In a country where the Communist Party remains the maximum authority and laws are made to be violated, the Cuban Communist Party has issued a new constitution for the island. After several months of secret meetings, General Raul Castro has unveiled Cuba’s new Magna Carta.



What’s new

· Communism will not be the guiding ideology. Instead Socialism will prevail. Yet not the Democratic Socialism of European countries but the Russian, Venezuelan and North Korean Leninist Socialism.

· Same sex marriage will be allowed.

· Some level of private property will be tolerated, as long as Cubans don’t enrich themselves

· The introduction of presidential term limits, two consecutives five-year terms, with 60 years as the maximum age to aspire to the presidency and 35 the minimum.

· The reestablishment of the position of prime minister in addition to the president, perhaps an attempt to weaken both positions with the prime minister more focused on internal developments while the president focuses on external affairs.



What’s Old

· The new constitution reaffirms the irrevocability of Cuba’s political and economic system with the Communist Party as the only legal party, holding the vanguard role in society.

· Political repression will continue unabated. Human and labor rights will not be respected; media, education and travel rights will be directed by Cuba’s Communist Party and its Political Bureau. Cubans will not be able to choose their leaders or vote in multi-party elections.

· The command economy will continue with little respect for private property and with major enterprises in the hands of the government.

· A judicial system controlled by the Party and managed by State appointed judges and lawyers will dispense “Socialist” justice.

· Laws will continue to be drafted by the Politburo of the Communist Party and duly ratified and implemented by an obedient Popular Assembly.

· In foreign policy Cuba remains an ally of Venezuela, Iran, North Korea and Russia and an enemy of the U.S. and continues to blame the embargo for Cuba’s ills.



Objectives

· Guaranteeing the survival of the regime beyond General Raul Castro’s life

· Averting a struggle for power after General Castro’s death

· Providing for a smooth succession

· Strengthening the role of the Communist Party as the guiding force in society

· Attempting to attract foreign investments

· Giving hope to the Cuban people that the new structures will alleviate the island’s problems and improve economic conditions

· Maintaining State control of the economy, preventing the development of an independent entrepreneurial class and an independent labor force.



Prospects

· The Cuban economy is unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future

· Life in Cuba will continue to be very difficult with little hope for significant change

· The limited reforms and the accompanying new rules would limit the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cubans

· Repression and violations of human rights will continue

· Military control of society is reaffirmed with older military officers continuing to exercise power while watching over the Party and the governmental structures

· Unwilling to follow either the Chinese or the Vietnamese models, the regime is opting for a Tropical-Leninism closer to the North Korean model.

· Opposition to the U.S. and support for Venezuela, Iran, Russia, China and North Korea remain the cornerstone of Cuba’s foreign policy.





*Jaime Suchlicki is Director of the Cuban Studies Institute, CSI, a non-profit research group in Coral Gables, FL. He is the author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro & Beyond , now in its 5th edition; Mexico: From Montezuma to the Rise of the PAN , 2nd edition, and of the recently published Breve Historia de Cuba . He is a highly regarded consultant to the public and private sector.