English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 6 October 2022 — On Tuesday, seven days after the entry into force of the Family Code, what may be the first wedding between two people of the same sex in Cuba was celebrated. Alberto and José, two young people from Manzanillo, Granma, got married on Tuesday after 18 years of civil union. … Continue reading “Two Men from Manzanillo Get Married, Applying the New Family Code”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 27 September 2022 — María Julia, a 67-year-old from Camagüey, never read the full text of the Family Code put to a referendum this Sunday in Cuba, but she voted Yes because in the nucleus of the Communist Party of which she is a member called to “support the Revolution and … Continue reading “The Yes and No Vote on Cuba’s Family Code, Keys to a Referendum with Victory and Punishment”
14ymedio, Havana, 22 September 2022 — The Cuban government has called on the population to vote yes in the referendum on the Family Code held this Sunday. Far from the monolithic opinion that has been imposed in the official discourse — and maybe in private — voting is like a Russian doll for those who … Continue reading “Cuba: Are You Voting on the Family Code?”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 23 September 2022 — In its desperate struggle for the yes to win in the referendum on the Family Code this Sunday, the Cuban Government has mobilized not only workplaces but also schools. Barely thirty kids, from nearby schools, arrived this Friday at the corner of G and Malecón, in … Continue reading “Little Enthusiasm and Expensive Food at an Official ‘March’ in Support of the Family Code in Havana”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 22 September 2022 — A scene this Thursday on Obispo Street, in Old Havana, was enough to show that the opinion of Cubans on the Family Code, whose referendum will be held next Sunday, is far from uniform. This isn’t what the Government would like, judging by the resources it … Continue reading “The Yes Vote and No Vote on Cuba’s New Family Code Collide on a Street In Havana”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar (Desde Aquí), Havana, 18 September 2022 — Although the term “spouse” etymologically only means to be attached to the same yoke, the Family Code, about to be submitted to a referendum, is reluctant to call those who are affective de facto “couples.” Those who drafted the law seem to believe that by … Continue reading “Cuba’s New Family Code: Affective Domestic Partnerships: Neither Married Nor Spouses”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 September 2022 — Cuban emigrants will not be able to participate in the referendum on the new Family Code, despite the fact that the Government has disguised this exclusion by stating that it has 1,000 polling stations and 124 constituencies abroad. In the official TV program Mesa Redonda [Roundtable] airing this Thursday, … Continue reading “Cuban Exiles Will Not Be Able to Vote on the Referendum on the New Family Code”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 15 September 2022 — There are about ten days left before the third referendum promoted by those who have been governing in Cuba for more than 62 years. The first occurred in 1976, to approve the first Constitution of the Republic drafted by the Communist Party; the second, in 2019, when … Continue reading “A Poisoned Referendum on Cuba’s New Family Code”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, July 22, 2022 — The National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP, unicameral parliament) of Cuba unanimously approved this Friday the definitive version of the so-called Family Code, which will be submitted to a popular referendum on September 25. The deputies supported version 25 of this legislative package to regulate interpersonal relationships, which … Continue reading “Cuban Parliament Approves the Final Version of the New Family Code”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 March 2022 — No one had read the new Family Code this Monday when the debate was held in a neighborhood south of Morón, in Ciego de Ávila, in anticipation of a referendum on a date yet to be determined. At the very least, sincerity reigned in the atmosphere at the beginning of … Continue reading “Unanimous Submission on Cuba’s New Family Code from a Neighborhood Meeting in Ciego de Avila”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 February 2022 — Perhaps one of the most notable absences from the released versions of the new Family Code is what refers to the unity of its members. The right to live together, the right not to be arbitrarily separated. The State should provide its citizens with access to material resources and legal … Continue reading “Anamely Ramos and the Family Code”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 January 2022 — Cubans now have the new Family Code available for review, which will be submitted to popular consultation between February 1 and April 30. The text, which was approved in its twenty-third version by the National Assembly on December 21, was published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette. In it, … Continue reading “Cuba’s Family Code, Including ‘Gestation Solidarity’, Is Ready for Review”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 November 2021 — The draft of the new Cuban Family Code, in its 23rd version, has eliminated the exception that authorized the marriage of adolescents between 16 and 18 years of age. “We celebrate the end of Child Marriage in Cuba, an achievement of independent feminist activism,” claims the platform #YoSíTeCreo (I … Continue reading “Cuba’s New Family Code Eliminates Child Marriage”
The newspaper Granma insists that “it’s a code for the rights of women”. But in 1919, as many women proportionally graduated from the University of Havana as graduated from universities in the U.S. And with the Revolution, Cuban women are forced to raise their children under the mores of socialism, with the slogan “We will … Continue reading “Family Code: Socialism’s Straight Jacket / Cubanet, Miriam Celaya”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, 2 June 2022 — Cuba registered 185 public protests in May, 108 less than in the previous month, according to the report of the Cuban Observatory of Conflicts (OCC) released this Wednesday. The report ties this “decrease” with the entry into force of the Island’s new Penal Code, with its “greater … Continue reading “Decrease of Protests in Cuba Coincides with Approval of the New Penal Code”
