HAVANA, Cuba- The referendum on the New Family Code, which plans to legalize same-sex marriage and surrogacy, will be held on September 25, the Cuban parliament announced this Friday, hoping that this “inclusive and democratic” text “is finally approved.
At the proposal of the Council of State, the consultation will be held “on Sunday, September 25,” reported its secretary, Omero Acosta, during an ordinary session of parliament, which approved the new regulations.
The code was submitted between January and April to a broad popular consultation that led to the modification of almost 48% of its text, according to official media.
Acosta specified that the referendum, which has a “binding nature,” will be held “a week before” among nationals residing outside the country.
“The final decision will remain in the hands of the sovereign,” but “we are convinced that at the time, the majority of the Cuban people will make this revolutionary, inclusive and democratic code their own,” added Acosta.
He specified that through a “free, equal, direct and secret” vote, in the referendum Cubans must answer a single question: Do you agree with the Family Code?
The norm will be approved if it obtains “more than 50% of the valid votes deposited in the polls.”
The Family Code, which will renew the law in force for 47 years, plans to introduce equal marriage, as well as the recognition of several fathers and mothers in addition to the biological ones and “solidarity gestation” or surrogacy.
“This is a very exciting moment for all of our people, committed to the most advanced ideas,” said deputy Mariela Castro, daughter of leader Raúl Castro and director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), which has promoted for more than three decades the fight for the rights of the LGBTI community.
Mariela Castro admitted that these are complex issues that generate “scares” and “contradictions.” But “I really have to recognize that as a society we have grown, we have enriched our heritage, our knowledge of law, of rights, and especially in this case of family law,” he noted.
In a Cuba still marked by machismo and homophobia, whose government persecuted and marginalized homosexuals in the 1960s and 1970s, same-sex marriage is a burning issue.
CENESEX previously promoted same-sex marriage in the proposal for the Constitution approved in 2019, which enshrined the rights of that community.
However, its inclusion in the new Magna Carta was postponed due to the strong rejection of the evangelical churches and other social sectors.
