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 includes equal marriage, adoption by homosexual couples and surrogacy (“solidarity” in this text).
The regulations went through an extensive popular consultation between February and April, in which 6.4 million people participated, said the Cuban Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera, before the plenary of the ANPP, among whom were the president of the country, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and his predecessor, Raúl Castro.
Silvera explained that as a result of this popular consultation, “47.93% of the general text and 49.15% of its articles were modified.”
If approved in September, the Family Code will replace the regulations in force since 1975.
The Family Code is the only regulation submitted to a referendum among the 70 updated after the new Constitution of 2019, including sensitive laws like the new Criminal Code.
During the consultation, 336,595 votes were recorded, and 434,000 proposals were collected. Silvera indicated that 61.9% of citizens pronounced themselves in favor of the code.
The Government has deployed an important media campaign that is flooding television screens and newspapers, and there are even special programs dedicated to explaining every detail of the 471 articles of the Code, in order to get majority support.
The new Family Code has generated controversy among those who don’t accept gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, such as some religious groups.
It is also rejected by some feminist groups that demand a specific law on gender-based violence and the criminalization of femicide. The Government says that there are already laws that punish these crimes.
Some opponents and activists have also taken a stand against this regulation because it comes from the Government.
No surveys on the degree of support for the Family Code have been disseminated among the Cuban population.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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