Leonardo Perez, President of the Cuban Society of Civil and Family Law.

Havana, November 23 (RHC)-- The recognition of multiparentality and socio-affective relations are features of the Cuban Code of Families draft.

An expert describes it as one of the most groundbreaking in Latin America.

In statements to Prensa Latina, the Cuban Society of Civil and Family Law president, Leonardo Pérez, explained the main differences between the text that will be submitted to the island's Parliament for approval and the current norm dating back to 1975.

"The draft recognizes new modalities of kinship such as the socio-affective one that is not regulated in the current code. It also recognizes multipotentiality and puts an end to binarism in filial matters," he stressed.

According to the expert, the text proposes greater inclusion, not only of people diverse for reasons of their sexual orientation, but also different for their age, the exercise of capacity, and plurality.

"It also weighs gender roles and those of people who are part of family models previously invisibilized," he referred.

For example, it promotes greater care for the rights of the elderly or people with disabilities. At the same time, it visualizes the phenomenon of family violence in its various forms.

"In the face of specific manifestations of this violence, the law establishes legal consequences essentially of a punitive nature for those who commit these acts," he added.

One of the main differences concerning the 1975 law is that it gives visibility to other family models and advocates respect for diversity based on the protection of human rights.

From a gender perspective, the document allows fathers and mothers to determine the order of surnames, something new in the country.

According to the expert, the text enhances the progressive autonomy of children and adolescents, understanding the possibility that they can be protagonists in certain matters fundamentally derived from the exercise of the most personal rights, to the extent that their cognitive faculties evolve and their age advances.

"Although what the child says once heard is not decisive, his or her best interests must be taken into account by any authority," he pointed out.

In general terms, the new regulation includes a regime of family communication not foreseen until now, which favors strengthening affective bonds with all the family members, whether they are blood relatives, relatives, or even close people.

The specialist also emphasized that it favors guardianship and shared care, which guarantees that both women in their role as mothers and men in their role as fathers have a leading role in the positive upbringing of their children.

Compared to other nations in the region, "I believe that the Family Code will become one of the most modern in Latin America and will place Cuba at the forefront of family law legislation," said Perez.