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Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel backs same-sex marriage

The Cuban president has spoken in favour of same-sex marriage.

By Fabio Crispim

Miguel Diaz-Canel, the president of Cuba, has backed same-sex marriage.

The Cuban president spoke in favour of same-sex marriage in an interview with the Venezuela-based television station Telesur, the BBC reports. 

During the interview, Diaz-Canel said: “The approach of recognising marriage between two people without limitations, responds to a problem of eliminating all types of discrimination in society.” 

He added: “We’ve been going through a massive thought evolution and many taboos have been broken.” 

Diaz-Canel’s comments come as Cuba is in the process of updating its constitution which defines marriage as between “a man and a woman”. 

The proposed constitution, which will be submitted for a national referendum next year, defines marriage as a union between “two people”. 

While the new constitution wouldn’t immediately legalise same-sex marriages in the country, it will make future legislative processes easier. 

Homosexuality has been legal in Cuba since 1979 but LGBT people lack protections against discrimination. Meanwhile, countries surrounding Cuba, such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, have already legalised same-sex marriage.