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BACKGROUND 
There are many myths about Cuba and speculation about its future. Yet its people have not had a chance to express themselves freely -- and now, for the first time in many years, citizens have to opportunity to offer their opinions about a democratic transition and to show the path to the future. This is the National Dialogue. The Varela Project's well-known campaign for a referendum on basic freedoms has already gathered more than 25,000 signatures from Cuban citizens demanding their rights. Despite the imprisonment of dozens of its activists, this campaign continues. Cubans do not only want the rights called for by the Varela Project; they want to shape all aspects of Cuban society -- social, political, economic and cultural, all controlled by the totalitarian state. Cubans want their voices heard in shaping the transition. The National Dialogue was launched in December 2003. The following spring, Cubans both on and off the island began to participate in this process. Thousands of Cubans, in "dialogue groups," have met to discuss the Working Document, which helps to frame the debate over the transition. More than 3,000 collective and individual responses have been processed by committees on the following themes: economic change, political change, institutional change, social issues, public health and the environment, public order and the armed forces, media, science and culture, reconciliation and reuniting with the exile community. As a result of the consultations of the National Dialogue, these committees provided a summary of their findings to a commission that has produced a new proposal for Cuba’s future, the Program for All Cubans. This program is only a proposal for Cubans to continue to study, critique and perfect. It is a proposal based on the written opinions of the Cuban people and a program for a better Cuba. The support that the Cuban people need right now is solidarity with the National Dialogue. This is a dialogue without borders and without exclusions. We hope that this spirit, which has brought Cubans together in an unprecedented way, will transcend our country's borders and reach the hearts and minds of people around the world. Cuba will be the home of all Cubans.
RESOURCES
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