Increased salaries and pension payments, the right to own a home and vehicle, and the chance to open a private business were among reforms leading government opponents proposed today as ways to resolve Cuba's problems.
The list of 36 proposed reforms were fashioned "taking into account the horrible economic, political, social and human rights situation the immense majority of our people suffer," said leaders of the opposition group "Todos Unidos," or "Everyone United."
"These proposals do not constitute a simple enumeration of desires, but the basis of a permanent campaign to mobilize national public opinion in the face of the necessity for urgent reforms," the group's statement said.
The proposals were announced by Vladimiro Roca, a veteran activist and former political prisoner.
Roca said the proposed reforms were drawn up to "strengthen the people around the Varela Project," a nationwide petition campaign. Volunteers delivered 11,020 signatures in May asking the Cuban parliament for the voters' initiative on human rights.
Along with freedom of the press and electoral reform, the Varela Project seeks amnesty for Cuba's estimated 200 political prisoners.
There has been no response to date. The Cuban constitution requires 10,000 signatures to put a referendum on the ballot.
The project attracted international attention this week when its lead organizer, Oswaldo Paya, went to Strasbourg, France, to receive the European Union's top human rights prize, the 2002 Sakharov Award.