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Even before attaining its independence fromSpain,Cuba had severalconstitutions either proposed or adopted by insurgents as governing documents for territory they controlled during their war against Spain. Cuba has had several constitutions since winning its independence. The first constitution since theCuban Revolution was drafted in 1976 and has since been amended. In 2018, Cuba became engaged in a major revision of its constitution.[1] The currentcommunist state constitution was then enacted in 2019.[2][3][4][5]
Events in early 19th-century Spain prompted a general concern with constitutions throughout Spain's overseas possessions. In 1808, bothFerdinand VII of Spain and his predecessor and father,Charles IV of Spain, resigned their claims to the throne in favor ofNapoleon Bonaparte, who in turn passed the crown to his brotherJoseph Bonaparte. In the ensuingPeninsular War, the Spanish waged a war of independence against the French Empire. On 19 March 1812, theCortes Generales in refuge inCádiz adopted theSpanish Constitution of 1812, which established aconstitutional monarchy and eliminated many basic institutions that privileged some groups over others. The Cortes included representatives from throughout theSpanish Empire, including Cuba.[6]
Several models of constitutional government were proposed for Cuba.José Agustín Caballero [es] offered "a charter for Cuban autonomy under Spanish rule" inDiario de la Habana in 1810,[7] elaborated as theProject for an Autonomous Government in Cuba in 1811.[8] The next year,Bayamo attorney Joaquín Infante living in Caracas wrote hisConstitutional Project for the Island of Cuba. He reconciled his liberal political principles with slavery in Cuba, noting that slavery existed in the United States alongside republican government. Spanish authorities imprisoned him for his writings.[7][8] In 1821,Félix Varela represented Cuba in the Cortes Generales of Spain during a short period when the Constitution of 1812 was revived. He joined in a petition to the Crown for the independence of Spain's Latin American colonies, supported by hisProject of Instruction for the Politically and Economically Autonomous Government of the Overseas Provinces.[8]
The Guáimaro Constitution was the governing document written by theidealistic andpolitically liberal faction in the insurgency that contested Spanish colonial rule inCuba and imposed onCarlos Manuel de Céspedes, the conservative who claimed leadership of the independence movement. It was nominally in effect from 1869 to 1878 during theTen Years' War against Spain, governing theRepublic of Cuba in Arms.
After the Spanish took re-possession of the island in 1878, the Baraguá Constitution was written in a brief attempt at re-igniting the war, re-establishing the Republic of Cuba in Arms withManuel de Jesús Calvar as President.[9]
Two ad hoc constitutions were adopted in the course of Cuba's last fight for independence from Spain (1895–1898). On 16 September 1895, delegates representing the rebel forces adopted a constitution inJimaguayú, the Constitution of theRepublic of Cuba in Arms,[10] and set it to be reviewed in two years by a representative assembly. It described relations between civil and military authority. It named key officials and outlined the requirements of a peace treaty with Spain. In September 1897, the assembly met inLa Yaya [es], adopted a new document on 30 October, and named a new president and vice-president.[11]
La Yaya Constitution written in 1897 was the last constitution before the defeat of the Spanish. The principal notable passages of this constitution on equal civil rights, the right of suffrage and the rights governing equal education for all Cubans were written by GeneralJosé Braulio Alemán Urquía. This constitution was used as template for the 1901 Constitution.
The 1901 Constitution, was Cuba's first as an independent state. It incorporated eight principles set out in thePlatt Amendment without which United States troops would not have been withdrawn from Cuba, including the clause that the U.S. has the right to intervene in Cuba's affairs to protect its independence and guarantee the stability of its government. All but one of the Platt Amendment principles remained in force until a treaty between Cuba and the U.S., theCuban–American Treaty of Relations (1934), negotiated as part ofFranklin D. Roosevelt'sGood Neighbor policy toward Latin America, took effect on 9 June 1934, leaving the U.S. only its right to a permanent lease to itsGuantanamo Naval Station.[12]
During the presidency ofFederico Laredo Brú, a Constitutional Assembly was elected in November 1939 to write a new constitution. The Assembly debated publicly for six months and adopted the constitution at theCapitol inHavana. It was signed by the delegates on 1 July 1940, and took effect on 10 October 1940.[13] It provided forland reform,public education,universal healthcare,minimum wage, and otherprogressive ideas. The constitution abolishedcapital punishment and established as national policy restrictions on the size of land holdings and an end to common ownership of sugar plantations and sugar mills, but these principles were never translated into legislation. The constitution ordained a presidency and a bicameral congress, both with a four-year tenure, with a ban on direct re-elections to the office of president (though non-consecutive re-election would be tolerated; similar to the currentconstitution of Chile) with executive power shared with a new, separate office ofPrime Minister of Cuba, to be nominated by the president.[14]Fulgencio Batista suspended parts of this constitution after seizing power in 1952.[citation needed] It was completely suspended after theCuban revolution.[citation needed]
After 16 years of non-constitutional government from 1959 to 1975, the revolutionary government of Cuba sought to institutionalize the revolution by putting a new constitution to a popular vote. The Constitution of 1976, modeled after the1936 Soviet Constitution, was adopted byreferendum on 15 February 1976, in which it was approved by 99.02% of voters, in a 98% turnout.[15][16] It took effect on 24 February 1976. This constitution called for acentralized control of the market and re-committed the state to providing its citizens with access tofree education andhealth care, as in the 1940 constitution. Article 53 gave citizens freedom of speech, and Article 54 gave citizens the right to assemble.
Thedissolution of the Soviet Union and theEastern Bloc plunged Cuba into an era ofeconomic crisis known as theSpecial Period in Time of Peace. In response, the constitution was amended in 1992 to remove certain limitations on foreign investment and grant foreign corporations a limited right to own property on the island if they establishedjoint ventures with the government.[17] Another amendment established that Cuba is asecular state rather than anatheist state, prompting an expansion of local participation in religious observance, increased social service work on the part of sectarian international charities, and public recognition of religious pluralism.[18] In 2002, the constitution was amended to stipulate that the socialistic system was permanent and irrevocable.[19]
On 14 July 2018, a Cuban Communist Party task force drafted a new constitutional text, then given to a National Assemblycommission headed byParty First SecretaryRaúl Castro to assess, refine, and forward the new draft constitution to the National Assembly plenary. The reforms were seen as part of the attempt to modernize the Cuban government.[20] The draft contained 87 new articles, increasing the total from 137 to 229. Among the reforms were the following:[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
The new constitution was presented to theNational Assembly of People's Power by secretary of the Council of State Homero Acosta for approval on 21 July 2018 before being slated to anational referendum.[27][28] The National Assembly then approved the new constitution on 22 July 2018,[29][30][31][32] a day ahead of schedule.[33] It was announced that apopular consultation which allows citizen input for potential amendments to the text of the proposed constitution would start on 13 August and conclude on 15 November.[31][32][33]
It was announced that 135,000 meetings would be held during the popular consultation.[34] Each of these would be run by 7,600 two-person teams who would receive specialized training.[34]Cuban exiles were invited to take part in the meetings.[35] Following consideration of amendments, areferendum was held to pass the Constitution on 24 February 2019,[36] succeeding with 86.85% of the popular vote.[37] The popular consultation began as scheduled on 13 August 2018, in tandem with the 92nd birthday of the late Cuban PresidentFidel Castro.[38][39][40] The popular consultation concluded as scheduled on 15 November 2018.[41] On 1 December 2018, Granma Newspaper reported that the Cuban Parliament would be summoned to vote on proposed amendments to the new Constitution on 21 December.[42]
The new constitution was debated at the 8th Plenum of the Communist Party of Cuba's Central Committee which took place between 12 and 13 December 2018.[43] At the meeting, the amended draft of the proposed constitution was drawn up by a group commissioned by the National Assembly of People's Power.[43][44] However, details of what was amended would not be made public until it was approved by the National Assembly.[43] On 18 December 2018, it was revealed that one of the changes to the new constitution which would have paved the way for same sex marriage was dropped.[45][46] On 20 December 2018, another change to the new Cuban Constitution was dropped and its language once again reinserts direction to building a communist society.[47] On 21 December 2018, the Cuba National Assembly approved the amended constitution, completing the final step for a referendum.[48] On 24 February 2019, the new constitution wasapproved by 90.15% of voters, with a turnout of 84%.[49] On 7 March, it was announced that the National Assembly would meet 10 April 2019 to determine the timeframe of when the new constitution would go into effect.[50][51][52] On 28 March, it was announced the Council of State had held a meeting on 25 March and decided that the new constitution would be proclaimed by the National Assembly on 10 April.[53][54] Upon being proclaimed, the new constitution would be adopted.[55][56][57][58]
The new constitution was proclaimed as scheduled on 10 April 2019.[4] After being proclaimed, the Constitution of Cuba was published in theOfficial Gazette of the Republic, ensuring its entry into force.[4] It was also announced that new laws enforcing the constitutional reform of the judicial system must be enacted within 18 months.[2][59] This includes, among other things, the enactment of presumption of innocence in criminal cases and introduction ofhabeas corpus.[2][59] An electoral law which would enforce the change in the structure of government in Cuba also must be enacted within six months.[2][59] Within the following three months, the National Assembly would elect a president of the country, who must then appoint provincial governors and a prime minister, a new post separating the role of head of state from the role of head of government.[59][60][61]
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