Posted on 06/15/2002 1:49:09 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
HAVANA -- Millions of Cubans are being asked to publicly affirm Fidel Castro's four-decade-old socialist system as "untouchable" in a government campaign defying calls for democratic reforms.
Over four days beginning today, all Cubans 16 years of age and older will be asked to sign a petition saying they support a constitutional amendment declaring the nation's economic, political and social systems "untouchable" -- meaning they cannot be changed.
Opposition activists say the effort is Castro's answer to their own civil liberties campaign, known as the Varela Project.
Most Cubans first heard of Varela last month in a speech by former President Jimmy Carter, who was visiting the island.
Government officials expect most Cubans to sign, but a number of island dissidents complained that no political or economic system should be engraved in stone for future generations.
"We believe that no generation of Cubans has the right to declare untouchable any economic, political and social system, even when it is already consecrated in the constitution," the Moderate Opposition's Reflection Group said in a fax to The Associated Press. "This is an extremely grave affair for the present and future of Cuba."
The signature campaign at 120,000 stations nationwide will be run by groups representing women, university students, workers and every neighborhood block on the island, among others.
"No compatriot will be denied the opportunity" to back the amendment, said Castro, who established the socialist system two years after his 1959 revolution.
Hundreds of workers labored Friday in suburban Cacahual, cleaning streets and building a stage for a political rally this morning.
While the campaign will be supported by Cuba's Communist Party and Union of Young Communists, Castro insisted, "It will not be a state activity."
Cuba's Communist Party -- the only political party legally recognized here -- is linked strongly with the state, with many top leaders holding both government and party posts.
The mass organizations -- including the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution that watch each block, the Federation of Cuban Women and the Confederation of Cuban Workers -- officially are autonomous, but play key roles in supporting and protecting the socialist system.
Castro, 75, repeatedly insists Cuba will remain socialist after his death.
His designated successor is his brother, 71-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro.
Opposition activists have mounted a signature campaign for a referendum asking voters whether they favor such civil liberties as freedom of speech and assembly, the right to own a business, electoral reform and amnesty for political prisoners.
"It's sad that the government keeps feeding the image of popular support," said veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez.
Castro will announce the results of his campaign and deliver the signatures to the National Assembly, the unicameral parliament loyal to him.
The National Assembly will hold a regular session July 5, official media said Friday.
Presumably, the proposals for the constitutional amendment and the Varela Project will be discussed then.
Castro has said nothing publicly about the Varela Project.
Its backers collected more than the 10,000 signatures constitutionally required to propose a referendum and submitted them to the National Assembly last month, but have received no formal response.
Cuba's Communist Party -- the only political party legally recognized here -- is linked strongly with the state, with many top leaders holding both government and party posts. The mass organizations -- including the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution that watch each block, the Federation of Cuban Women and the Confederation of Cuban Workers -- officially are autonomous, but play key roles in supporting and protecting the socialist system.
Castro, 75, repeatedly insists Cuba will remain socialist after his death. ***
Gosh, you think?
Castro Leads 1 Million Cubans in Anti-U.S. March - March or Lose Rations!*** Factories and schools shut down, bringing Cuba's tattered economy to a halt. Even the Central Bank closed for the day. The marches were the climax of three weeks of rallies led by Castro to reject demands made by President Bush that the island's one-party state open up to elections and a free market. Backed by anti-Castro exiles in Florida, Bush vowed recently to maintain trade sanctions against Havana until it permit reforms, despite mounting pressure from big business to lift the embargo and allow Americans to travel freely to Cuba.
It was not clear how much choice Cubans had to stay away from the marches. Residents who have lived through dire economic hardships since the collapse of the Soviet Union a decade ago lose benefits if they shun official events by the ruling Communist Party. Cubans were driven at dawn to the marches in buses and open trucks in a massive operation.***
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