Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Cuba Needs a Constitution That Serves Everyone

Cuba Needs a Constitution That Serves Everyone / Ivan Garcia
Ivan Garcia, Translator: Unstated

Some dissidents believe the best place for the current constitution is a
waste basket. Laura Diversent, an independent attorney, is more circumspect.

"Certainly, today's constitution has innumerable shortcomings. I don't
believe it would be adequate in a democratic Cuba. But in the early
stages, as part of a serious and profound process of reform, the
constitution ratified in 1992 could be applied. Shortly thereafter, a
constitutional convention could be called to draft a new Fundamental Law
that is sober, has a solid legal foundation, and that covers the social
and political rights of all Cubans," says the legal expert.

Diversent does not see re-instituting the 1940 constitution as a option.
"It is inappropriate, overly meticulous and obsolete for these times,"
she claims. For a few years now, intellectuals and Cuban legal scholars
from the moderate left, participating in open debate forums sponsored by
various online organizations and the Cuban Catholic church, have echoed
this theme.

The constitutional challenge cannot be put off. Setting aside their
differences, lawyers, academics and political experts who have analyzed
the issue have expressed their belief that a vigorous popular democracy
is essential. For them, the future of Cuba must, by necessity, be a
socialist one.

Voices such as those of Roberto Veiga, a legal expert and director of
the publication Espacio Laical*, would prefer a less ideological system
of government – one that is inclusive and more effective at managing the
country. Veiga, who could accept either a new constitution or the
current one with some corrections, foresees a socialist state but would
prefer to opt for a moderate form of capitalism with a strong social
program.

According this viewpoint the people should decide this at the ballot
box. The debates, discussions and forums on the future of the
Fundamental Law is a sign that many intellectuals on the island are not
idly standing by.

The level of judicial ignorance among Cubans is appalling. In 1976
people obediently went en masse to vote for a new constitution that few
had barely even skimmed. In communities and neighborhoods in the Cuban
heartland a significant segment of the citizenry is unaware of its
anti-democratic precepts. At the end of the 1980s I participatedwith
Tania Quinteroin the production of a national television program called
Disrepect for the Law. In on-the-street interviews an overwhelming
majority ignored what was "the first law of the Republic."

In an article published in the journal Espacio Laical, the attorneyJulio
Antonio Fernández reports the results of a study carried out by te
National Assembly of People's Power in 1987 on "the factors that most
affect the development of a culture of respect for law" in which people
were asked, "What do you consider to be the law most important to a
citizen?" Of the 1,450 who responded, 1,046 did not cite the
constitution. Of the 44 who did cite it, 5 were political figures.

And it is the government of Fidel Castro that has been the most flagrant
violator of the Constitution. For years it infringed Article 43, where
it says that, "The State recognizes the right won by the Revolution of
citizens, without distinctions of race, color of skin, sex, religious
beliefs, national origin or any other damage to human dignity." Among
its statements it established that they "are served in all restaurants
and other public service establishments" and "enjoy the same resorts,
beaches, parks, social services and other cultural, sports, recreation
and relaxation centers."

Cubans were third class citizens in their own country. They had no right
to stay in or enjoy hotels and facilities designed exclusively for
foreigners. A shameful tourist apartheid.

The current Constitution is a complete farce. It needs urgent reforms.
Or to be replaced by another. A Basic Law that most people don't know
should not be endorsed in the future. Currently, many do not see it as a
protector of their inalienable rights. The current Constitution
recognizes several social rights. But excludes political rights and
freedom of expression, association and movement outside the authorized
olive green autocracy.

In the hands of academics, political scientists, dissidents and citizens
remains the task of deciding what do with the current Constitution. If
the current one should be rewritten or a new one created. The future of
Cuba needs a Constitution that serves all of us.

Photo from Martí Noticias.

*Translator's note: Espacio Laical (Lay Space) is a journal published by
the Archdiocese of Havana and officially tolerated by the Cuban
government, whose articles and editorials discuss alternate proposals
for social, political and economic change in Cuba.

November 4 2012

http://translatingcuba.com/cuba-needs-a-constitution-that-serves-everyone-ivan-garcia/

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