The Cuban Constitution is one of the best constitutions in the world, but at the same time its flaws are terrible.
Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. The official language
is Spanish, as well as Haitian Creole and English. Ethnically 64% are
white, 26% are mixed, 9% are black. 59% are Christians, 23% are
non-believers and 17% believes different folk religions. At 1,09,884
square kilometers, the state has a population of about 1,11,81,000.
According to the constitution, state and religion are separate.
Citizens have the freedom to believe in any religion, but also have the
freedom to disbelieve. The use of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass
destruction or cyber warfare is prohibited. No one will face
disappearance, torture or disrespectful punishment. Everyone has the
right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable
conditions of work and to protection against discrimination. Right to 8
hours work per day with break is guaranteed along with weekly leave and
annual leave. Everyone is covered by social security, even those who do
not have enough income or those who do not have income. The proceedings
of the court will be held in public.
These are positive aspects. Now let's discuss the negative aspects.
The "socialism" enshrined in the constitution is irrevocable. The
"Communist Party of Cuba" is everything in Cuba. Any second party is
banned here. This has been clarified through articles 4, 5, 6. Democracy
cannot be established by changing the constitution of Cuba. In
accordance with Article 229 of the Constitution, the Constitution
clearly states that "socialism" established by article 4 is beyond the
scope of any constitutional amendment.
Admirable Articles of Cuba's Constitution
Article 3
In the Republic of Cuba, sovereignty resides nontransferably with the people, from which all of the State's power emanates. The people exercise this power directly and via Assemblies of People's Power and other organs of the State that are derived from them, in the form and according to the norms established by the Constitution and the laws.
Article 4 (Part of it)
Citizens have the right to combat through any means, including armed combat when other means are not available, against any that intend to topple the political, social, and economic order established by this Constitution.
Article 15
The State recognizes, respects, and guarantees religious liberty.
The Republic of Cuba is secular. In the Republic of Cuba, the religious institutions and fraternal associations are separate from the State and they all have the same rights and duties.
Distinct beliefs and religions enjoy equal consideration.
Article 16
The Republic of Cuba bases its international relations on the exercise of its sovereignty as well as on the antiimperialist and internationalist principles in accordance with the interests of the people and, in consequence:
- j. Classifies wars of aggression or conquest as an international crime, recognize the legitimacy of battles of national liberation and armed resistance to aggression, and considers it our international duty to act with solidarity with the assaulted party and with the people who fight for their liberation and self-determination;
- k. Promotes complete and general disarmament and rejects the existence, proliferation, or use of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction or those with similar effects, as well as the development and use of new weapons, including autonomous weapons and new forms of waging war, such as cyberwarfare, that transgress International Law;
- l. Repudiates and condemns terrorism in any of its manifestations, in particular, State terrorism;
Article 20
Workers participate in the processes of economic planning, regulation, management, and monitoring.
The law regulates the participation of labor collectives in the administration and management of state-governed business entities and budgetary units.
Article 23 (Part of it)
The following are socialist property of the people: the lands that do not belong to individuals or cooperatives composed of these individuals, the subterranean areas, mineral deposits, the mines, the forests, the waters, the beaches, the means of communication, and the natural resources both living as well as nonliving within the exclusive economic zone of the Republic.
These goods may not be transferred as property to natural or legal persons and are governed by principles that render them unalienable, imprescriptible, and unseizable.
Article 24
Socialist property that belongs to the entire population includes other goods, such as general interest infrastructure, key industries, and economic and social facilities, as well as other goods that are strategic for the country's economic and social development.
These goods may not be seized and may be transferred as property only in exceptional cases, provided that it is for the purpose of the country's economic and social development and does not affect the political, economic, and social foundations of the State. They require the prior approval of the Council of Ministers.
The transmission of other rights over these goods and their management will take place according to that which is prescribed by law.
Budgeted institutions and state-governed business entities possess other goods that are socialist property of the entire population, over which the rights that correspond and accord with the provisions of the law are exercised.
Article 42 (Part of it)
All people are equal before the law, receive the same protection and treatment from the authorities, and enjoy the same rights, liberties, and opportunities, without any discrimination for reasons of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ethnic origin, skin color, religious belief, disability, national or territorial origin, or any other personal condition or circumstance that implies a distinction injurious to human dignity.
All people have the right to enjoy the same public spaces and service facilities.
Likewise, they receive equal salary for equal work, with no discrimination whatsoever.
Article 43
Women and men have equal rights and responsibilities in the economic, political, cultural, occupational, social, and familial domains, as well as in any other domain. The State guarantees that both will be offered the same opportunities and possibilities.
The State encourages the holistic development of women and their full social participation. It ensures the exercise of their sexual and reproductive rights, protects them from gender-based violence in all of its forms and in all spaces, and creates the institutional and legal mechanisms to do so.
Article 48
All people have the right to personal and familiar privacy, to their own image and voice, their honor, and their personal identity.
Article 50
Correspondence and other forms of communication between persons are inviolable. They may only be intercepted or registered through a warrant issued by a competent authority in the cases and with the formalities established by the law.
Documents of information obtained in violation of this principle do not constitute evidence within any legal proceeding.
Article 51
People may not be subject to forced disappearance, torture, or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 55
People's freedom of press is recognized. This right is exercised according to the law and for the good of society.
The fundamental means of social communication, in any of their forms, are the socialist property of all people or of political, social, and mass organizations, and may not be categorized as any other type of property.
The State establishes the principles of organization and operation for all means of social communication.
Article 56
The rights of assembly, demonstration, and association for legal and peaceful purposes are recognized by the State whenever they are exercised with respect to public order and in compliance with the precepts established by the law.
Article 57
Any person has the right to profess or not profess their religious beliefs, to change them, and to practice the religion of their choice with the required respect to other beliefs and in accordance with the law.
Article 61
People have the right to direct complaints and petitions to the authorities, who are obligated to process and respond to them in a timely and pertinent manner that is based on the term and procedure established in the law.
Article 64
The State recognizes the right to work. Any person that is able to work has the right to obtain a dignified employment according to their choice, qualifications, aptitude, and the demands of the economy and society.
The State organizes institutions and services that facilitate the ability of working families to carry out their responsibilities.
Article 65
All people have the right for their work to be remunerated according to its quality and quantity, which expresses the socialist principle of distribution: "from each according to their ability, to each according to their labor."
Article 67
Workers have the right to a break, which is guaranteed through the eight-hour workday, a weekly break, and annual paid vacations.
The law defines other cases in which exceptions may be made to approve alternative workdays or working systems, with the necessary proportion of time devoted to work and breaks.
Article 68
People who work have a right to social security. The State, through the social security system, guarantees adequate protection when a person finds themselves unable to work due to age, maternity, paternity, disability, or illness.
Likewise, in accordance with the law, the State protects grandparents or other relatives of minors in their care and attention.
In the case of a worker's death or retirement, the State grants similar protection to his or her family, in accordance with that which is established in the law.
Article 69
The State guarantees the right to safety and health at work through the adoption of suitable means to prevent work-related accidents or illnesses.
Any person who suffers an accident during their labor or contracts a work-related illness has the right to medical attention, subsidy, or pension in the case of a temporary or permanent incapacity to work, or to other forms of social security protection.
Article 70
The State, through social assistance, protects persons without resources or shelter, those who are unable to work, those without family members who are able to care for them, and the families that, due to low income, require it, according to the law.
Article 76
All people have the right to water.
The State works to guarantee access to potable water and to its sanitation, with the required compensation and rational use.
Article 77
All people have the right to a healthy and adequate diet. The State works to achieve the food security of the entire population.
Article 78
All people have the right to consume quality goods and services that are not counter to their health, the right to access truthful and adequate information about these items, and the right to receive a dignified and equitable treatment in accordance with the law.
Article 85
Violence within the family, in any of its manifestations, is considered destructive to the people involved, to families, and to society, and is punishable by law.
Article 94
All people, as a guarantee of their legal protection, enjoy due process in the legal sphere as well as the administrative sphere and, consequently, enjoy the following rights:
- a. To enjoy equality of opportunities in all processes in which they participate;
- b. To receive legal assistance in order to exercise their rights in all processes in which they participate;
- c. To provide pertinent means of proof and request the exclusion of those that have been obtained in violation of established law;
- d. Access to a competent, independent, and impartial trial, when appropriate;
- e. To not be deprived of their rights except by the ruling of a competent authority or final judgement of a court;
- f. To bring a pertinent action or procedure against the judicial or administrative rulings, when appropriate;
- g. Proceedings without undue delay, and
- h. Redress for material and moral damages and compensation for resulting harm.
Article 95
Furthermore, in criminal proceedings, all people have the following guarantees:
- a. To not be deprived of liberty, unless by a competent authority and for the legally prescribed amount of time;
- b. To have access to legal assistance from the start of the proceedings;
- c. To the presumption of innocence until declared guilty through a final sentence of a court;
- d. To be treated with respect for their dignity and physical, mental, and moral integrity, and to not be a victim of violence and duress of any kind in order to coerce a testimony;
- e. To not testify against oneself, one's spouse, civil partner, or relatives within the fourth degree of consanguinity and second of affinity;
- f. To be informed of an accusation against them;
- g. To be judged by a legally pre-established court and in virtue of previous laws regarding the crime;
- h. To communicate with their relatives immediately, in the case they are arrested or detained. In the case of foreigners, a notification to their consulate will be made, and
- i. If they are the victim of a crime, to enjoy protection of the exercise of their rights.
Article 153
The audiences of all courts are public, except in cases in which State security, morality, public order, or respect for the person harmed by the crime or their family necessitate that they are held behind closed doors.
Article 204
All citizens with the legal capacity to do so have the right to contribute to the management of the State, either directly or through their elected representatives within the organs of People's Power and to participate, for this purpose, in the form prescribed by the law, through periodic elections, plebiscites, and popular referendums that will be free, equal, direct, and secret. Every elector has the right to a single vote.
Article 205
Voting is a citizen's right. The vote is exercised voluntarily by Cuban citizens, both men and women, that have reached the age of sixteen, except:
- Those who have been judicially restricted from exercising their legal capacity due to a disability;
- Those who have been judicially disqualified, and
- Those who do not meet the requirements for residency in the country as prescribed in the law.
Facts of Cuba's Constitution
Article 4 (Part of it)
The socialist system that this Constitution supports is irrevocable.
Article 5
The Communist Party of Cuba, unique, Martiano, Fidelista, and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, sustained in its democratic character as well as its permanent linkage to the people, is the superior driving force of the society and the State.
It organizes and orients the communal forces towards the construction of socialism and its progress toward a communist society. It works to preserve and to fortify the patriotic unity of the Cuban people and to develop ethic, moral, and civic values.
Article 6
The Union of Young Communists, a vanguard organization of the Cuban
youth, is recognized and supported by the State, contributes to the
education of the youth in the revolutionary principles as well as the
ethics of our society, and promotes their active participation in the
edification of socialism.
