Cuba: From revolution to the present day

8/13/2019 Cuba: From revolution to the present day

1/13

To what extent did Cuban politics in the 1990s maintain the Cuban revolutionary ideals of the

1960s?

Speaking to the Cuban National Assembly in 1993 Fidel Castro

declared, Socialism is not simply more ust, more honorable

and more humane in e!ery sense, it is the only system that

"ould pro!ide us "ith the resources to keep our social

con#uests$% 1 Castro$s speech illustrates the Cuban leaders$

continuing commitment to the socialism that he put into action

on &anuary 1 st 19'9% (his discourse "ill discuss "hether the

Cuban go!ernment maintained the Cuban )e!olutionary ideals o*

the 19+ $s in the 199 $s% (he discourse "ill *ollo" a thematic

structure% Firstly the achie!ements o* the early re!olutionary

go!ernment "ill be looked at% (his "ill be *ollo"ed by

e-amining the special period$ in detail% (he e**ects o* the

*all o* the So!iet .nion "ill be looked at *ollo"ed by looking

at America$s attitude to Cuba in the special period$% (hen

the economic re*orms o* the 199 $s "ill be e-amined "hile

simultaneously addressing the #uestion at hand and noting the

e-tent to "hich Cuban socialism has been maintained% (his "ill

lead to a conclusion%

/n &anuary 1 st 19'9 Fidel Castro and his re!olutionary mo!ement

took control o* the small Caribbean island o* Cuba% (he nature

o* Cuban politics and the li!es o* millions o* Cubans "ere to

be changed monumentally% 0ears o* coloni ation, dependency and

sel*2indulgent go!ernments had ad!ersely a**ected the li!es o*

1 Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 293


2/13

the ordinary Cuban ci!ilian% (he *ledgling re!olutionary

go!ernment set out to target those grie!ous social problems

"hich had plagued Cuban society *or generations$, and to gi!e

Cubans back their history and their national identity% Castro

outlined his political agenda on /ctober 19'3 "hilst on trial

*or his part in the &uly 19'3 attack on the 4oncada 5arracks%

Castro de*ended himsel* making a t"o hour speech, "hich became

kno"n as the mani*esto *or Castro$s re!olutionary mo!ement$% 3

6n his speech, Castro$s rhetoric in!oked images o* socialism

and nationalism% Castro stated the intellectual author o*

this re!olution is &ose 4arti, the apostle o* our

independence$% 7 5y e!oking the memory o* &ose 4arti, Castro

placed himsel* and his mo!ement on the side o* the Cuban

peasantry and "orking class% Castro$s rhetoric "as

re!olutionary as it spoke o* the complete uprooting i* the old

social order, he proclaimed the re!olutionary struggle "as *or

the unredeemed masses to "hom8nothing is gi!en e-cept deceit

and betrayal those "ho yearn *or a more digni*ied and ust

*atherland "ho are out o* "ork8"ho li!e in miserable huts8and

go hungry8and "hose e-istence "ould mo!e anyone "ithout a

heart o* stone to compassion$% ' Castro$s speech laid out his

plans *or socialism in Cuba, he noted si- problems that needed

to be addressed and that "e "ould take immediate steps to

2 Lievesley, G. (2004). The Cuban Revolution: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Basingsto e:Palgrave !"!illan. Page 923 Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 1#04

Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 149# $"%a&', P. (199 ). Cuba: Confrontin the !." #$bar o. Basingsto e: Palgrave !"!illan. Page#


3/13

resol!e$% + (he immediate problems Castro identi*ied "ere: ;and,

industriali ation, unemployment, education and health%


4/13

"ere aimed at *ul*illing e!ery Cubans *ull potential, areas

addressed included: *ull employment, decent housing, the

pro!ision o* running "ater and minimum nutrition standards$% 9

Castro "as conscious to the *act that his go!ernment had to

act and implement socialist pro!isions be*ore cynicism kicked

in, 1 he implemented re*orms to keep the re!olutionary spirit

ali!e% Among the re*orms implanted "ere reduced rents, cuts in

mortgage prices and "age increases% 4ass support continued *or

Castro throughout the + $s as a result o* re*orms and enhanced

national pride in standing up to the yolk o* .%S imperialism%

As described, the early 19+ $s "as a time o* great idealism

and action "ith the Cuban Bo!ernment cementing Socialist

re*orm% (he aim o* the Cuban go!ernment in the 9 $s "as to

keep the spirit o* the + $s socialism ali!e in a time o* great

hardship% (he 199 $s "ere a time o* great change in the small

Caribbean island o* Cuba% (he spiritual leader o* the Cuba$s

)e!olutionary Bo!ernment, Fidel Castro, spoke in &anuary 199

emphasi ing a ne" problem *aced by Cuba% Castro stated there

may be other *orms o* aggression *or "hich "e must prepare%


5/13

o* CA4@ hit Cuba hard, Castro stated the collapse o* the

So!iet 5lock ad!ersely a**ected us terribly in material terms%

@!er since the triumph o* the re!olution "e ha!e recei!ed co2

operation and solidarity *rom the So!iet .nion and the rest o*

the Socialist campD% 1 (he Cuban go!ernment "as tied to the

So!iets economically, politically and ideologically% (he

Special eriod$ "as a test to the Cuban go!ernment$s

pro!ision o* Socialism%

@conomically Cuba relied on the So!iets and CA4@ hea!ily *or

imports and e-ports% Cuban oil had been the li*e2blood o* the

re!olution since the + $s and "as purchased at *a!orable

rates% 6n 199 the oil supply *or the So!iets dried up and

Cuba *aced purchasing oil at higher prices on the "orld

market% Added to lack o* oil "as a decline in *ood imports,

machinery, medicine, *ertili er and animal *eed, import

capacity declined =3E *orm 19 9 to 199 13 % (he lack o* imports

led to rationing and austerity measures% Food "as rationed,

buses s"apped *or cars, tractors s"apped *or horse and cart%

(he end o* CA4@ meant the loss o* *a!orable e-port subsidies%

Citrus, nickel and especially sugar "as bought at *a!orable

rates by CA4@ states% (he loss o* the sugar subsidy meant Cuba

had to sell their sugar on the "orld market and at lo"er

rates% Cuba earned = billion per ton o* sugar in 19 9

compared 17 to billion per ton in 199 % (he Cuban economy

spiraled drastically% rior to its collapse the So!iets

12

ole, . (199 ). Cuba fro$ revolution to %evelop$ent. Lon on: Pinter. Page 9113 Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 214 Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 2


6/13

pro!ided Cuba "ith de!elopmental aid, this *ell *rom 3

billion to ero in 199 % Cuba "as no" in a position "here

drastic measures had to be taken to keep the )e!olution *rom

crumbling%

Added to the collapse o* the So!iet .nion, the Special

period$ bared "itness to another blo" to the Cuban go!ernment

and its commitment to an egalitarian socialist society% Since

No!ember 19+ the .%S had "aged a personnel "ar against the

Cuban )e!olutionary go!ernment by en*orcing a total blockade

on the country% (he 199 $s sa" a strengthening o* the blockade

and increasing pressure on Cuba *rom the .%S go!ernment and

its Cuban GmigrG population% (he .%S assumed that the Cuban

go!ernment "ould soon "ither "ithout the *inancial help *rom

the So!iet .nion% 6n 199 the .%S enacted the (orricelli

Cuban Hemocracy Act$, this act put a ban on .%S subsidiaries

trading "ith Cuba in Foreign countries% (he .%S put additional

pressure on Cuba in 199+ "ith the Ielms25urton Act$ >Cuban

;iberty and Hemocracy Act?% Ielms25urton tried to limit

*oreign in!estors in Cuba by threatening them "ith possible

la"suits *or tra**icking on property to "hich Americans had

pre2)e!olutionary claims this "as kno"n as title 3 o* the

bill% (itle 3 "as actually not implemented by the .%S

go!ernment, but had the e**ect o* sending a message o*

intimidation to the Cuban go!ernment% (he ne" la" also

threatened to deny .%S tra!el to top management o* *oreign

*irms in!esting in Cuba%


7/13

lan Alientario?%

(he Food lan "as designed to make the country as sel*2

su**icient as possible and to o**set the islands declining

impact capacity% (he *ood plan harked back to the

agricultural di!ersi*ication strategy o* the early

re!olution$% 1= Ne" crops "ere planted and , hectares o*

land "ere reclaimed *or culti!ation% 5y the end o* 199

' , Cubans had participated in the scheme, the lan "as

truly Socialist in nature, "ith people *rom all "alks o* li*e

helping out *or the common good% Furthermore in 199 city

d"ellers "ere urged to set up urban gardens>Agro2pronicas? (he

urban gardens "ere set up "here!er produce could gro", the

gardens produced *ruit and !egetables and "ere tended to by

the "hole gamut o* urban d"eller% (he .rban gardens "ere a

1# ole, . (199 ). Cuba fro$ revolution to %evelop$ent. Lon on: Pinter. Page #01*

Gott, R. (2004). Cuba: A New History. Yale: Yale University Press. Page 21 " stein, $. (2003). &ac' Fro$ The Future: Cuba !nder Castro: ( nd ed. Lon on: Ro tle ge.Page 9*


8/13

huge success in pro!ing much needed sustenance to urban areas,

by 199 there "ere one million such gardens$% 1

(he end o* CA4@ *orced Cuba into the "orld market, hard2

currency "as needed to deal in the market% (he Cuban

go!ernment had long been at the *ore*ront o* pharmaceutical

and biomedical research out o* necessity *rom the .%S

blockade> E o* drugs consumed in Cuba "ere manu*actured on

the island?% (hrough necessity the Cuban go!ernment

manu*actured o!er biomedical products, including !accines

*or meningitis and hepatitis 5% (he special period led Cuba to

e-porting biotechnology on the "orld market% Cuban

biotechnology "as highly competiti!e on the "orld market as

selling prices "ere lo"% 6n the spirit o* socialism, Cuba sold

a high proportion o* pharmaceuticals and medical e#uipment to

the 3 rd "orld, Castro stated in 1991 6 am sure8that "e are

going to be e-porters o* health and "e$re not only going to

e-port years o* li*e, but healthy years o* li*eD% 19 6n the

19+ $s military support "as gi!en by Cuba to 3 rd "orld

countries, in the 9 $s the support "as still there but in a

di**erent mode, that o* the promotion o* health% (he Cuban

go!ernment *ound some di**iculty in marketing its products in

countries "here .%S patents "ere represented this led to

oint !entures "ith *oreign companies%


9/13

insisted, "hile supporting capitalism abroad, at home it

"ould remain Socialist$%


10/13

the re!olution% 4any commentators *oresa" Cuba going the route

o* many third "orld countries, do"n the path o* neo2

liberalism% Cuba managed to *orge links "ith *oreign

in!estors, "hilst keeping such deals in the *a!our o* the

)e!olutionary% .nlike many third "orld countries Cuba did not

sell o** state property, recourses, schools or pension *unds

to pri!ate in!estors%$ 3 (he ;egal *rame"ork *or *oreign

in!estment "as established in 199' stating *oreign in!estment

is permitted in all sectors e-cept health care, education and

arms related institutions, keeping such areas under in the

control o* the go!ernment% 5y the end o* 4arch 199= *our duty

*ree ones$ 7 "ere set up% (he duty *ree ones$ o**ered

ad!antageous ta- breaks to in!estors "hile at the same time

up2holding the tenants o* Socialism, "ith the 4inistry o*

;abour setting minimum "ages and correct "orking conditions%

(he Cuban go!ernment "as care*ul to preclude the ones *rom

becoming pools o* cheap labour "orking under s"eatshop

conditionsD% '


11/13

As noted, the economy o* Cuba changed drastically to meet the

demands o* the special period, "hile the Cuban go!ernment

maintained Socialist rhetoric% (he discourse "ill no" consider

"hether the Cuban go!ernment managed to keep socialism ali!e%

Iealth, education "ill be looked at as measures o* Cuban

socialism% @ducation "as a priority *or Castro *rom the !ery

start and "as seen as !ital to the gro"th o* the re!olution%

19+1 "as the year o* education$, "ith the Cuban go!ernment

setting up a system o* *ree education to all% Castro stated

that the sate "ould assume responsibility *rom kindergarten

to .ni!ersityD% = @ducation le!els remained o* high priority in

the special period%


12/13

both remarkable and success*ul, one uni*ormly considered the

pre2eminent model in the 3 rd "orld$% 9 (he 199 $s "as a test to

Cuba$s "orld class uni!ersal healthcare system, as the country

struggled *inancially, budget cuts in health had to be made%

Along "ith budget cuts, the .%S trade embargo denied Cuba o*

!ital health machinery and products, the .%S embargo has

dramatically harmed the health and nutrition o* a large number

o* ordinary Cuban citi ens%$ 3


13/13

o* markets, oint !entures "ith *oreign companies, the

legali ing o* the dollar and the promotion o* tourism all

helped Cuba to stay a*loat *inancially%

Documents

Cuba: From revolution to the present day