CubaPLUS Magazine

The Social Communication Law came into force in Cuba this Friday, the first of its kind in the country, and considered a vital component in the political, economic, social and cultural progress of the Caribbean nation.

Published in the Official Gazette of the Republic in its Ordinary Edition No. 48, on June 5, the legal norm includes regulations for social communication in the organizational, media, community, and cyberspace spheres, as well as political communication, public good, and crisis communication.

It also addresses the legal framework for the design of visual and industrial communication, the image of the country's brand, advertising and sponsorship in different branches (such as culture and sports), and communication in public spaces. It also deals with the regulation and control of social communication processes, which is the responsibility of the Institute of Information and Social Communication (ICS).

According to the vice president of that organization, Belkis Pérez, one of the main challenges in implementing this law has been to complete the payroll of the Institute in each of the country's municipalities. Pérez explained in the radio-television program Mesa Redonda that it has been "a process of collective construction and mutual learning, every day we learn something more, especially since it is an Institute that does not have previous experience."

The general director of Organizational and Community Communication of the ICS, Anamaris Solórzano, stressed that the legal instrument contributes to improving the communication system, determining the roles and responsibilities of institutional communicators, and advising so that everything works better. She indicated in the radio-television space that the regulations delimit the responsibilities and the models of action in digital public spaces of directors and members of institutions, who in correspondence with the public interest of their functions, must contemplate issues related to communication.

For her part, the deputy director general of Advertising and Sponsorship of the ICS, Lorayne Izquierdo, explained that those economic actors that are legally recognized in the country, both state and non-state, will be able to advertise. "The insertion and dissemination of advertising in the media is permitted; the holder must request the president of the Institute of Information and Social Communication to authorize the insertion and dissemination of advertising," she added.

Izquierdo specified that an important part to take into account in practice are the subjects protected by the law such as: children, women, older adults and those who are in a situation of disability. The Law of Social Communication seeks to develop communication skills in the Cuban population, facilitating better communication and creating a society capable of exercising popular control.

(Taken from Prensa Latina)