Ok, I have now read Mckelvy's article in full, and am now prepared to respond.
A couple of things:
1) Mckelvey has only been to Cuba four times since 1994. How can he really get an accurate picture of life in Castro's Cuba, if he's spent so little time there? The tourist's view of things will always be restricted, no matter what Country you are in.
2) The Cuban Communist party sounds like it is as austere as the Mormon Church.
3) It strikes me that given the number of mass organizations that exist and elections that take place, That Cuba is just as beureaucratic as the U.S.
4) Mckelvey says that the Cuban Commmunist Party has enormous influence in Cuba, but its authority is moral, not legal.
What does that mean?