Special coverage: The Cuban people vote in Constitutional Referendum

Today February 24, 124 years since the re-initiation of the nation’s independence struggle, in accordance with the law, thousands of Cubans are participating in the construction of a better future and strengthening unity around the Revolution

Redacción Digitalfebruary 24, 2019 09:02:43

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Granma

Much more coverage:  

http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2019-02-24/special-coverage-the-cuban-people-vote-in-constitutional-referendum

A text enriched by the contributions of the Cuban people
Secretary of the Council of State, Homero Acosta, presented December 21 a detailed report to the National Assembly of People’s Power on the results of the popular consultation process on the draft Constitution, including the most debated issues and significant changes to the text

Author: Granma news staff | informacion@granma.cu
january 3, 2019 09:01:27

 

 

 

 

 

 

This process of popular consultation on the draft Constitution of the Republic of Cuba is a genuine expression of the democratic and participatory nature of our socialist system. Photo: Studios Revolución

THE proposed Constitution of the Republic of Cuba was described as a text that has gained in quality in terms of its wording and content, enriched by the proposals emanating from the people, in the report presented December 21 by Homero Acosta, secretary of the Council of State, during the Second Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of the People’s Power’s Ninth Legislature, on the results of the popular consultation process.

The resulting document is a genuine expression of the democratic and participatory nature of our socialist system. The broad popular participation in the process reflected the high degree of cultural and political education of the Cuban people and their commitment and majority identification with the perfecting of the country’s political, economic and social system.

It also highlights the transparency, organization, responsibility and rigor with which the preparation and realization of the consultation assemblies on the draft Constitution were carried out, as well as the collection, processing and analysis of the population’s proposals at all levels.

DEVELOPMENT AND RESULTS OF THE CONSULTATION

As agreed by the National Assembly of People’s Power in its ordinary session of July 21 and 22 this year, the draft Constitution of the Republic was submitted to a popular consultation process August 13 through November 15, 2018.

Prior to the consultation, working infrastructure was established to collect and process all the information derived from it, and those responsible for chairing the assemblies were trained to ensure the smoothest process.

The popular consultation process saw:

• 133,681 meetings, of which:

79,947 were of the general population

45,452 were held among groups of workers

3,441 among campesinos

1,585 among university students

3,256 among high school students

8,945,521 people attended these meetings
1,706,872 comments were made, of which:
783,174 proposals

666,995 modifications

32,149 additions

45,548 deletions

38,482 requests for clarification

This information was processed according to each of the paragraphs of the document submitted for consultation, and those that were very similar were grouped into 9,595 standard proposals (each conformed of an average of 78 individual proposals).

Also evaluated were the 2,125 proposals submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), received from Cubans residing abroad. Of these, 1,150 were modifications, 350 additions, 406 deletions and 219 requests for clarification. A total of 978 standard proposals were derived from these.

In total, the web page enabled by MINREX received 4,751 visits from 123 countries, although proposals were only registered from 58. The vast majority of these do not question the essence of the Cuban system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power undertook an exhaustive study of the changes to the document resulting from the popular consultation. Photo: Estudios Revolución

Continue reading A Constitution enriched by the contributions of the Cuban people →

New Cuban Constitution, for a society in which no one loses
A frequent topic of discussion in constitutional reform debates underway across the country is the issue of limiting the concentration of wealth
Author: Iroel Sánchez | internet@granma.cu
august 29, 2018 15:08:22

People of all ages are participating in the constitutional reform debate across the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Endrys Correa Vaillant
Cuba is expanding rights, transforming its state structure to better respond to citizens concerns, and adapting legislation to match changes which have taken place over the last decade in the country’s economy to function within the difficult international situation. Since August 13, Fidel is being honored with a popular debate in which the entire people is acting as a constituent body, discussing a proposal that has already been the subject of extended debate in the National Assembly.
The analysis conducted by the National Assembly of People’s Power of the constitutional proposal now being considered by citizens included as one of its most intense moments the issue of whether or not the Constitution should explicitly declare that limiting the concentration of wealth is the responsibility of the state – defined as socialist and true to Martí’s precept, “The first law of our republic: the devotion of Cubans to the full dignity of man.”
First of all, it must be recalled that consensus emerged on this limitation during the broad debates held among millions of Cubans on the Guidelines for economic and social development, approved by the Sixth and Seventh Congresses of the Communist Party of Cuba, and the Conceptualization of the Economic and Social Model, in the initial version of which the idea was not present. Its inclusion was the product of a demand from the grassroots level and several delegates proposed it.

Continue reading New Cuban Constitution, for a society in which no one loses →

The press at a decisive civic moment
The press will play a decisive role in the constitutional reform consultation which began August 13 across the country, the most decisive civic test of recent years, according to sector leaders`

Author: Alejandra García | internet@granma.cu
august 16, 2018 10:08:07

With all and for the good of all.

 

 

 

 

Photo: Osval
The press and journalists will play a decisive role in the constitutional reform consultation which began August 13 across the country, the most decisive civic test of recent years, according to experts and professionals who spoke during a conference yesterday, August 15.
The challenge we face of building consensus, around changes to be made in the Constitution, begins with considering the opinions of others for the good of all, commented Ricardo Ronquillo Bello, president of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC), during a panel discussion entitled “The press in Cuba at the crossroads of a new Constitution.”
Ronquillo, who participated digitally, insisted that this process demands innovation and creativity of journalists, on traditional platforms and on channels offered by new information technology, so the debate is transparent and the way opinions are collected and evaluated is clear to all.
Dr. Rosa Miriam Elizalde, UPEC first vice president, emphasized the importance of knowing the country’s constitutional history, beginning in the
Guáimaro Constitution of 1869, which included freedom of the press among Cubans’ individual rights.
She noted however that past guarantees have referred only to the rights reporters and media, and not of those seeking information. The current proposal, she pointed out, establishes freedom of expression and access to information, as well as the responsibility of all authorities to make public information they have.
Dr. Elizalde emphasized as well, “This document safeguards the political, class character of our press, defining the property that sustains it as socialist, owned by the people as a whole, blocking the possibility that a private monopoly remerge in Cuba’s media sector.”
The meeting took place at UPEC headquarters in Havana, with journalists, experts, and academics participating, and served to recall the organization’s former president Antonio Moltó, who died August 15, 2017, as well as other journalists recently deceased: Ana María Radaelli, Jesús Hernández, Pedro Hernández Soto, Lázaro Fernández, Rafael Daniel, and Renato Recio, among others.
UPEC has activated an email account to receive comments on issues related to the press included in the proposed Constitution: constitucion@upec.cu.