Source: Fox News
-
Image 1 of 2 Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel, left, Cuban First Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa, second left, and Cuban Vice President Ramiro Valdez, center, attend the session to debate the draft of a new Constitution, at the Convention Palace in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Dec.
21, 2018. The draft will be submitted to a popular referendum on Feb. 24, 2019. Cuba’s government said Tuesday that language promoting the legalization of gay marriage will be removed from the draft after widespread popular rejection of the idea. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
HAVANA – Cuba’s National Assembly on Saturday approved an update of the country’s constitution, the final step before a national referendum expected to approve the new charter in February.
The new constitution contains more continuity than change, although it recognizes the de-facto modernization of Cuban society over the last decade. The constitution maintains Cuba as a centrally planned economy ruled by a single Communist Party, but recognizes private property for the first time and paves the way for a separate referendum on legalizing gay marriage.
It also creates the role of prime minister alongside the current president, as well as provincial governors.
Legalizing private property is a formal recognition of significant change in Cuban society since former President Raul Castro permitted home and auto sales, creating a booming real-estate market, and allowed more than half a million Cubans have permits to work as entrepreneurs.
Hundreds of thousands more work full or part-time in the private sector without licenses.The new constitution also recognizes worker-owned…
The post Cuban assembly approves draft of new constitution appeared first on FeedBox.