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Do you ratify the new Constitution of the Republic? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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A constitutional referendum was held inCuba on 24 February 2019.[1] Voters were asked whether they approved of a newconstitution passed by theNational Assembly of People's Power in July 2018.[2] The reforms were approved, with 91% of valid votes cast in favour. The new constitution came into force on 10 April 2019 after it was proclaimed in the Cuban National Assembly and published in theOfficial Gazette of the Republic.[3]
While the structure of Cuban society and its political system had not fundamentally changed, the 2010s saw theCuban thaw and more openness with the constitutional referendum, which was described as a relatively open process. Some observers noted that even though the political system remained largely the same,civil liberties had recently increased, even if not enough. The referendum recognized bothprivate property andforeign direct investment, among other things, such as removing obstacles tosame-sex marriage and banningdiscrimination based on gender, race, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, the introduction ofhabeas corpus and restoration of apresumption of innocence in the justice system which was last provided for in the1940 Constitution of Cuba, and other political reforms, such as presidential term and age limits, as checks on government power.[4] One of the prospective drafts of the constitution omitted the aim of building acommunist society and instead works towards the construction ofsocialism.[5] However, following a series of community meetings across Cuba which debated the draft,[6] it was readded in the final draft before going to a vote.[7]
Proposals in the new constitution include:[8][9][10][11][12][13]
The new Constitution came into force after being proclaimed by the National Assembly on 10 April 2019.[3] Laws which were passed to enforce the Constitution's reforms to the country's judicial system must be enacted within 18 months.[14][15] An electoral law detailing the restructuring of government must also be passed within six months.[14][15] A Cuban President must then be elected by the National Assembly in the following three months and then appoint Provincial Governors and a Prime Minister.[14][16][17]
The new constitution also removes the requirement that marriage be "between one man and one woman". An earlier draft of the new constitution would have changed the language to "a union between two people" ... "with absolutely equal responsibilities". This language was removed due to backlash from the more conservative sectors of Cuban society,[18] with the new constitution not specifically recognizing same-sex marriage, but still removing the constitutional obstacles to its recognition by specifically avoiding adefinition of marriage.Mariela Castro, a Cuban LGBT rights activist, daughter ofRaúl Castro and director of theCuban National Center for Sex Education, has stated that this change is "not a setback" and that the issue would be addressed in the upcoming family code amendment.[13] It was expected that same-sex marriage would be part of a new Cuban Family Code, which was due to be put to a new referendum within the next two years.[19][20][21] The2022 Cuban Family Code referendum resulted in a 2/3 vote in favor of a law legalizing same-sex marriages on the island.
ThePatriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) denounced the violent break in of several headquarters of the organization on the island by the political police of the Cuban government.
More than 200 Cuban military (assault troops) and police forces, with the presence of the high command of the Ministry of the Interior, stormed 8 UNPACU headquarters in the early hours of this morning [Monday night to Tuesday] with extreme violence. Without search warrants and simultaneously, using grinders, they broke the gates of the houses, which had been under siege for nights, and entered, beating all the people who inside.
— Communiqué of the Patriotic Union of Cuba
Among those arrested were the elderly, pregnant women and minors, according toJosé Daniel Ferrer, a conscientious objector and coordinator of UNPACU who was also arrested and beaten; he also denounced that both his five-month pregnant partner and his 78-year-old grandmother were attacked, that several belongings were stolen from their home and that the political police seized a list containing the names of 600 observers that UNPACU was to deploy to monitor the referendum day in order to denounce irregularities.[22][23]
The General Secretariat of theOrganization of American States (OAS) considered the referendum "illegitimate" and assured that it only serves to "mask the dictatorship" before the international community. The Cuban executive accused the Secretary General of the OAS,Luis Almagro, of formulating "slander and lies".[22][23]
The Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) denounced: "It has become evident that this Constitution (as the previous one), imposed by the Communist Party, does not represent or respect the plurality of Cuban society. Nor does the National Assembly of People's Power itself, the organ of unanimity, represent such plurality."[24]
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| For | 6,816,169 | 90.61 | |
| Against | 706,400 | 9.39 | |
| Total | 7,522,569 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 7,522,569 | 95.85 | |
| Invalid votes | 127,100 | 1.62 | |
| Blank votes | 198,674 | 2.53 | |
| Total votes | 7,848,343 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,705,723 | 90.15 | |
| Source:Prensa Latina | |||
| Province | For | Against | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Pinar del Río | 380,326 | 94.11 | 23,784 | 5.89 |
| Artemisa | 314,356 | 91.00 | 31,099 | 9.00 |
| La Habana | 1,235,178 | 89.34 | 147,380 | 10.66 |
| Mayabeque | 228,856 | 88.70 | 29,151 | 11.30 |
| Matanzas | 456,967 | 92.72 | 35,888 | 7.28 |
| Cienfuegos | 248,007 | 92.21 | 20,964 | 7.79 |
| Villa Clara | 497,482 | 92.25 | 41,794 | 7.75 |
| Sancti Spíritus | 310,212 | 93.76 | 20,651 | 6.24 |
| Ciego de Ávila | 283,004 | 93.68 | 19,108 | 6.32 |
| Camagüey | 473,335 | 91.68 | 42,955 | 8.32 |
| Las Tunas | 316,983 | 88.97 | 39,313 | 11.03 |
| Granma | 507,351 | 91.92 | 44,585 | 8.08 |
| Holguín | 567,837 | 84.75 | 102,161 | 15.25 |
| Santiago de Cuba | 635,901 | 91.92 | 55,878 | 8.08 |
| Guantánamo | 278,851 | 85.58 | 46,970 | 14.42 |
| Isla de la Juventud | 51,171 | 92.21 | 4,321 | 7.79 |
| Overseas voters | 30,352 | 98.71 | 398 | 1.29 |
| Total valid votes | 6,816,169 | 90.61 | 706,400 | 9.39 |
| Source:Consejo Electoral Nacional | ||||
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