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Cuban Constitution

A Constitution enriched by the contributions of the Cuban people

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

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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.

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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

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Cuban Revolution

Speech by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, at the central act to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, in Santiago de Cuba

After 60 years of struggle, sacrifices, efforts and victories, we see a free, independent country, the master of its own destiny
Speech by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, at the central act to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, in Santiago de Cuba, January 1st, 2019, “Year 61 of the Revolution”

Author: Raúl Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu
january 2, 2019 18:01:31

As part of Our America, our respect and solidarity with sister nations has, and will be, invariable.

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Photo: Estudios Revolución

(Council of State transcript / GI translation)

SANTIAGO women and men;

Compatriots of all Cuba:

We gather today to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the revolutionary triumph of January 1st, and we do so again in Santiago de Cuba, cradle of the Revolution, here in the Santa Ifigenia cemetery, where the immortal remains of many of the best children of the nation are venerated, very close to the tombs of the National Hero, of the Father and Mother of the Homeland, and of the Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution.

I do not come here to speak in a personal capacity; I do so in the name of the heroic sacrifices of our people, and of the thousands of fighters who gave their lives over more than 150 years of struggle.

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Improving the Cuban Constitution

We Will continue to be victorious Speech by President Miguel M. Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President

We will move forward. And we will continue to be victorious
Speech by Miguel M. Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, at the close of the Second Ordinary Session of the National Assembly of People’s Power’s Ninth Legislature, Havana International Conference Center, December 22, 2018, “Year 60 of the Revolution”

Author: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez | internet@granma.cu
december 24, 2018 18:12:41

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Photo: Estudios Revolución
(Council of State transcript, GI translation)

Dear Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Party Central Committee;

Compañeros Machado and Lazo;

Deputies;

Compatriots:

Our first words on Educator’s Day are to congratulate and recognize Cuban teachers who, more than their time, dedicate their life’s purpose to us.

The year 2018 is almost at an end, and we gather again for the traditional embrace and evaluation of a crucial period in the history of the Cuban Revolution.

The year we bid farewell to today will remain in our national memory as the year in which a new generation, gradually and progressively, in a clear expression of continuity, began to assume the principal leadership tasks, with the good fortune of maintaining the guidance of the Historic Generation, in particular, of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.

During the months since the Assembly sessions of April, we have relied on that guide in the face of the most difficult and unexpected challenges, and found in his confidence and collective leadership the fundamental resources to come here today to render accounts, committed to the solution of the problems that most concern the people, which are those that absorb every minute of our days, and every element of our energies.

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XVI ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana

Full text of speech by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, delivered during the inauguration of the 16th ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana

The greater homeland calls us to unite and continue forging our second, definitive independence
Full text of speech by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, delivered during the inauguration of the 16th ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana

Author: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez | internet@granma.cu
december 17, 2018 17:12:42

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The Alliance is an unquestionable paradigm of solidarity, cooperation, and consensus among its members, Cuba’s President said. Photo: Juvenal Balán
Speech by Miguel M. Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Republic of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, during the inauguration of the XVI ALBA-TCP Summit, in Cubanacán Protocol Hall, December 14, 2018, Year 60 of the Revolution

(Council of State transcript-GI translation)

Esteemed Presidents, Prime Ministers, and heads of delegations, distinguished guests:Esteemed colleague David Choquehuanca: Who among us does not remember that December 14, 2004, the gala in Carlos Marx Theater, and Fidel placing the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Order on Chavez’s chest?

That day, Fidel evoked what Céspedes said: “Venezuela, which opened the path of independence to Spanish America and traveled this path gloriously until the march concluded at Ayacucho, is our illustrious teacher of freedom …”That December 14, ALBA was born and Cuba celebrated.Who among us can forget the joys of that day when Chávez and Fidel signed the birth certificate of a new integration project between equals?Who among those who lived it is not moved by the memory of the brotherhood those men shared, who not only had great dreams, but gave them poetic names and made them come true?During one ALBA Summit, Chávez recalled the day when Fidel named the mission that, thanks to this integration alliance, has already provided surgery for different ophthalmological pathologies to more than 2,800,000 Latin Americans and Caribbeans. Nothing less than a miracle.We also heard him talk about the dawn that inspired him to name ALBA, the event we celebrate today.It is hard to believe that all this would emerge in the mind of the Bolivarian leader in December of 2001, with Venezuela faced by an employer lock-out, a prelude to the coup that would take place the following year.After a long night thinking about alternatives to counter the imperialist ALCA project (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas-FTAA), the light of dawn appeared and with it the idea. A meeting of the Association of Caribbean States was held on Margarita Island and Chávez announced his project. Fidel, who was there, not only applauded with enthusiasm, but on his return to Havana, wrote requesting details.Chávez admited to him that it was only an idea. Three intense years later – facing coups, a blockade, and aggression of all kinds, the two sign a declaration providing for the founding of ALBA.

Continue reading Full text of speech by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, delivered during the inauguration of the 16th ALBA-TCP Summit in Havana →