ONE OF THE byproducts revolution character of its leadership.
Cuban advisers Joseph Hansen Africa prove propaganda being, to be Moscow's aims?
What does of the Cuban beginning? developments speak tend revolution perialist powers system?
are not new. They Cuban revolution.
developments.
abjectly obeys tent on conquering Socialist Action 6 January 1984 Cuba's fresh leap into world prominence has been a renewal of interest in the nature of the Cuban in the Questions such as the following are being discussed: Does the presence of troops Angola, Ethiopia, and elsewhere in as Washington's machine alleges that Castro is serving as a puppet of Moscow? Or is the Cuban government seeking to advance a policy of its own that happens, for the time congruent Havana's rising influence show about the present status revolution? SHas parasitic caste become entrenched in Cuba? Has the revolution degenerated to such a point that it must be said that a Stalinist regime has usurped power? With the wisdom of hindsight must it now be acknowledged that the Cuban revolution was Stalinist-led from the otherwise, dicating continuation of a policy to exinternationally, thus cutting across the Stalinist policy of 'peaceful coexistence' with the imtheir capitalist Questions running along these lines were raised and debated during the first years of the The conclusions reached have proved of immense seranalysing subsequent At present Washington is pushing the line that Cuba has become completely dependent on the Soviet Union, Kremlin, and has sent its troops to Africa to serve as surrogates for soviet troops. These allegations conform to the pattern of the State Department's well-aged propaganda picturing Soviet Union as an aggressive power inthe world. truth is that the main objective foreign policy as pursued by the Soviet of system.
bureaucracy world affairs.
be called for, with Marxist caste. The Cubans in SIve.
Soviet Union bureaucracy....
inMovement.
materially.
Movement pursuit the The of end in his death...
2. The all .. principally tagonists The ruling caste is maintaining of the status quo; that is, 'peaceful coexistence' with the imperialist powers and the capitalist If it were true that the Soviet shitted rom policy to one of extending Soviet power and influence through the use of armed force, the turn would represent a new element of transcendent importance in A reassesment of the nature of the Soviet government would along with a possible of the revolutionar attitude toward the La favourable light as spearhead chosen to open the offenHowever, the State Department is not acting on the assumption that the has adopted a class-struggle policy. The State Department distinguishes Castro from the Washington's attitude is hardly surprising — it is simply an imperialistic reaction to the efforts made by the Cuban leadership to defend their revolution by extending it.
The course of the conveniently divided into three phases:
1. In the great wave of enthusiasm over the Cuban revolution following its vicattempts were Latin America to emulate the July 26 The attempts were ported by Havana both politically and Extension of the Cuban revolution appeared to hinge on extension of the methods used by the July 26 mainly initiation of guerrilla warfare. period reached its high point at the OLAS conference held in Havana l August 1967. There Castro subjected tne rerormist balin Americal munist parties to scorching criticism for their sabotage of guerrilla war. At that Che Guevara was in Bolivia conducting the experiment that was to crushing project capped defeats for the groups that took the road of guerrilla war. Castro now made • While still giving some aid — training of guerrilla America, the Cubans ceased fostering it as the royal road to success.
economic situation in Cuba also of ruling Soviet Cubans can be ties made in supThis Com of Guevara's amthe proin latin worried them; blockade Cuban leaders stepped up the goals on the economic front, hoping by extraordinary exertion to overcome the effects the American Unrealisue goals, campaign to produce ten of sugar, resulted in planning among the workers.
in view of such consedences. Cuban leaders had to reasses priorities and set more modest goals. for reflection over the meaning of the failures of guerrilla war and the consideration possible lasted until 1975.
Washington evidently the downturn in guerrilla war in Latin America as evidence of the domestication of the Cuban revolution; and the State Department -had failed to isolate Cuba — began probing ways to bring Castro under the general framework of 'peaceful coexIstence • 3. The breakup of the Portuguese empire, with climactic liberation struggles in the colonies and the toppling of the Salazar-Caetano Lisbon, presented new openings for the Cubans. They had already established with Africa, ticipated in this work. In Angola, the Cubans granted aid in the form of combat troops -COMIC the imperialist Washington and Pretoria to block the liberation struggle.
The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which received international recognition legitimate government of Angola, to send material aid, including troops, to boost the country's defense against the efforts of South Africa and the United pattern was repeated in the Ethiopia...
The American criticised Havana's foreign policy on severa counts 1. The extrapolation on a continental scale of the efficacy of guerrilla war • seemed to us to be based on a misjudgement of both the Cuban experience an‹ the possibilities for its repetition. The key to the toppling of Batista was the rise in the class struggle in Cuba. The rise was not 'sparked' by the guerrilla actions on the it possible in this instance to win even through guerrilla actions.
RE the American The • maucing strals.
straglehold.
notably in the 1970 million tons exhaustion the The pause alternatives interpreted whose blockade dictatorship in guerrilla forces in Guevara himset having par.
most noticeably to efforts of Cubans were invited by the the case of Trotskyists have contrary, the rise made
2. Guided by their desire to construct a common front against American imperialism, the Cubans distinguish the components of front according to prgramme. supporters of the capitalist system were hailed, provided they 'progressive,' i.e., denounced perialism or spoke well of the Cuban revolution, with the consequence that many of them were diverted down false trails.
A case in point was given the Chilean regime headed by Salvador Allende. Although mav have sensed a comino showdown in Chile when he was there on tour -his parting gift to Allende was a sub— the support he offered the regime appeared to be support for its adherence to capitalism. Allende's failure to act against the plotters in the military forces cost him his life. More usualle the seizure or power Di Pinochet dealt a cruel blow to the cause Tailed this Thus were imhas followed a American support Castro proof that caste has taken over in Cuba.
The Cuban the Castro team after they Influence even a counterrevolutionary outlook, particularly in foreign policy; hence their pursuit of 'peaceful coexistence, of deals with the im perialist powers at the expense of the But in Africa, Cuban activities have greatly increased instablility at the expense or te imperianst powers. Castr course that closed off deal with imperialism. This fact alone speaks decisively against the contention that the events in Africa offer La hardened bureaucratic course in Africa re- whole ... quires no essential alterations in the Marxist analysis of the lines adopted by ing.
had consolidated the victory of the revolution. being, Cuba's influence appears completedecisive in establishing the firm worker-peasant allance on which Ine liTsu workers's state the Western Hemisphere depends.
It is the example of Cuba, the example of achievements made possible by revolution. that accounts Havana's standing among the peoples of the colonial and semicolonial countries and thereby its political weight internationally.
accounting of developments within Cuba, particularly in the last decade, is of course required in any balance sheet of the revolution The Cuban revolution faced extreme difficulties from the beginnInadequacies of leadership counted among them, the prime one as i nave laucated, rendice di guerrilla war to extend the revolution. Another was the failure to proceed im. mediately to establishment of forms of proletarian democracy. never be forgotten weaknesses and mistakes of the Castro regime.
The Kremlin must be held responsible for another source of difficulties. Without help from the Soviet Union for the Cuban revolution would certainl have been smashed Eisenhower or Kennedy. The Cubans were completely correct in seeking that aid.
Stalin's hiers felt obliged to respond to the Cuban plea, but instead of providing aid free of charge as was their duty, they paid level. In short, to get the required aid the Cubans had to let the red glow of the Cuban revolution Khrushchey and Brezhnev.
peared in the record -is castro s crucisms or me doviel inva sion of Czechoslovakia, which he reluctantly supported -the Soviet Kremlin. the where in criticising the opposition to However, hardened by either formed, demanded that a price be principally on the political shine on things that have ap. a good example • it is clear that the were met head-on by Castro. A more difficult problem is the example set by ruling caste, which quidated the proletarian fostered under Lenin and Trotsky. No model of proletarian democracy exists counter totalitarian forms of rule upheld by the It would be untrue to say that the battle against bureaucratism has been won in Cuba. The indications are that this insidious social disease has gained.
ed forces would indicate. Similar signs include the continuation of the ban of formation on tendencies and faction in the Communist Party and the jailing independent-minded poet Heberto Padillo on March 20, 1971; the brush-off given to protests against the jailing by leftist intellectuals like Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, Octavio Paz, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Mario Vargas Llosa; the show trial of Padilla, which included a Moscow style 'confes sion' by the poet; and the accompany. ing clampdown in the cultural field previously shown their intent to make the revolution a 'school of unfettered thought' in bureaucratic practices Another bad indication has been the pillorying of homosexuals.
the headway made by bureaucratism has not reached such a degrce war one must conclude unal ¿ bureaucratic caste has been exercises dictatorial power, and cannot be dislodged save through a revolution No qualitative point of change has yet been adduced to substantiate this hypothesis.
he stand taken by the Socialis Workers Party towards the Cuban revolution flows from its initial analysis of that event. It can be summarised in • For defense of the Cuban revolution against all its enemies. As a party within the United States, the SWP considers it to be its special duty to foster the strongest possible political opposition to the main enemy of the revolution, American imperialism. This defense is unconditional - it does not hinge on