The Cuban Constitution has historical character because it was born during the War of 1868 when the population, consolidated in nation, organized itself for the first time juridically and this way it was supported in all the stages of the Cuban Revolutionary Process.
Camagüey extols on having spoken about Constitutions, the first moment in its development took place in Guáimaro, six months after kicked off the War of Ten Years, on April 10th, 1869. There kicked off the Assembly where met representatives of all the regions in war, in order to achieve the unit of the pro-independence movement and to create a government by which there were ruled all those who were fighting for the independence of Cuba.
But our history is richer and on September 16th, 1895, Puerto Príncipe would serve again as impartial area, this time would be Jimaguayú in homage to the hero Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz fallen down in this place.
A few months before the exploit of 1895, there had joined to the struggle three provinces of the center and the east of the country, and four army bodies had been constituted: two in the East, under the control of Antonio Maceo and Bartolomé Masó respectively; another in Camagüey and the last one in Las Villas, without the coordination necessary for the revolutionary effort.
It was necessary to achieve the unit of all the rebellious strengths under the guidance of a mambí government and to arrange legally the National State in Arms. The plenary was made up by twenty members, five for every army, with a quite low age average. Three lawyers, five doctors, three reporters, eight of diverse professions and a landowner.
Inside the Assembly three were three about the organization of the Republic of Cuba in Arms. One of them, defended by Rafael Portuondo Tamayo and other oriental delegates, were supporting the Maceo thesis in favor of the powers centralization. This would grant the direction of the army the biggest quantity of faculties compatible with the institutions of the republic.
The project of Fermín Valdés Domínguez and Enrique Loynaz del Castillo, influenced by Martí´s thought, was about the separation of functions and the granting of wide faculties both for the government and for the army, who did not have to interfere between themselves.
On the other hand Salvador Cisneros Betancourt wanted to prepare a possible tyranny thanks to the absolute control of the civil power on the military man. This intention, very similar to the passed in Guáimaro (1869) was to the margin of the reality of the war and it was pushed back.
In favor of the unit they reached a consensus to approve a formula of arrangement to satisfy the candidates of every project. But in it, in a very subtle way, there interfered ambiguities that would hinder the march of the war.
The solution was to adopt a composition of a government to unite the executive and legislative powers, eliminating the creation of a House of Representatives as in Guáimaro. The above mentioned government did not have to interfere the military.
In turn, Antonio Maceo had left elected the General Máximo Gómez as General in Head of the Liberating Army and as General Substitute, as well as they designated Tomás Estrada Palma, who was occupying the delegate's charge of the Cuban Revolutionary Party since Martí´s death, also like Plenipotentiary Delegate of Cuba abroad.
On the one hand, the Constitution approved in Jimaguayú was inspired by the Baraguá spirit and already in the preamble it was declaring "the separation of Cuba of the Spanish monarchy and its constitution as independent State".
In its article 24 it was establishing that if in two years the war had not been won, had to be convened to a representatives' new assembly that was endorsing or modifying this Great Letter, with that there were saved the problems caused in the Constitution of Guáimaro with the absence of this article.
This way Camagüey was opening its doors again for the cause of the liberation. Lucky the villagers to have been born in a ground that lived so much courage and consecration for the freedom. Jimaguayú, stays then there, as if it was a part of a book of our blood, of Camagüey... of Cuba.
Translated by BA in English Language, Manuel Barrera Téllez
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