Cubans have voted in a referendum to allow same-sex marriage. They also voted for adoption by M/M and F/F couples, allowing surrogacy and more rights for non-biological parents.

Nearly 67 percent of voters approved the change. The result of the referendum is a big step for Cuba, a country where gay men were still sent to labor camps in the 1960s and 1970s.

The referendum was about a new version of the Family Code from 1975. Based on the preliminary result, election officials speak of an ‘irreversible trend’. The chairman of the electoral council said on state television: “The family code has been ratified for the people.”

The government conducted a major media campaign prior to the referendum. According to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the new family code is “a fair, necessary, current and modern norm that gives rights and guarantees to all people.”