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PROYECTO
VARELA
FUNDAMENTALS
The Constitution of the Republic guarantees the citizens the
right to propose changes in the legal order, and it also offers
the procedures, so that by means of thepopular consultation
the people decide sovereign and democratically on the accomplishment
of changes and the content of such.
Payá is the founder of the "Proyecto Varela",
a petition campaign that tried to use a loophole on the framework
of the Communist Constitution. He seeks to take advantage
of Art.
88g, which permits any citizen who
collects 10.000 signatures to send a petition to the National
Assembly of the Popular Power, for a referendum on any subject.
The Proyecto Varela contains five such demands: 1. Freedom
of association, speech and the press; 2. Liberation of some
political prisoners; 3. The rightto sell labor freely and
establish businesses; 4. The right to present candidates for
election; 5. Free elections within a year if the referendum
is successful.But "Proyecto Varela" fails to make
its first article or focal point, the derogation of the 1976
Communist Constitution, which takes all the liberties away.
This worthiness of the present laws of containing in
themselves the keyto change the law, so that they adjust to
the necessities and demands of improving the society, is completed,
if the people that legitimately are equipped to do it, can
activate this key.
This form
of civic action is the connection by excellence between the
popular will and the political and legal structures of the society
that practices the democracy.The operation of this connection
is a sign of the society’s capacity of pacific and gradual evolution,
of its capacity to change and to advance progressively in a
harmonic and total development, and in the elevation of the
quality of life.
By this, we propose to make the changes from the law. The
law is always perfectible You
can not try to make perfect, a Constitution that can not be
changed, there is not a perfectible democracy in Cuba, Cuba’s
constitution is irrevocable as per the Constitutional Reform
approved in June 26,2002 with a "Referendum" made
by Castro with the signatures of 8,198,237 electors. Excerpt
from the Special Disposition Chapter XV, Art.
137 "...and it is proposed that
the socialist characteristics and the political and socialsystem
contained within be declared irrevocable, as a dignified and
categoricalanswer to the exigencies and threats of the imperialist
government of the United States in May 20, 2002." and
must
be based on the public welfare and on the total accomplishment
of the person. Butdiverse criteria exist on the changes that
are necessary in our society in the political, social and
economic spheres, and furthermore, opposed opinions about
the relevance of these changes. The answer is not simple and
it demands of the good will and the responsible position of
all the Cubans. Then, are the changes necessary? Tosolve this
question is the key. But the wise and right answer can only
be givenby the sovereign people in Popular Consult, a Referendum.
But why these questions, these proposals? By answering to
these proposals the people provide themselves with the legal
instruments, by means of the exercise of their rights, the
practice of solidarity, and thefulfillment of their duties
in order to have a greater participation in the decisions
that affect them, in the determination of the course that
takes our Nation andin the construction of a better society.
With this platform it is the same people who decide if there
are changes or not, and who make the changes as protagonist
and subject of his own history.
It’s not the people but Cuba’s Communist Party, the one who
decides when, and if there are any changes as per Art.
5 of the Communist Constitution
of 1976: "Cuba’s Communist
Party, Marti’s and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard
of the Cuban nation, is the superior leading force of the
society and the State, that organizes and guides the common
efforts aimed to achieve the high ends of the construction
of the socialism and the advance toward the communist society."
We are not
offering a project or model of society, but proposing the first
step to create new and better conditions of right. And thus,
among all the Cubans, they will create and develop their own
project of society according to their sovereign will, from the
spiritual values of our Nation and the experiences of their
history, and to respond to the challenges that the arrival of
the new millennium raises.
Tosign this request does not mean, in any way, to support
or to have ties to any association or group neither to establish
commitments with the people who wrote it up andthose who propose
it. When a Cuban signs this request of Popular Consultation
he is making use of the rights that the present Constitution
gives him Noneof
the liberties or rights can be exercised against the Communist
Constitution of 1976. As per Art.
62 "...None of the liberties
recognized to the citizens may be exercised against what is
established in the Constitution and the laws, neither against
the existence and aims of the socialist State, nor against
the decision of the Cuban people of constructing the socialism
and thecommunism. The infraction to this principle is punishable."
to make requests, and contribute freely and
with solidarity to improve our society, tothe solution of
the problems that our people suffer and to prepare a better
future for our children, here, in our Mother country.
The
FIVE PROPOSALS are self-explanatory.
THE
RIGHTS TO FREE EXPRESSION AND FREE ASSOCIATION
These rights and all the Human rights exist before nobody
formulated them or wrote them, you and all your fellow men
have these rights because you are human beings, This
is why we think that we should not be taking these rights
to the ballot. All
men are born with these rights and you do not have to ask
any Government for them. The
Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, of which Cuba is
a signer, dictates in its Art.
19 "Every individual has
the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and
to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers." because
you are of association and expression, they comprisethe worthy
and responsible participation of the citizen in the society.
When inthe proposal it is clarified that the law must guarantee
these rights TheCommunist
Constitution will give you these rights as long as you are
in favor of their model of society. As per Art.
53: "...It is recognized from
the citizen the freedom of speech and press, in conformity
to the aims of the socialist society. The material conditions
for its exerciseare given by the fact that the press, the
radio, the television, the movie industry and other parts
of the media for massive diffusion are state or social property,
and can not be in any case of private property, which assures
that it will beused exclusively by the working people and
the society interest. The Law regulates this liberties."
Also see Art.
62 mentioned before preserving
the respect to the human dignity, the Human Rights and the
public welfare, we anticipated to any unfounded fear against
the free expression and free association, since nobody can
exert their rights attempting against the human dignity and
the rights of others or against public welfare. No one can
as well say, that he defends public welfare annulling the
exercise of these rights, since the search of public welfare
is to work for conditions of life in a society where the people
are totally realized and this is impossible where the human
rights are not guaranteed.
Besides of
a right it is a necessity that in the society exist independent
organizations of temporary or permanent character, so that the
citizens can defend their interests and participate in the decisions
of the State and in all the social tasks contributing with their
efforts and initiatives in all the fields. Pluralism is not
imposedby decree, but it must be respected and guaranteed by
law, Cuba’s
Communist Party is the only recognized or legal Party, there
is not pluralism as per Art.
5 of the Communist Constitution of
1976: "Cuba’s Communist
Party, Marti’s and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard
of the Cuban nation, is the superior leading force of the society
andthe State, that organizes and guides the common efforts aimed
to achieve the high ends of the construction of the socialism
and the advance toward the communistsociety." because
it is a reality that not everyone thinks the sameor in a particular
way about everything and it is a right of the people to be associated
and to express themselves according to their ideas and interests
where nobody by its own ideas or by any condition will be able
to nullify this right in others.
Ifthe law guaranteed the free association and expression,
this law would be more adjustable to the Constitution; the
fact of the diversity of opinions present in the society would
be recognized, it would open room to criticism, it would impulse
the creativity, the dialogue, a more participating democracy,
the exercise of the popular sovereignty and therefore, the
bases of National Independence will be fortified. TheUniversal
Declaration of Human Rights, of which Cuba is a signer dictates
in its Art.
19 "Every individual has
the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and
to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through
anymedia and regardless of frontiers." This
is why we think that we should not be taking these rights
to the ballot, all men are born with these rights you do not
have to ask to any Government for them.
THE
AMNESTY
The existence in our country of jailed people by political
reasons obeys as much to actions in which the involved people
broke the law, In
Cuba, none of theindividuals known as political prisoners
are convicted under the charges of being against the Government;
instead they are usually charged with common crimes, so before
the eyes of the International Community, Cuba has fewer political
prisoners than in reality. The most common of this "charges"
are: resistance to arrest, disorderly conduct, disrespect,
contempt, etc.
as to abuses of authority, arbitrary actions, and also violations
of the law on the part of the authorities. Many have been
stopped from practicing Human Rights that the present laws
do not recognize. This step is not a revision, it is a passage
of renovation of all the society that becomes aware of this
necessity.
The reconciliation
cannot occur by decree, but if it is wished by our people and
they indicate it thus in the Referendum, by approving the Amnesty;
it would open, by this act of pardon and justice, a new stage
for a community that will love to surpass all the negative things
of the past and to give to itself the opportunity to be born
again. If we, the Cubans, cannot agree about the past, then
we must agreeabout the future so that it will be one of peace,
brotherhood and freedom, for our children’s own good.
THE
RIGHT OF THE CUBANS TO FORM COMPANIES
With the
approval of this proposal we will obtain a bigger participation
of the citizens in the task of satisfying the population’s necessities
of services and goods; therefore freeing the human capacities
to work in order to rise the level and the quality of life,
the independence of the people and the families and to contribute
to the development of the Nation. Theexercise of this right
within the regulations of the law for the common well-being
will be a determining factor in the overcoming of the insecurity
and the instability of the citizens’ economic activity and it
will eliminate the embezzlements, the illegal appropriations
and robberies to a great extent, the corruption ofemployees
and civil employees, the privileges by abuse of authority, the
parasitism, the speculation and many of the causes of the differences,
until now unsolvable, between the worker who tries to survive
with a wage, and the one who, by the speculation or position
of authority attains a standard of life economically superior.
This opening will be a stimulus to leave behind the so expensive
negligence and lack of production, the unemployment in all
its forms and the poverty in which moreand more Cubans are
sinking when they are left without options, or with a wage
of very little real value. This poverty and the lack of options,
is one of the causes of the desire to emigrate of many Cubans,
it
is the lack of freedom and the constant repression, and not
the lack of options of Castro’s Stalinist police State, which
makes the Cubans flee the island prison. The Cuban People
were not emigrants before Castro’s Revolution turned into
a Tyranny.
phenomenon that brings as much upset to the Cuban family.
From here the currency, and with it the wage of the workers,
would begin to take their right value.
The satisfaction of the people’s necessities of consumer goods,
the control, and the democratic property by the workers of
the production means are not reduced to the state’s property,
which is one and not the only form of socialproperty. The
long stages of shortage, inefficiency and precarious conditions
that we have endured demonstrate that it is necessary an opening
to the citizen's participation in the economic activity, the
management and the property. This opening must guarantee the
right of the Cubans to form private companies of individual
property, as well as cooperatives, such as mixed companies
between the workers and the State. Will this be more difficult
to obtain as a right for the Cubans and among Cubans, than
what has been granted to foreign companies: the right, not
only to participatebut to have, in some cases, the total property
of a company, as it is mandated by the law that regulates
the foreign investments? Castro’s
Government requires foreign companies in joint ventures with
state entities to hire and pay workers through the State.
These exploitative labor practices force foreign companies
to pay the Government as much as $500 to $600 per month for
the workers, whilethe workers in turn receive only $8.25 (165
pesos) for a maid, per month; $9.50 (190 pesos) for a bilingual
clerk, per month; and $10.75 (216 pesos) for a gardener, per
month.
The
law will be able to harmonize the citizens’ responsible and
creative participation in the economic task, with the social
orientation of a private company, with the respect to the
consumer, the humanization of the work, the guarantees of
the rights of the workers and with the social security. This
way the State will be able to count with more resources to
guarantee, without depending on the foreign aid, the gratuitous
services of public health and education These
are two of the biggest lies or myths, that the Communist Revolution
and its countless resources have created around Castro’s regime.
Education and health are "free" but then, you have
access to an indoctrinated Educational System,where you are
bombarded from the earliest age with the Communist Doctrine.
Onlyif you are among the most fervent admirers of this doctrine
you will be able tocontinue your studies after passing 12th
grade; and only if you are a member ofthe UJC or Union of
the Communist Youth you will be able to start a career at
the University. Of course, you can not choose the career of
your preference, you make a list of the few available, and
then you will be assigned to the one that you"deserve"
after the Communist Party’s Secretary review your records.
That
is, if you are not going to "Los Camilitos" or "La
Lenin": two of the "private", yes private,
schools designated only for the children of the "Elite",
consisting of the General’s and Colonel's children. On the
other hand, the children"pay their debt with the Revolution"
for their "free health" by attending slave camps,
and devoting as many as 45 days of their summer vacation to
farm work, laboring 8 hours or more per day. They do this
from 3rd to 12th grade and when they start the University,
then they are expected to go to the "voluntary work"
camps and
the other social services and would offer them, not like a
paternalistic structure, but like administrator of the communal
properties, to which all the citizens contribute responsibly,
exerting their rights and practicing solidarity.
A NEW ELECTORAL LAW
Tounderstand this proposal it will be necessary to look at
two key elements of the electoral process:
1. The candidatures or nomination of candidates, that
is, the way of determining who will be the citizens among
whom the electors will choose their representatives, as delegates
or as deputies.
2.The elections. We recommend the study of the current Electoral
Law if you do not recall its positions and to analyze this
proposal before making a decision.
Asper the current law, the candidates to Delegates to the
Municipal Assembly ofthe Popular Power are nominated by vote
in public assemblies of the electors ofthe corresponding district.
However, the candidates to Delegate to the Provincial Assemblies
are nominated at each Municipal Assembly of the Popular Power
basedon propositions of the correspondent Candidature Municipal
Commission, that at the same time receives proposals directly
from the Provincial and National Candidature Commission.
The electors, as per the current law do not directly participate
in the candidates’ nomination to Delegates of the Provincial
Assemblies nor to the candidatesto Deputies of the National
Assembly of the Popular Power and besides, only onecandidate
is nominated for each position as Deputy to the National Assembly
of the Popular Power.For example, if to at each municipality
corresponds five deputies to the National Assembly of the
Popular Power in the electoral ballot only appears five candidates
and each elector may vote for one, for some, for none of them
or for all of the five. The electors can not choose their
five deputies among a larger number ofcandidates. Note
that all of these candidates, Delegates and Deputies belong
to the same Communist Party, the only Party legally able to
present aspirants and candidates, as per Art.
5 of the Communist Constitution
of 1976: "Cuba’s Communist
Party, Marti’s and Marxist-Leninist, the organized vanguard
of the Cuban nation, is the superior leading force of the
society and the State, that organizes and guides the common
efforts aimed to achieve the high ends of the construction
of the socialism and the advance toward the communist society."
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