Cubans vote on new constitution that could change their social structure

About 8 million Cubans over the age of 16 are invited to vote for the new constitution that would replace the 1976 Magna Carta approved with 97.7% of the 5.6 million registered voters. Many experts believe that the text will be approved, but not with such a large majority.

The debate over the Constitution has dominated Cuba's political life in recent months, as the country struggles to recover its fragile economy in the face of an unfavorable scenario due to the crisis of its ally Venezuela and the trade embargo United States is stepping up under the mandate of Donald Trump.

In the impetus of # CubaVotaSí, the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, wrote on his Twitter account that the Constitution "guarantees the rights of every citizen of the nation, because it enhances the dignity of our people, because it is anti-imperialist".

Meanwhile, opponents and exiles have launched a campaign to reject the Constitution for what they describe as a consolidation of communism. "On this 24th day, the system imposed by the Communist Party will be rejected by the people," he wrote. Rosa Maria Paya, leader of Cubadecide, an organization of opponents in Cuba and abroad.

Many evangelicals are expected to vote against the proposal because they fear that this opens the door to gay marriage, which has also been criticized by the Catholic Church.

The Cuban government last year organized a popular debate on a draft new reform of the Constitution, which was subsequently approved with amendments by the National Assembly (Parliament). In addition, he used the monopoly of the media to broadcast the yes in the form of a patriotic vote.

"Thousands of Cubans have had the opportunity to debate the Constitution in their neighborhoods and their workplaces, we are updating our economic system which is not very good, but we are trying to modernize and it's very positive, "said engineer Lázaro Rodríguez, 58 years old. He was preparing to go to the polls.