Varela Project
The Varela Project was a citizen's initiative undertaken by Oswaldo Payá Sardińas of the Christian Liberation Movement and others in Cuba. It relied on provisions in the Cuban constitution, adopted after Fidel Castro came to power, which provides for citizen initiatives on a petition of 10,000 signatures. "Proyecto Varela" was named after Félix Varela, a Cuban religious leader. Their proposed legislation (if it had been accepted by the government, and approved by a vote of the people) would have established freedom of association, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, free elections, freedom of worship, freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners. Project members gathered more than the required signatures for a referendum to take place, but were rebuffed by the Castro government. Oswaldo Payá, a long-time opponent of the Castro government, remains free, but the resulting crackdown by the authorities has resulted in the incarceration of 75 political prisoners with terms of up to 28 years. While the Varela Project was lauded by some outside observers such as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the European Union, which awarded Payá the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, other observers, notably the 2004 Democratic nominee for President of the United States, John Kerry, are skeptical about the effectiveness of the project's tactics.[1]
External links Proyecto Varela -Official Web Site for Proyecto Varela. The front page says "Cuba will be reborn free and in peace!" Text of the petition from the website of the Miami Herald
Reference Adapted from the Wikinfo article, "Varela Project" http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/wiki.php?title=Varela_Project
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