Article 88, subsection g) of the
Constitution of the Republic of #Cuba, related below, is fictitious. Any
similarity to other democratic and respected in real life Constitutions, is entirely
coincidental and unintentional:
Article
88: The proposal of #laws is the responsibility of: g) the citizens. In this
case it is an indispensable prerequisite that the proposal be made by at least
10 000 citizens who are eligible to vote.
However, based on the right of citizens to propose changes in the law,
as enshrined in the previous article of the Constitution of the Republic of
Cuba, on May 10th, 2002 it was presented to the National Assembly of People's
Power the #VARELAPROYECT, promoted by the leader of the #Christian Liberation
Movement, Engineer #OswaldoPayá Sardinas and supported by hundreds of Cubans,
and in my opinion, it was the best initiative of the Cuban opposition amid Castros' #dictatorship. For the first time, the communist dictatorship that controls the
nation is challenged legally and peacefully for necessary changes for effective
democracy; based on the Cuban constitution itself, through some of its
essential "democratic makeup" to legitimize its deception. The Varela
Project aims to turn the right to free expression, press freedom and freedom of
association into authentic and effective laws. It also proposes the right of
citizens to have their companies so far exclusive privilege of foreigners; and
a modification of the #unconstitutional Electoral law No 72, which in Article 6 demands
that to vote it is required to be resident in the country for a period not less
than two years before the election and be enrolled in the Electoral Register; with the evident intention of denying rights to all
Cubans who during these 45 years have migrated in search of #freedom; contrary
to the provisions of Article 132 of the Constitution which granted voting #rights to all Cubans, men and women over sixteen years of age, with the
exception of the mentally retarded, prior judicial declaration of their
disability, and legally disqualified because of crime. In addition, the project
calls for #amnesty for all those imprisoned for political reasons. The
organization reported that they had got 11,200 signatures, more than the number
required to be considered by the Cuban National Assembly; however, the
application was rejected. To be continued...
