As the authorities of the National Electoral Commission have announced, the popular consultation for the Family Code will begin soon. This is how it is established: the Code must be approved in a referendum, after suggestions from the population are analyzed and incorporated into the text in a process that will be extended to all constituencies in the country.
It is based on a preliminary project in whose elaboration highly trained specialists from various spheres of social life in the country have participated.
Some jurists, professors and activists consider that it is a comprehensive text, which due to its scope and practical implications is at the forefront of what has been legislated on the subject in the region.
But the last word will be the citizens, in what must be a serious and responsible exercise of participation.
It would be convenient to arrive at the meetings that will take place in all the communities of the country with full mastery of what is being proposed. Much has been said about the preliminary draft of the Code (which is available on various public sites), but not everyone is fully aware of what it proposes. And not a few are encouraged to discuss the matter based on generalities or opinions of third parties, marked by specific interests.
It would be convenient to take into account the need for an updated law that takes on the challenges of contemporary times and guarantees the rights of all.
It is not a minor matter. Cuban families, which cover a wide spectrum of compositions, need an integrating law that responds to numerous needs and attends to potential conflict situations.
In this consultation process, doubts can be clarified, the scope of the bill will be explained and everyone’s suggestions will be collected, in order to reach certain consensus in the final draft of the text that will be submitted to a referendum.
But this prior consultation is not the referendum, and should not be assumed as a space for confrontation (there are spaces designed for debate).
The Family Code requires the contribution of citizens. And citizens must assume the process with the maturity and civility that it deserves. In the end, the law will belong to everyone and for everyone.
