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Cuba: A
Revolution in Motion
by Derrel Meyers / April 2005 issue of
Socialist Action
Book Review “CUBA—A Revolution in Motion,” by Isaac Saney. Fernwood Press and Zed Press, 240 pages, $20.
On a visit to Cuba in 1996 I was asked by Segundo Piñan, a
representative of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the People
(ICAP), what changes I
might have seen in Cuba since my first trip there in 1969. I
responded, “Given the current crisis [the devastating result of the
1989-1991 collapse of Cuba’s
East European trading partners and the escalation of U.S. aggression],
I’m amazed at what Cuba is accomplishing now with fewer resources than it
had
back then.”
Segundo corrected me: “We actually have more resources now than
ever. They are the human resources developed over the last 37 years by our
revolution through education, participation, and greater equality. These
human resources are the main reasons for our current successes, for
our very survival.”
Although I have been a student and supporter of the Cuban Revolution
since 1961, it required a reading of Isaac Saney’s book, “Cuba–A Revolution
in Motion,” for me to fully appreciate what Segundo meant.
As the title implies, Saney insists that the Cuban Revolution not be
viewed as a finished product, but rather as an ongoing social, political,
economic, and
historical process that is still in motion.
In the introduction to his book Saney writes, “This book, intended as an introduction
for students and the general reader, explores Cuba as it enters the
twenty-first century, a lone island of anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism
and socialism in the so-called ‘age of globalization.’ This work seeks to explain
what some have called the ‘miracle’ of the Cuban Revolution’s survival in
the face of an unprecedented economic contraction.”
He further explains, “This book does not portray Cuba as a perfect
society, a paradise. Nor does it present the island’s revolutionary process
as a universal
model for Third World development. But, as an example, the Cuban
experience has much to offer.”
The first chapter offers an excellent overview of Cuban history that
highlights a century of struggle for independence and social justice, and
how that struggle and its leaders influenced the ethos and strategies of
the leaders of the current revolutionary process.
Saney details the most important revolutionary political and economic
events since 1959 and the reactions to them by various U.S.
administrations,
contextualizing the current hostility. He further provides a
comprehensive picture of the early 1990s economic crash and the responses
to it, which itself
merits an entire book.
Governance in Cuba
Not only does Saney reject the charge that the Cuban Revolution is a
one-man show backed by an elite bureaucracy. He presents convincing
evidence to the
contrary, showing that Cuban decision-making is at a minimum far
more democratic than ever before in its history and, moreover, that it
continues to evolve to more interactive and broadly participatory processes
and institutions.
It is no less than amazing that this process was accelerated in
response to the catastrophic economic collapse of the early 1990s. Cuba’s
response to this
crisis was the opposite of what her opponents expected from a
“totalitarian regime.” It’s astonishing how little credit the Cubans get
for their handling of
what in many countries would have resulted in riots, government
repression, ethnic cleansing, or even civil war.
The Cuban political response, according to Saney, was “an extensive
and comprehensive period of national consultation, transforming Cuba into
an island-wide parliament. Poignantly, from 1989 to 1997, the Cuban military
budget declined 4.7 times, reducing the size of the armed forces from an
estimated 300,000 to 55,000, a mere fraction of its Cold War strength.”
It was the exact opposite of the behavior of the East European
politicians, generals, and bureaucrats, who hid behind smokescreens of
parliamentary reform as they privatized and looted what was left of the
social wealth of those countries. Those thieving and still repressive bureaucracies
enjoy the enthusiastic blessing of the same capitalist “democracies” that
are so hostile to Cuba. Today, for example, there are 27 billionaires in
Russia, and one in five Russians now live below the official poverty line
of $38 a month. “Bravo!” says Wall Street.
Therein lies the truth of Fidel Castro’s assertion that the miracle
“was not economic but political.” Saney elaborates, “…the ‘explanation’ for
the Cuban
‘miracle’ is to be found in the Cuban political system, in its own
unique democracy.”
Saney further contrasts Cuba’s revolutionary democratic ethos to the
dominant model of democracy in the capitalist world, which “marginalizes
the right to
economic security, employment, healthcare, education, housing,
livable environment, etc.” He
argues, “The illusion of participation is created through the ballot box,
obscuring the wider and systemic disenfranchisement. Democratic rights are
reduced to the exercise of the vote every few years.”
Race, inequality, and crime
Saney makes an important and enlightening exploration into the
successes, shortcomings, and even regressions in the struggles against
racism, sexism, inequality, and crime in Cuba. Rather than a taking a
measurement of how much or little progress has been made (there’s been much
progress and some regression), he looks for the social, political, economic
factors that accelerate, retard, or even reverse the struggle against these
social ills.
Perhaps the most important truth to emerge from his investigation is
that these ills do not automatically disappear because of good socialist
intentions or even strong laws, and they can take years to overcome in a country
burdened with a legacy of class, racial, and sexual elitism and limited
economic resources.
He describes how these ills were made worse not only by the crisis
of the “Special Period” but also, in some cases, by measures taken to ease
the crisis. Thus, while the economic collapse worsened the already poor
conditions of the marginalized poor, tourism and foreign investment
increased inequality in Cuba, rekindled elitist attitudes, and brought an
increase in crime, including prostitution.
It is a valuable investigation into social problems that exist
globally. Even with the setbacks, Cuba is in the forefront of attacking and
overcoming these ills. We have much to learn in what Saney describes as a
“veritable laboratory” of social dynamics.
The
United States and Cuba
This segment is especially valuable for all North Americans, and
especially Cuba-solidarity
activists, because we are ultimately responsible for ending the
45-year war our government is waging against the people of Cuba, and
it may become necessary to stop military escalation of this war.
Saney writes, “Cubans keenly understand, as they have their history
as a guide, that the unrelenting U.S. hostility is not simply a product of
misguided
policies: the tactical approach to the ‘Cuba problem’ may change
from U.S. administration to administration—from military assault of a
Kennedy to
the rapproachment of a Carter back again to the hyper-aggressiveness
of George W. Bush—but the underlying logic driving the imperialist system
remains the same, a lust for expansion and domination.”
Saney concludes with these thoughts: “Since the collapse of the Soviet
Bloc, discussions on the pertinence and viability of socialism have
dominated
the discourses that endeavor to banish the socialist project from
any emancipatory agenda. Cuba offers profound insights on the issue of the
viability of socialism as a counter-project to the neoliberal triumphalism.
Nevertheless, even on the left, the Cuban socialist project remains
neglected and maligned….
“Washington’s hostility to the revolutionary project continues
unabated, with the singular objective of the overthrow of the Revolution,
the elimination of socialism and the restoration of capitalism and U.S. tutelage.
“As a counter, Cubans have heeded Lenin’s call to erect the most
durable barriers to capitalist restoration by carrying out the Revolution
‘in the
most far reaching, consistent and determined manner possible. The
more far reaching the revolution the more difficult will it be to restore
the old order.’
“In Havana, there is a well known billboard, based on a quote taken
from the 1996 address to the UN General Assembly by Cuban Vice-President
Carlos Lage, that simply stated: Each day in the world 200 million children
sleep in the streets. Not one is Cuban.
Perhaps, this best sums up what Cubans are—in the face of immense
obstacles—building and defending.”
Isaac Saney is a member of the faculty at Dalhousie University in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and regularly lectures on, writes about, and conducts
research in
Cuba.
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