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Deliberative

/ Constitucional Consensus

Pittsburgh Goes To Cuba*
Robert Cavalier
Department of Philosophy, (Carnegie Mellon University- CMU)
Co-Director, Program for Deliberative Democracy
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, EEUU

W

hile relations between the United
States and Cuba often seem frozen in
time, interesting signs of change have
been occurring here in Pittsburgh. It began with
recent visits from Cuban groups dedicated to the
political integration of Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and is culminating in the
related task of revisiting the constitution of the island State.
For Manuel Cuesta Morúa, a Cuban historian and
political scientist, Cuban society needs once
again to reflect upon the basic laws that will govern them as they move toward a more liberal society.
What distinguishes his work and that of his colleagues from other proponents of democratic reform, however, is the emphasis on the principles
and practices of deliberative democracy as both
the form and content of this ‘constitutional conversation.’
As has become painfully clear from attempts to
‘transplant’ liberal constitutional ideals into
countries without a history of democratic institutions, such societies will all too often fall back
upon sectarian and tribal affiliations.
In ways that unfortunately have echoes of our
own political divides, each side views the other as
the enemy to be defeated.
In contrast to this, Cuesta Morúa proposes to
ground the Cuban constitutional discussion in
“deliberative forums” that involve the thoughtful,
informed and engaged participation of the citizenry.

While recognizing that the basic ideals of liberty
and equality must be embedded in an overlapping
consensus document, the path to that document
begins at the local level, where these ide 2&RW