Constitution of Cuba

Since attaining its independence from Spain, Cuba has had five constitutions. The current constitution was drafted in 1976 and has since been amended.

1901 Constitution

Main article: 1901 Constitution of Cuba

The 1901 Constitution was Cuba's first as an independent state. It contained the Platt Amendment, which allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba's affairs to protect its independence.

The 1901 Constitution was indeed a carbon copy of the Constitution written at La Yara in 1896, and met with fierce opposition from its principal author Major General José Braulio Alemán who strongly opposed the Platt Amendment.

It was Alemán's contention that Cuba should be and remain "Libre y Soberana", Free and Sovereign; and that the Platt Amendment just traded Spain's strong arm tactics on the island for the yoke of American imperialism.

1934 Constitution

Cuba's second constitution came into effect in 1934. This document was intended to be a provisional constitution.

1940 Constitution

Main article: 1940 Constitution of Cuba

In 1940, during the de facto presidency of Fulgencio Batista, a constitution was created. It provided for land reform, public education, minimum wage and other progressive ideas. Some of its provisions were not implemented in practice. Following a coup d'etat by Fulgencio Batista in 1952, parts of this constitution were suspended.

Prior to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro and the other revolutionaries, through several documents, such as "History will absolve me" (1952), the "Manifiesto de la Sierra", etc. claimed that their chief goal was to reinstate the Constitution of 1940, a promise which was never honored after their victory.

The last surviving signer of the 1940 Constitution, Emilio Ochoa, died in Miami, Florida, on 27 June 2007.

1976 Constitution

After 16 years of extra-constitutional rule (1959–1975), used to consolidate its power, the revolutionary government of Cuba sought to institutionalize the revolution. The Socialist Constitution of 1976 was adopted by referendum on February 15, in which it was approved by 97.7% of voters. The document came into effect on February 24, 1976.

Original provisions

This constitution called for a centralized control of the market, and committed the State to providing its citizens with access to free education and health care. It also required that parents, regardless of their own beliefs, inculcate their children with socialist values. The state had the power to regulate the activities of religious institutions on the island, and the private ownership of media companies was forbidden.

Later amendments

In the late 1980s, as the Eastern Bloc collapsed, the laws of Cuba changed again to respond to the new conditions of the Special Period. The constitutional amendments of 1992 granted foreign corporations a limited right to own property on the island if they took part in joint ventures with the government. It also provided for non-discrimination based on religious belief (i.e., allowing persons with religious belief to join the Communist Party of Cuba).

Poster urging citizens to vote to make the socialist system permanent and irrevocable by amending the constitution

In 2002, the Cuban Constitution was again amended to stipulate that its socialistic system was permanent and irrevocable.

See also

• Cuban law
• Constitution
• Constitutional law
• Constitutional economics
• Constitutionalism

External links

• Constitution of Cuba 1992 English language version
• Constitutions of Cuba Original Spanish language Text, by the Political Database of the Americas.
• CONSTITUCIÓN DE LA REPUBLICA DE CUBA Original Spanish language Text of 2002, by the Portal Cuba.
• REPUBLIC OF CUBA, 1940 Constitution in English translation from the original legal text.
• The Cuban Constitution of 1976, revised 1992