14ymedio, Havana, 9 December 2021 — The Cuban regime reversed a provision that was in force for only one year and six months and that prevented its officials from having, in addition to the Cuban, another nationality at the time of being appointed as head of State or Government.
This Wednesday, according to the official press, a new provision of the State Council modified article 18 of decree-law number 13 of 2020 on the Work System with State and Government cadres and their reserves, which required officials to be a “Cuban citizen, permanent resident in the national territory and not have another citizenship.”
Of course, the Council of State specified that the appointment of a leader with dual nationality will have to be approved by the President of the Republic, “at the proposal of the corresponding authority, except in the cases provided for in the law,” according to the State newspaper Granma.
The current decree-law specifies, among other requirements, that in order to hold a position within the State or Government, the person must be identified “with the ideology and ethical principles of the Cuban Revolution, and act with modesty, simplicity, transparency, honesty and due discretion.”
The Constitution of the Island approved in 2019 establishes in Article 36 that “the acquisition of another citizenship” does not imply the loss of the Cuban one, but those who have this recognition, “while they are in the national territory, are governed by that condition, in the terms established in the law and they cannot make use of a foreign citizenship.”
The law also establishes that the president, vice president and prime minister of the Republic must be Cuban citizens “by birth” and not have another nationality.
The measure approved this Wednesday could be focused on Cuban emigrants who want to return to the country at some point, but it cannot be ruled out that it is only a nod to international public opinion and will not be put into practice.
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