Getting to know Cuba - Part 2

By Michey Foley

Mickey Foley, a former delegate to Cuba, recounts his experience with the WFPSC in the country through a series of chronicles, beginning with his departure from his home in Minnesota and continuing with his daily encounters, impressions, and reflections on the island. Here is the second part of this series. Find the first part here.

A moment of reflection for delegates

Cuba: Day 5

That morning in the “classroom” we met with Guillermo Rodríguez, a lawyer and mediator in the International Arbitrage Court for the Cuban Chamber of Commerce. He was on the team that drafted the new Family Code of the Cuban Constitution, which is what he was there to talk about.

Even before the Revolution, Cuba was socially progressive. This is partly because the Roman Catholic church wasn’t as strong in Cuba due to the mixing of Spanish, African and indigenous cultures. Divorce was legalized in 1917, one of the first countries to do so. (Even now, there are countries in Latin America that haven’t legalized divorce.) Cuba was an early adopter of female suffrage too. It was the 34^th country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2022. Same-sex couples can also adopt.

After the Revolution, public policies changed radically, and there was a need to change the laws to reflect and reinforce those policies. Too much faith was put in the ability of policy to change behavior. There also wasn’t enough regulation to go with the policies.

The first Family Code was passed in 1975, but it no longer matches the current reality of Cuban society. It also needed to be updated to conform with new UN conventions and charters on the rights of women, children and the disabled. The convention on women’s rights was passed in 1979. The Charter of Children’s Rights was passed in 1989. (The US was the only country not to sign it, saying it didn’t want to limit parents’ rights.) In 2006, the UN passed a Charter of Disabled People’s Rights.

The UN convention set the minimum age of marriage at 18. Under the old Cuban law, 14-year-old females and 16-year-old males could get married with their parents’ permission. At the time, 95% of married 14-year-old girls were with foreigners. They may’ve been trafficked. Trafficking carries a prison sentence of 20+ years in Cuba, but it’s rare.

Rodríguez said all family laws in the world are linked to the idiosyncrasies of local families and communities. Everyone has their own ideas of how families should operate. For the new Family Code, they needed to find “norms that more or less could cover the interests of everyone.” Each draft of the Code was subjected to public comment and voted on. There were 5 consultations with the people before the final draft.

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