracy.

Cuba’s elections may seem democratic on the surface. However, it is clear the tiny Caribbean nation has no intentions to change much from its communist rule under Castro.