CUBA: Enormous Crowds Support Gov’t Initiative

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jun 12 2002 (IPS) - Millions of Cubans took to the streets Wednesday, called on by the government to support a proposed constitutional amendment that would head off an attempt by dissident groups to reform the country’s socialist system.

President Fidel Castro himself called for a nationwide popular expression of support for the proposed amendment, which was drafted by pro-government social organisations.

The proposal, which was made public on Monday, calls on the National Assembly “to expressly record the will of the people that the economic, political and social regime consecrated in the constitution is untouchable.”

It also asks parliament to confirm that Cuba is “a socialist state of workers, independent and sovereign,” and that “economic, diplomatic and political relations with any other state will never be negotiated under aggression, threat or pressure from a foreign power.”

Official sources estimated that 1.2 million people participated in Havana, a city of 2.2 million, in a march headed by Castro, Vice-President Carlos Lage and the president of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón.

Also taking part were a number of military officers, including General Raúl Castro, the president’s brother and, as first vice- president, in line to succeed the 75-year-old Fidel in case of lengthy illness or death.

The demonstrators set out on their several-kilometre march along the malecon, Havana’s seaside avenue, which took them past the U.S. Interests Section, at 08:00 local time. The demonstration ended at noon.

“Today we are here to show the world what true democracy is. The revolution is untouchable. Let us march together to refute the fallacies and lies of the empire (the United States). Long live socialism! Down with lies!” said a voice amplified by a powerful sound system.

A majority of the demonstrators waved Cuban flags, some carried placards with photos of Castro or the legendary Argentine-Cuban guerrilla fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara, and others carried posters with political slogans.

Similar marches were held in cities and towns throughout the country, where the proposed constitutional amendment was read out.

The pro-government organisations that proposed the modification invoked article 63 of the constitution, according to which “any citizen has the right to submit complaints and petitions to authorities and to receive a pertinent response in a timely manner.”

Observers say the proposal will be approved by the National Assembly, which has the power to totally or partially reform the constitution by a majority of at least two-thirds.

Approval of the amendment would invalidate the Varela Project, an initiative by dissident organisations that calls for a referendum in which citizens could vote on political and economic changes.

On May 10, the promoters of the Varela Project submitted to the National Assembly a petition carrying more than the 10,000 signatures required by article 88 of the constitution to organise a referendum.

The Varela Project wants citizens to be able to vote on questions like freedom of speech and association, free enterprise, press freedoms, an amnesty for political prisoners and a new election law.

The main organiser of the Varela Project, prominent dissident leader Oswaldo Payá, complained Tuesday that the government was trying to close the legal channels through which laws can be modified on citizen initiative. “What is untouchable is the sovereignty and freedom of the people,” he said.

He added that authorities “have not dared” to publish the Varela Project, which was practically unknown to the population until former U.S. president Jimmy Carter endorsed it on his May 12- 17 visit to Cuba.

In an address delivered at the University of Havana and broadcast live throughout Cuba by the government-controlled radio and television stations, Carter discussed the dissident initiative, and asked that it be published by the press.

“When Cubans exercise that right to peacefully change their laws through the direct vote, the world will see that it is Cubans, not foreigners, who decide the country’s future,” said Carter.

In the three public speeches he has made in the past few weeks, Castro has failed to refer to the views expressed by Carter, who criticised the lack of democratic freedoms in Cuba, and focused his criticism on current President George W. Bush.

Launching his “initiative for a new Cuba” on May 20, Bush conditioned any easing of the four-decade trade embargo against Cuba on political and economic reforms here, and said the Varela Project was a forerunner to “real change” in this socialist island nation.

But “the criminal blockade that (Bush) promises to stiffen only multiplies the honour and glory of our country, against which their genocidal plans will crash,” Castro said in one of his public addresses.

Nor did Castro refer to the difficult economic situation in Cuba, especially in the financial sphere, which has apparently forced authorities to adopt adjustment measures, even at the risk that they will be highly unpopular.

Electricity rationing measures and power outages have become routine again, caused by fuel shortages arising from Venezuela’s decision to suspend oil shipments due to outstanding Cuban debts to that country.

The government has also adopted price hikes in the stores that only accept dollars, in a bid to draw in hard currency for the state coffers.

Together, the price rises and blackouts paint a bleak scenario for the July-August vacation season.

No less worrisome is the possible closure of 71 of the country’s 156 sugar mills, which would affect 200,000 workers, as part of a restructuring of Cuba’s oldest industry, designed to boost yields and productivity.