The Cuban government is set to launch major changes to its centrally planned, single-party political system. The new laws could reshape everything from criminal justice to the economy. Nearly a year of debate and discussion ended last month with the approval of Cuba’s first constitutional reform since 1976. Some observers see the new constitution as making minor changes, but nothing substantive. They say the new constitution is aimed at ensuring that one of the world’s last communist systems does not get any serious reforms for years to come. But others see the possibility for a slow-moving but deep change that will speed the modernization of Cuba’s government. Cuban legal experts say they expect the government to send the National Assembly between 60 and 80 proposed laws over the next two years. They told The Associated Press that these measures, when approved, would replace laws considered outdated. The assembly is almost sure to approve all government proposals, as it has for years.
