A people says yes to love

On 25 September 2022, people queued outside polling stations all over Cuba. The vote was on a new Family Code with more than four hundred articles. It was to allow same-sex couples to marry and to adopt children. It also included rights for grandparents, protection for older people, measures against gender-based violence and the possibility of surrogacy, provided it was not for profit.

By Cuban standards this was an unusual vote. The one-party state rarely puts individual laws to a vote, and elections there usually end with majorities of over ninety per cent. This time there was open opposition. Above all, the growing evangelical churches mobilised against the bill and warned of a weakening of the traditional family.

The road there was long. As early as the constitutional reform of 2019, the government had wanted to make marriage equality possible. After fierce opposition from church circles, it backed down at that time. The new code was then discussed in thousands of neighbourhood meetings. In July 2022 the National Assembly passed the text. But the people were to have the final say.

One prominent advocate was Mariela Castro. The daughter of former President Raúl Castro headed the National Centre for Sex Education at the time and had campaigned for queer people for years. President Miguel Díaz-Canel also campaigned for a yes. When casting his vote, however, he admitted that parts of society did not yet understand the law.

The result came the following day. Around two thirds of the valid votes were yes. For Cuba that is a narrow result; for the queer community it was a historic victory. Díaz-Canel wrote on Twitter that love was now law. A few days later the Family Code came into force, and same-sex couples could marry on the island.