Politics
Slow evolution
The Cuban National Assembly is gathering in Havana for its biannual session. On the agenda today will be amendments to the constitution, as well as a catch-up on the state of the economy. In addition to this, president Miguel Díaz-Canel is expected to announce his new cabinet. On some levels the constitutional amendments, which will legalise the ownership of private property, is giving structure to events that are already unfolding in the country. “Cuba has been going through the process of economic reform since 2011 when Raúl Castro took over the presidency but it hasn’t come in the constitution,” says Dr Helen Yaffe, lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow. “What has happened is the spontaneous development of small and medium-sized businesses but there is so far no legal framework through which they can operate.” The biggest ambition for the new cabinet will be to rebuild Cuba’s ailing economy without conflicting with the rules of the socialist state.
For more insight and analysis on the Cuban constitution listen to Monday's instalment of The Globalist on M24.