Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro and niece of Fidel Castro, set a new precedent in the Cuban parliament by voting against a workers' rights bill she felt didn't go far enough to prevent workplace discrimination against people with HIV or with unconventional gender identities.

According to The Associated Press, this is the first time that a lawmaker has "no" vote in the National Assembly, which approves laws by an unanimous show of hands twice every year.

"This is the first time, without a doubt," said Carlos Alzugaray, a historian and former Cuban diplomat, to the AP.

The Dec. 20 vote was not publicized much until after the measure was implemented into a law this summer.

Arturo Lopez-Levy, a Cuban analyst who lectures at the University of Denver, said it might "open doors for other important initiatives."

Mariela also hinted there could be more debate over the issue in the 612-seat assembly.

"There have been advances in the way things are discussed, above all the way things are discussed at the grass-roots level, in workplaces, unions and party groupings," she said in an interview posted in late last month on the blog of Francisco Rodriguez, a pro-government gay rights activist, reports The Guardian. "I think we still need to perfect the democratic participation of the representatives within the Assembly."

However, critics don't think it will set a precedent.

"I would say that this is more a sign of what Mariela can get away with than a sign of what your everyday parliamentarian can get away with," said Ted Henken, a professor of Latin American studies at Baruch College in New York.

The new labor legislation bans discrimination based on gender, race and sexual orientation in the workplace. However, it does not include a provision to protect people with HIV or an untraditional gender identity.

"I could not vote in favor without the certainty that the labor rights of people with different gender identity would be explicitly recognized," Castro said in the interview.