Cuba_ Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, assured that the Constitution proclaimed on April 10th is the continuity of the first one approved in 1869, "as it safeguards the equality and independence of the nation as pillars of the nation ", Cubadebate publishes.

In his speech proclaiming the new Magna Carta of the Republic of Cuba, in a solemn act of the Second Extraordinary Session of the IX Legislature of the National Assembly of the People's Power, Raúl described as a great privilege to pronounce the central words, being the second opportunity in which corresponded to him such responsibility.

He recalled that the chosen date was not accidental, because in 1869 a group of Cuban patriots met in Guaimaro and settled the first Constitution of the Republic in Arms, with freedom and independence from Spanish colonialism as part of its essential objectives.

"Guáimaro, Jimaguayú and La Yaya are a continuing expression of the Cuban constitutionalist tradition”, he said.

In his proclamation speech, he recalled that, despite the victorious campaigns of the Mambis against colonialism, independence had not been achieved, nor the establishment of the democratic and progressive Republic that the Cubans expected, because the victory was snatched by imperialism , of what several heroes had alerted, among them, José Martí.

Later, Raúl recalled that the validity of the 1940 Constitution was interrupted by Batista’s coup in 1952, becoming this fact the catalyst of the revolutionary movement.

"The triumph of the Revolution rescued the constitutional postulates of the 40s, which were tempered to the reality of the moment. One of the measures was the promulgation of the Basic Law. It could not be done any other way; we started making a new constitution or what we did. The biggest step was to appoint the Council of Ministers. "

"It was the Revolution that gave the land to the peasants, the one that gave free health, the one that gave education and the one that nationalized the large properties of foreign companies that exploited the Cubans."

He recalled that the 1976 Constitution reaffirmed the socialist character of the Revolution and guaranteed the gains enjoyed by our people today.

Raul called the constitutional reform of 2002, which had the majority support of the people when the United States increased its threats against the Revolution.

The irrevocable character of socialism and the revolutionary system and the pronouncement that the economic conditions could never be negotiated under threat or coercion of a foreign power were consigned in the Constitution, he stressed.

He explained that the Guidelines approved in the Congress of the Party and the agreements emanating from its first National Conference made clear the need to include modifications in the constitutional order, for which the Political Bureau created in 2013 a working group for that purpose.

Raul appreciated the results of the popular consultation process in which almost nine million Cubans participated in the most than 133 thousand meetings.

He also described as praiseworthy the work of those who facilitated the capture of the data and that allowed the success of this democratic process.

"Last December the Assembly approved the new Constitution and agreed to submit the referendum, and on February 24, our people showed commitment and support for their Revolution. The majority of Cubans belong to the generations born after the revolutionary triumph, which demonstrates the strength and continuity of the principles. "

He also specified that with this new text the revolutionary state is institutionalized and strengthened, "with a transparent action and adjusted to the law, where the equality of women and men is defended, and without any type of discrimination: these are the pillars of our society".

The also president of the Commission rector of the Constitutional Reform said that among the immediate tasks to come are the approval of a new electoral law, whose project is already working, with the purpose of presenting it in this Assembly at its next session.

In this regard, he said that, once this happens, the National Electoral Council should be appointed, and before three months the Assembly itself will elect its president, vice president and secretary; the members of the Council of State, and to the president and vice-president of the Republic.

It was reported that after three months, the President of the nation will announce the new government, with its Prime Minister, its deputy prime ministers and other members. "We will work so that all these actions materialize before the end of the present year, and at the beginning of 2020 it will take place the election of the governors and provincial vice-governors and the intendants".

The Army General assured that we arrived at the conclusion of a process that, more than a reform, required a new Constitution, that would not be limited to updating the economic and social order, but would deepen the duties and rights of citizens and others relevant aspects, thinking about today and especially the future of the nation.

He recalled that the Cuban Parliament approved the constitutional reform process on July 2, 2018.

He considered it appropriate to record in this solemn session the meritorious work of the commission and its advisors in the preparation of an essential text.

"It is not enough to proclaim the Constitution, it is necessary to make effective its precepts"

"This Constitution becomes a legacy for the new generations of Cubans. It is not enough to proclaim it, it is necessary to make its precepts effective, it will correspond to this Assembly an intense legislative activity to approve the norms arranged in its transitory dispositions ".

At another point in his speech, Raul announced that "once this act of proclamation is completed, the full text of the Constitution will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, moment in which the new Magna Carta would come into force."

He also reported that a series of measures have been taken for months to reinforce the fighting capacity of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the country's defensive system, under the principle of the war of the whole people.

"Likewise, a group of decisions was adopted to channel the performance of the economy, and to resist the new obstacles that the resurgence of the blockade imposes on us, without renouncing the development programs that are underway. We need to be alert and aware that we face additional problems, and that the situation could worsen in a few months”, he said.

The Army General warned that it is not a matter of returning to the Special Period, "today is another scenario in terms of the diversification of the economy, but we have to be prepared for the worst variant".

He stressed that it is necessary to redouble efforts to increase national production, particularly that of food; review the expenses to suppress the non-essential, and increase the efficiency in the use of energy carriers, especially fuels.

"This means to finish with the existing robbery and to assume the saving as conduct from the leaders to the base".

"In 60 years in the face of aggression and threats, we Cubans have demonstrated the iron will to resist and overcome the most difficult circumstances, imperialism does not have the ability to defeat a united people, and Cuba has already demonstrated that it could, it can and will always be able to resist. Fight and achieve victory, there is no other alternative. "

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