A campaign seeking political change in one-party Communist Cuba will soon be launched with backing from domestic and international groups, a prominent dissident says.
The campaign seeks to gather the 10,000 signatures necessary under Cuban law to submit a constitutional reform measure to the National Assembly.
"It is more important to change the nature of power than to change those exercising power," dissident Manuel Cuesta Morua told reporters as he unveiled the effort on Wednesday.
Cuba's constitution does not allow more than one political party.
The dissidents will likely press hard to have the communist island adopt a multi-party political system.
Dissident groups are of several minds on whether economically devastated Cuba should go back to its 1940 constitution, make changes to its 1976 current socialist model or just opt for a new charter altogether.
Cuesta Morua said the reform bid would bring together several Cuban opposition groups and actively launch in May with events in Cuba, the US states of Florida and New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Spain.
In May 2002, the Christian Liberation Movement headed by the now deceased political activist Oswaldo Paya introduced a similar initiative in the legislature.
At the time, it was the single biggest public political confrontation the Communist government had faced in decades.
But the National Assembly declined to take up the measure.
Instead, lawmakers adopted a constitutional reform stating that the socialist nature of the Cuban regime was "irrevocable," suggesting no political opening was possible under the current constitution or regime.
"Today, we think conditions are better for citizens to support an initiative of this kind," Manuel Cuesta said.
"Now, there is basically a political no man's land in terms of where the government's legitimacy stems from."
There was no immediate public comment from the government led by President Raul Castro, 82.
