Editing Varela Project (section)

==The Varela Project citizens' initiative==
The purpose of the Varela Project was to circulate a [[Popular initiative|proposal of law]] advocating for [[democracy|democratic]] political reforms within Cuba, such as the establishment of [[freedom of association]], [[freedom of speech]], [[freedom of the press]], free [[election]]s, [[freedom of religion]], [[entrepreneur|freedom to start private businesses]], and [[amnesty]] for [[political prisoner]]s.{{cn|date=November 2021}}

About 11,000 Cubans signed the reformist Varela Project citizens' initiative.<ref name=Altman>David Altman, ''Direct Democracy Worldwide'' (Cambridge University Press), 2011), p. 112.</ref> The [[United States Department of State|US State Department's]] 2005 report on Cuba in ''[[Country Reports on Human Rights Practices]]'' (issued in 2006) stated that "activists reported increased harassment by State Security agents. Authorities arrested and detained Varela activists, confiscated signatures, fined and threatened activists and signers, and forced signers to rescind signatures. State Security impersonated canvassing volunteers and increasingly infiltrated the ranks of activists. In May and June, Oswaldo Paya reported State Security agents visited and pressured more than 50 Varela Project signatories to retract their signatures and denounce the Varela Project activists who had collected their signatures."<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61723.htm|title = Cuba: 2005|work=[[Country Reports on Human Rights Practices]]|publisher=United States Department of State, [[Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor]]|date=March 8, 2006}}</ref> The US State Department's 2004 report on Cuba referred to the Cuban Penal Code concept of "[[social dangerousness|dangerousness]]," defined as the "special proclivity of a person to commit crimes, demonstrated by his conduct in manifest contradiction of socialist norms." The report said that "If the police decide that a person exhibits signs of dangerousness, they may bring the offender before a court or subject him to therapy or political reeducation". According to the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]], this provision "amounted to a subjective criterion used by the Government to justify violations of individual freedoms and due process for persons whose sole crime was to hold a view different from the official view".<ref name="state2">{{cite web |last1=Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information |first1=Bureau of Public Affairs |title=Cuba |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41756.htm |website=2001-2009.state.gov |access-date=15 November 2021 |language=en |date=28 February 2005}}</ref>

The Cuban government refused to consider the petition, and the [[Cuban National Assembly]]'s Constitution and Legal Affairs Committee suspended its consideration, and responded to the Varela Project with a "counter-initiative" to enshrine "irrevocable socialism" in the Cuban Constitution.<ref name=Altman/><ref name="news1">{{cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2069057.stm |title = Cuba backs permanent socialism |access-date = 24 July 2012 |date =  27 June 2002| publisher=BBC News}}</ref>  The [[BBC]] reported that, over a two-week period, 9 million Cubans took to the streets and 99% of all Cuban citizens signed a petition endorsing the constitutional amendment. The BBC said that many Cubans felt pressured into signing the government's petition.<ref name="news1"/><ref name=Altman/> An extraordinary session of the National Assembly unanimously approved the amendment in June 2002.<ref name=Altman/> The government closed schools, offices, and factory during the session, and nationally televised the speeches; no mention was made of the Varela Project citizens' initiative during the event.<ref name=Altman/>