The Constitution of Guáimaro: The magna carta of the Cuban Republic in Arms and its legacy of unity and equality

Image via the PCC

By Katherin Hormigó Rubio, translated from the Spanish

During the Ten Years' War (1868-1878), as the fire of independence swept through Cuba’s fields, a small group of patriots came together in a humble liberated town to give the Mambi movement something even more powerful than weapons: a Republic in Arms with its own laws.

The Constitution of Guáimaro, Cuba’s first constitution, was a brief yet revolutionary document that not only structured the insurgent government but also marked the legal birth of the Cuban nation. Its significance went beyond the nineteenth century, as it represented the first effort to give the independence struggle a republican, democratic, and unified framework in the midst of war.

The First Constitution of the Republic in Arms: A Legal Milestone in Wartime

The Constituent Assembly of Guáimaro (April 10–12, 1869) was the first constituent assembly in the history of Cuba. Called to address regionalism and the absence of unified leadership that endangered the insurrection, it gathered representatives from the East, Camagüey, and Las Villas. Its main achievement was the approval, on April 10, of the Political Constitution that would govern Cuba for the duration of the War of Independence.

This document, drafted mainly by Ignacio Agramonte and Antonio Zambrana, established:

1. The division of powers (executive, legislative and judicial).

2. National sovereignty and the republican form of government.

3. Fundamental rights: "All inhabitants of the Republic are entirely free" (Art. 24), a decisive step towards the abolition of slavery, explicitly declared by the Assembly.

4. Territorial organization into four departments (East, Center, Las Villas and West).

Its importance lies in the fact that, for the first time, the Cuban Revolution had a legal expression. In the midst of the war, when "we did not have a safe inch of land on which to plant our flag," the Mambises created a provisional state that was recognized by several foreign governments. Cuban historiography notes that Guáimaro upheld the law for everyone, avoiding the arbitrary and preventing internal divisions. It was the seed of all subsequent constitutions and demonstrated that every revolutionary process needs a legal basis.

The election of the first President of the Republic in Arms

On April 11, once the Constitution was approved, the newly created House of Representatives proceeded to elect the first government. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Father of the Nation and author of the Grito de Yara, was unanimously elected First President of the Republic in Arms. Salvador Cisneros Betancourt was named Speaker of the House, and Ignacio Agramonte and others held key positions.

Céspedes, who had already led the Provisional Government of the East since 1868, accepted the position in a symbolic act of unity. His election not only legitimized his initial leadership, but formalized the republican structure. On April 12, he took the oath to the Constitution, speaking with a mix of resignation and patriotic pride. This was the first Cuban constitutional government in arms, an historic step that transformed the rebels into citizens of a nascent Republic.

The role of women: the pioneering voice of Ana Betancourt

Although women couldn’t be delegates to the Assembly because of the rules at the time, their presence was still crucial. On April 14, 1869, just two days after the swearing-in of the government, the Camagüey patriot Ana Betancourt sent a petition to the House of Representatives. Since she did not have full citizenship, her text was read by Ignacio Agramonte.

In it, Ana demanded for Cuban women the rights that rightly belonged to them: equality before the law, an end to the exploitation of women and the right to defend the Homeland "in voice and action." It was the first formal demand for female emancipation in Cuban constitutional history. Although the Constitution of Guáimaro did not explicitly include women's suffrage, its Article 24 ("all inhabitants are entirely free") opened the door to future advances. Ana Betancourt emerged as a symbol of the bold and visionary mambisa, more than a century ahead of her time.

The Importance of Unity: The Real Triumph of Guáimaro

The Assembly was not only constitutional: it was a supreme act of unity. Before Guáimaro, there were tensions between the regional chiefs: Céspedes defended a centralized command and a strong military; Agramonte and the Camagüeyanos-Villareños proposed the strict separation of civil and military powers. For the sake of unity, Céspedes gave in and accepted the Constitution approved by the majority.

As José Martí expressed years later: "Oriente y las Villas and the Centro [...] spontaneously composed the national soul." Guáimaro overcame regionalism, created a single government and presented the world with a coherent front against Spain. The unity was not only tactical: it was foundational. Without it, the Republic in Arms would have failed. "From Guáimaro, unity" continues to be an historical motto: the ability to put the Homeland before personal or regional differences.

The Constitution of Guáimaro did not last throughout the war (it was replaced by other Mambisa magna cartas), but its legacy is eternal. It was the foundation stone of Cuban nationality, the first constitutional government elected in arms, the first space where the voice of women resounded in the public debate and the practical demonstration that unity is the indispensable condition of victory.

This work was translated and shared via a License CC-BY-NC