IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 115

option of opening up to political plurality, with a Law of Association, which
should also be reformed. One reform of
Article 5 involves the elimination or
reformulation of Article 62, which posits: “None of the freedoms which are
recognized for citizens can be exercised
contrary to what is established in the
Constitution and by law, or contrary to
the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision
of the Cuban people to build socialism
and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law.”
Constitutional reform
According to Article 137 of the Constitution, [the Constitution] may only be
reformed by the National Assembly of
the People’s Power, via an agreements
adopted through a nominal vote by a
majority of no less than two thirds of the
total number of members. This is unless
it involves the political, social and economic system, whose irrevocable nature
is established in Article 3 of Chapter 1,
and the prohibition of negotiating under
aggression, threat, or coercion of a foreign power, as is defined in Article 11 If
the reform involves the membership and
powers of the Assembly or its State
Council, or rights or responsibilities consecrated in the Constitution, the reform
additionally requires ratification via a
favorable vote of the majority of those
citizens with a right to vote in a referendum called by the Assembly itself.” Reforming Article 137 is crucial and requires a technical, constitutional, analysis from the perspective of jurisprudence, sources of sovereignty, and com-

parative law, to be able to make progress
in a constitutional order that will return
sovereignty to its legitimate sources, in
order to recover or reinvent the State’s
modern and democratic nature. One of
the primary arguments is that this Article
totally denies the basis and form in
which sovereignty can be exercised according to Article 3. It states that sovereignty rests with the people who, nonetheless,
are
not
constitutionally
acknowledged for reforming the very
same Constitution of which they are
sovereign and master. The negation is
even more obvious when one considers
that Article 3 clearly establishes: “ In the
Republic of Cuba sovereignty lies in the
people, from whom originates all the
power of the State. That power is exercised directly or through the assemblies
of People's Power….” The highlighted
area has not garnered much attention in
either the Regime’s propaganda nor in
critical evaluations of the Cuban Constitution. I do not know if other constitutions are limiting on the issue of how
those who official have power can exercise it, and if they recognize the possibility of the direct exercise of power by
those who officially have power. This
analysis and enlightenment concerning
this contradiction would have fundamental consequences for the entire process of
reconstructing the State, and legal and
constitutional reforms, itself. How is it
possible that Cuban citizens can exercise
their power directly and not have
acknowledged power or mechanisms for
reforming the Constitution, which is the
expression of that sovereign power?* A

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