Cuba Has Spoken And They Want Gay Marriage
The Cuban government has backed a national referendum for the Family Code, which would legalise same-sex marriage and open doors for gay couples to adopt children. The referendum was supported by 3.9 million voters, which amounts to almost 70% of the voters, reports ABC News.
CUBA WANTS TO “PAY A DEBT” TO GAY FAMILIES
Cuba has long been the focal point for much of the West’s vitriol against socialism and communism. After the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro took hold of Cuba’s leadership for decades with an ostensibly progressive (yet, flawed in practice) approach to government.
For many years, Cuba’s policy towards LGBTQIA+ minorities was a harsh and exclusionary one with social persecution and forced labour as the established norm, reports Reuters. Cuba’s Roman Catholic influences still linger, but this latest referendum, that was endorsed by leadership, demonstrates an overwhelming support for queer minorities.
“Justice has been done. It is paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this law for years,” says President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
In 2022, Cuba became the first Latin American country to celebrate LGBTQIA+ history month and prepared events to honour the queer community and their history throughout the month of May. With this latest referendum, Cuba is set to become the 12th country in the Americas to legalise and recognise same-sex marriage. Among these countries is Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, the United States, certain states in Mexico and Bolivia.
Although Cuba has come a long way from forcing LGBTQIA+ people into labour camps, the vote reflects an air of conflict among the population. For a Western country like Australia, 70% is a resounding confirmation but for Cuba, to receive a 33% ‘no’ vote for a government-sanctioned referendum demonstrates a notable dissidence. Congratulations are owed to the LGBTQIA+ community as the world now turns to see what further progress Cuba’s leadership brings for minority groups.
