Cuba Overhauls Constitution For First Time Since Cold War
By Jenny FriedlandCuba Overhauls Constitution For First Time Since Cold War
By Jenny FriedlandThe Cuban government is expected to release the results of a referendum on a new constitution for the country on Monday. The new constitution, previously passed by the country’s National Assembly, would replace a constitution from the Cold War era. Among its highlights, the new document would recognize private property, foreign investment and the Internet, as well as establish a presumption of innocence in the justice system. The new constitution also remains silent on the issue of same-sex marriage, eliminating language from the old constitution that defined the union as between a man and a woman. While some Cubans and foreign analysts celebrate the proposed new constitution as a sign of progress, others insist the changes are merely superficial. With us to discuss is María de los Ángeles Torres, a professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She, like most experts, expects the referendum to pass by a wide margin.