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Thousands of Cubans opened businesses such as taxi services during Raúl Castro's early years of power. (Yamil Lage / AFP / Getty Images)
MIAMI – In communist Cuba, the right to private property would be enshrined and foreign investment encouraged – and "guaranteed". Where Fidel Castro reigned as a great 20th century figure, power would no longer be concentrated in the hands of a single ruler.
Cuban lawmakers are expected to make a big leap this weekend to embrace these changes and other changes in the island's most important attempt at constitutional reform for decades. This decision follows the withdrawal in April of Raúl Castro, brother of the revolutionary Fidel Castro, who died in 2016, as head of state and suggests a cautious advance in the reshuffle of Cuba at a time when deported. other communist countries, including China And Vietnam embraced the free market
And yet the changes envisaged would unfold even if new rules would strictly limit the spirit of enterprise on the island – preventing the rise of the kind of Ferrari that drives the champagne communists who are now wandering the streets of Shanghai and Beijing. They would also strengthen Cuba's identity as a one-party state.
"Imperialism and the oligarchy are on the offensive against left-wing governments in Latin America," said 58-year-old President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who replaced Raúl Castro in April, during a recent speech in Havana. "Today, more than ever, we need the unity of our people … to face this imperialist and reactionary threat."
A hairdresser works in a salon in Havana. (Yamil Lage / AFP / Getty Images)
Perhaps the most important change in the new constitution: the creation of the post of prime minister, who would share power with the president.
Even after his retirement, Raúl Castro, 87, retains the key post of leader of the Communist Party and remains the dominant political voice on the island. The extent of the powers of the new Prime Minister is not clear. But the decision to so quickly limit the influence of Díaz-Canel in creating the new post suggests an attempt to circumvent a possible jostling to position Cuba in the post-Castro era.
"What is proposed is more ambitious than anything we have seen since 1976," when Cuba adopted its first constitution after the revolution, said Jason Marczak, director of the Latin American Center Adrienne Arsht of the Atlantic Council. "The creation of term limits, the post of prime minister, the recognition of investment.But it is also a very cautious opening."
When he resigned in April, Castro announced the implementation of the ongoing constitutional reform. Cuban parliamentarians will debate the 224 articles – advanced in Granma, the official newspaper – during the sessions this weekend. Then the project will move to a period of public comment before being submitted to a national referendum
The referendum, like the Cuban elections, seems largely designed to ratify the choices of communist leaders, and few of them. observers wait for major changes before adoption
Private property and limited foreign investment are already a de facto reality in Cuba, yet the new constitution will provide official and legal recognition for both. On the surface, the inclusion of such concepts – long seen in Cuba as the main ills of capitalism – suggests a nation that is preparing for a major change.
Yet observers in Cuba know almost always better. in the process of economic and political reform, but not quickly or dramatically, "said Geoff Thale, a Cuban expert at the Washington office on Latin America, a think tank. "It is clear that the government wants to maintain control and lead the changes gradually.There is also an ongoing debate between people more focused on reform and supporters of the hard line within the party, which has been happening for years. Of course, neither party has won. "
Raúl Castro, who replaced his brother as president in 2008, has long advocated the injection of the free market in the US. Cuba's late socialist economy, which sank after the fall of its main benefactor, the Soviet Union. During the first years of Raúl Castro, the number of self-employed in Cuba – known as cuentapropistas – reached hundreds of thousands of Cubans by opening guest rooms, restaurants and taxis.
But the confidence of the communist brain of Cuba seemed to be frightened by the pace of growth and last year stopped issuing new licenses. Cuba has now resumed issuing licenses, but with an extremely strict set of guidelines.
Restaurants, for example, are limited to 50 seats. Most importantly, Cuban entrepreneurs – some of whom are now working in several companies – are limited to one license each.
Julia de la Rosa, who runs the Rosa de Ortega Bed and Breakfast in Havana, said in a telephone interview that she welcomed the official recognition of private property. But she is also concerned that restrictions on the private sector will strangle ambition.
"For people like me who have been working in the private sector for years, there has always been a desire to do more. That's the way the company spirit works, "she said. "I think there is a kind of incongruity between the idea that the constitution will recognize private property and the new regulations that limit us."
A flower vendor in Havana in June. (Yamil Lage / AFP / Getty Images)
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