Havana, Cuba.- The Cuban People”s Power National Assembly is reviewing the Draft Constitution, which was enriched by the popular consultation held from August 13 to November 15.

As part of the parliamentary sessions that started on December 16, lawmakers will analyze the details of the updated version submitted by the 33-legislator commission in charge of drafting the Constitution that would represent, if approved in a referendum in February, a total reform of the magna carta in force since 1976.

On July 22, the National Assembly approved the initial project and called for consultation, at which nearly nine million Cubans participated at 133,000 meetings in neighborhoods, workplaces and schools, and about 783,000 proposals for modification, addition or elimination were submitted.

The opportunity to comment on the document included Cubans who are fulfilling a state mission or those who reside abroad, as part of a process described as an unprecedented exercise.

In order to process and analyze the information resulting from the consultation, working groups were activated to submit the elements to the drafting commission to strengthen the project, and to ratify Cuba’s socialist nature and the leading role of the Communist Party in society.

The Draft Constitution also reflects changes in the structure of the State, with the creation of new figures, such as the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, expands individual rights and recognizes the market and many forms of property, including private property.

The vice president of the Council of States and of Ministers, Ines Maria Chapman, told Prensa Latina that the text underwent nearly 50 percent of modifications during the popular consultation, thus proving the democratic nature of the process.

The legislator and member of the editorial committee, Raul Alejandro Palmero, praised the participation of citizens at the meetings to express their opinions about the Draft Constitution.

We are living an unprecedented process in Cuba and the world, Palmero told Prensa Latina.

After the new version of the Law of Laws is completed, the parliamentarians will proceed to study it meticulously until December 20.

The second ordinary session of the 9th Legislature of the People’s Power National Assembly will begin on December 21, when the Draft Constitution will be submitted to the legislators and, if it is approved, citizens will decide whether to adopt the new Constitution or not in a referendum scheduled for late February.