LGBT rights in Cuba

In 1979, the government decriminalized non-commercial sexual relations between people of the same sex ^[1] . Currently, in Cuba you can not register same-sex marriage . Thus, the Constitution of Cuba and the Family Code define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. According to CENESEX employee Alberto Guerra, as far back as 1976, Wilma Espin suggested that the union be considered a union of two people, regardless of their gender, but the government did not support this idea ^[2] .

In 1988, Cuba underwent the first sex change operation ^[3] . Currently, sex change operations for transgender people are paid from the state budget ^{[4] [5]} (like other medical operations).

Since 1993, LGBT people are allowed to serve in the Cuban army - the Revolutionary Armed Forces ^[6] . In 1994, the state film industry released the film " Strawberry and Chocolate ", the main character of which is gay, who befriended a Cuban communist ^[7] . According to Alberto Guerra, the positive changes in relation to LGBT people are caused by the consolidation of society after the collapse of the socialist system and the economic crisis in Cuba in the early 1990s ^[2] . Then, he notes, people, including gays and transgender people, united to preserve the gains of socialism and the sovereignty of the country ^[2] . On the other hand, the US government regularly makes accusations against the Cuban authorities. In particular, according to the American report, in 1997 the Cuban police conducted mass raids on gay clubs and gay discos with detentions of visitors ^[8] .

In 2010, Fidel Castro called the oppression of gays after the revolution "a great injustice" ^[9] . According to him, he did not pay enough attention to this problem, because at that time many other problems had to be solved, “life and death issues”: armed attacks by the USA, systematic sabotage, assassination and sabotage by the CIA, the Caribbean crisis , etc. ^[9] However, Castro emphasized that he does not disclaim responsibility for discriminating citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation in those years ^[9] .

The country is annually held a "Day for the fight against homophobia," organized by the National Center for Sexual Education and the Confederation of Workers of Cuba ^[10] . His stated goal is to promote equity and social justice ^[10] . According to the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, Granma , in 1973, WHO excluded homosexuality from the list of diseases, but prejudice against gays persists, which threatens their development and full integration into society ^[10] . According to the newspaper, freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity should be respected in every person ^[10] .

In 2012, an open transgender won the municipal elections in the province of Villa Clara ^[11] .

In July 2018, a draft amendment to the constitution was adopted, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and introduced a gender-neutral definition of marriage ^[12] .

• Rainbow cuba