Cuba eliminates the term "communism" and opens the door to gay marriage in its new constitution – 21/07/2018

The National Assembly of the People's Power (Parliament) of Cuba began Saturday to debate the text of the new Constitution of the country, which eliminates the term "communism" and includes the right to private property. The project also opens the door to the legalization of same-bad marriage, a strong demand from the LGBT community on the island, led by none other than the daughter of former president Raúl Castro.

submitted to debate by the more than 600 deputies for three days, until Monday, only mentions "socialism" as state policy revealed official means, contrary to the current text of 1976 that in its "This does not mean that we give up our ideas, but in our vision, we think of a socialist country, sovereign, independent, prosperous and sustainable," he said this week . The president of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo, during the preliminary sessions during which the deputies studied the proposal for constitutional reform.

To defend the suppression of the term communism, Lazo also argued that the current situation of Cuba and the international context are very different compared to the year 1976, reported Saturday the newspaper Granma

On the other hand, Article 21 of the new text under discussion recognizes "d & # 39; other forms of property such as cooperatives, mixed properties and private property ", and admits foreign investment is" a necessity and an important element of development ".

These changes aim at adapting the Constitution to the new economic reality of Cuba, where the economic reforms promoted during the presidency of Raúl Castro appeared. many private companies, and attract foreign exchange to alleviate the country's endemic economic crisis.

Articles devoted to the economy in the new text make a big difference compared to the current Magna Carta, which only recognizes the property of the same. State and agricultural cooperative, according to the model of the communist state applied to the country by the former leader Fidel Castro after the 1959 Revolution

Still, the draft bill submitted for debate emphasizes the role of the state in establishing that "the state enterprise is the main subject of the economy as a generator of wealth of the country" and "Socialist property of all the people is the fundamental nucleus ", as advanced.

In the political sphere, the draft text confirms that there will be no change in the "socialist character of the political and social system" ] "and maintains as a" superior force of leadership "the Communist Party of Cuba (only legal), although it establishes the figure of the President of the Republic, limits its mandate to ten years and proposes the creation of a prime minister

One waits that the project be approved on Monday, then to a popular referendum and a subsequent referendum.

Before the plenary session, which is not allowed to have access to the foreign press, the parliamentarians studied for three days the draft constitutional reform brought together in the ten standing committees of the Assembly

Marriage homobadual

The Cuban constitutional reform project also proposes to define marriage as "the union between two peoples, " would open the door to the legalization of same-bad marriages, one of the main claims of the LGTBI collective in the country.

The current Constitution (1976) defines marriage "as the union voluntarily agreed between a man and a woman", which prevented the approval of an amendment to the family code that has legalized same-bad unions, as this would have resulted

Homeland Secretary Acero, State Council Secretary, Saturday explained to deputies that the concept of marriage is changed so that now "it does not specify which bad are the people who would be compliant". 196519002] "It does not say that it is about the equality of marriage, it only breaks with this barrier so that in the future it could be incorporated," said Acosta at the state television.

Acosta, veteran member of Cuba's leadership "the new Constitution could not evade this issue", "which was badyzed and debated" by the commission in charge of the reform of the Magna Carta, led by the former president and leader of the Cuban Communist Party in power (CPC, only), Raúl Castro.

"We are not the first, and we would not be in the vanguard, because there are about 24 countries that have incorporated this concept." We could not turn our backs on this issue preparing a new constitutional project, "he insisted

. This would be a big step in favor of LGBT rights on the Communist Island, a society still very conservative on issues of badual freedom and where, until just a few decades ago, homobaduals were persecuted as "social scourges" and interned in labor camps, called Military Production Assistance Units (UMAP)

. once the Constitution has been ratified by referendum, legislators will have up to one year to amend aspects of the Civil and Family Code that arise from this change, including aspects such as inheritance and registers,

known fight for the rights of the homobadual community in Cuba is the deputy and badologist Mariela Castro, daughter of the former president Raúl Castro and director of the National Center for National Education Sexuality (Cenebad)

Fidel Castro, the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, who died in 2016, apologized for the repression and punishment of homobaduals and said it was not a state policy.

Applications from this community also include access and guarantees for adoption and badisted reproduction for gay couples.

Source: EFE and AFP