bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Tribune News Service

After leaving the Cuban government at age 86, Raul Castro is proposing a new constitution that would limit the age of future presidents to 60 at the start of their first terms.
The constitutional reforms, discussed on Saturday by the Cuban parliament, would also erase the word “Communism” from the document and open the way for same-sex marriage, according to television coverage of the gathering.
But the proposed constitution repeats that Cuba’s socialist system is “irrevocable” and says the Communist Party is the only legal party and holds a “vanguard” role in the country’s affairs.
Castro and his brother Fidel ruled Cuba until well into old age. Miguel Diaz-Canel, 58, succeeded Raul Castro as head of the government in April.

Castro has often spoken about the need for a “generational change” in the government leadership, and the need to enforce term limits on future presidents.
Fidel Castro ruled Cuba from 1959 until 2006, when he passed power to Raul.
Raul, who is still in charge of the Communist Party and heads the commission that wrote the draft of the constitutional changes, seems to be taking steps to avoid a long run at the top by another president.
The draft would restrict presidents to two terms and says they must not be older than 60 at the start of the first term. The proposed new system of government also calls for a division of powers at the top.
The draft’s proposals for the posts of president, vice-president and prime minister have sparked speculation about the powers that Diaz-Canel might really have.
The issue appears to be sensitive, and the secretary of the Council of State, Homero Acosta, spent time explaining to parliament that the president would not be a “ceremonial” figure, especially because it will be the president who will nominate the prime minister to the parliament.

It’s not a matter of “a ceremonial, figurehead president, but a president with [real] functions in the government,” Acosta said.
Nevertheless, the president will not be directly in charge of the Council of Ministers – which would be run by the prime minister – or the Council of State, which Raul and Fidel Castro and Diaz-Canel have headed.
Fidel Castro’s death a reminder of American brutality
Although US analysts doubted preliminary reports published in the official news media, it has now been confirmed that the draft says the president of the parliament, the National Assembly, will also preside over the Council of State – making that person very powerful.
The Assembly, if the draft is approved as is, would also have the power to interpret the constitution – a role held by the highest courts in most other countries.

The official webpage Cubadebate also reported on Saturday that the new constitution would define marriage as “the consensual union between two people, regardless of gender”. That has been one of the demands by LGBT groups on the island and Raul Castro’s daughter, Mariela, who heads a sex education centre in Havana.
Acosta underlined that the language of the constitution must be flexible, and that several laws will have to be changed to implement the constitutional reforms.
Havana’s fading Chinatown: one Cuban-Chinese man’s hope for a revitalized culture
Other aspects of the draft have been less surprising.
The president will continue to be elected by parliament and not directly by voters – a change that many Cubans wanted.
And the new constitution will recognise private property but “retains the essential principles of socialist ownership by the people over the basic means of production and central planning as a principal component”, according to the official Granma newspaper.
The draft constitution must be approved by the National Assembly and will be submitted later to a referendum.


Hurricane Ian batters Florida’s Gulf coast after causing island-wide blackout in Cuba

Cuba sees largest anti-government protests in decades over coronavirus pandemic and economic woes

Cuba debuts Chinese-made train

Havana’s Chinatown to be restored for Cuban capital’s 500th anniversary celebrations

Cuba

Castro proposes changes to Cuban constitution, including term limits for leaders

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel (second left) applauds as former president Raul Castro arrives at the National Assembly session on July 21, 2018. Photo: AFP

Members of the National Assembly vote during a session to update the current Constitution and present the new Council of Ministers, in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, July 21, 2018. Cuban lawmakers approved the Cabinet named by Diaz-Canel, keeping most of the ministers from Raul Castro's government in place. (Abel Padron/Agencia Cubana de Noticias via AP)

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (C), attends the National Assembly's session to present the new Council of Ministers and discuss the draft of 224 articles prepared by a parliamentary committee, at Havana's Convention Palace on July 21, 2018, before submitting the constitutional reforms to a popular vote. Cuban legislators are set to implement sweeping constitutional reforms this weekend that will legally recognize private property and the market economy, as well as encourage foreign investments, but capitalism remains a dirty word. / AFP PHOTO / Jorge BELTRAN

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (L) and Cuban former President Raul Castro (C), attend the National Assembly's session to present the new Council of Ministers and discuss the draft of 224 articles prepared by a parliamentary committee, at Havana's Convention Palace on July 21, 2018, before submitting the constitutional reforms to a popular vote. Cuban legislators are set to implement sweeping constitutional reforms this weekend that will legally recognize private property and the market economy, as well as encourage foreign investments, but capitalism remains a dirty word. / AFP PHOTO / Jorge BELTRAN

News

World

Americas

Revised constitution would also define marriage as ‘the consensual union between two people, regardless of gender’, paving the way for gay marriages


Revised constitution would also define marriage as ‘the consensual union between two people, regardless of gender’, paving the way for gay marriages.
