Cuban protests

There are spontaneous protests in the Republic of Cuba against the dictatorial government of Miguel Díaz-Canel. Covid-19 has hit the island very hard. Trade has almost ceased and with the American trade embargo, Cuba is facing a massive shortage of food and medicines. The ruling Communist Party of Cuba started with capitalists reforms as early as 2008, but that has not resulted in more wealth. Instead it led to the growth of a new class of wealthy Cubans. The average working class is suffering as wages are very low and with the Covid-19 crisis, the bureaucratic government proofs to be ineffective and unable to act. In response, the Cubans have turned to protests which is a rarity on the Stalinist island.

Revolutionary socialists support the protests of working class Cubans. None of them are calling for the complete restoration of capitalism and therefore not all are ”counterrevolutionaries”. The protests go against the ineffective government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, who replaced Raul Castro as President of Cuba and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. Like other Stalinist regimes in the past, Havana portrays the protests as ”counterproductive” and even ”counterrevolutionary”. This is the typical response from a regime that brands any kind of protest ”counterrevolutionary” to justify its oppressive nature.

Unlike most communist parties, revolutionary socialists do not give political support to the Communist Party of Cuba. We reject the single party state and the ineffective top-down economy. We have always argued for a democratic society and a planned economy from below. However Fidel Castro and Raul Castro followed the Soviet model and by 1961 the island was a typical Marxist-Leninist (Stalinist) republic, with a nationalized economy under control of a bureaucratic government. All political power was centralized in the hands of Castro and his revolutionary comrades. Until the 1970’s the power of the actual communist party itself was limited as the first party congress was not held until 1975.

Fidel Castro cared little for party congresses. For him the Communist Party of Cuba was a vehicle to carry out his daily orders and to act as a base of ”revolutionary cheerleaders”. After the collapse of the USSR, Fidel Castro cared even less about actual party rules. We know this because between 1997 and 2011 there was no communist party congress. The old Castro ignored the rules of his own party and did not organized a congress until 2011, when he formally handed over power to Raul Castro. The younger Castro then started with market reforms and fired 500.000 government workers in order to boost ”capitalist entrepreneurism”!

Now in 2021, Miguel Díaz-Canel is the President and First Secretary. Under his reign Covid-19 came to Cuba. It struck hard because its economy is already under siege since 1961. The American trade embargo keeps the island isolated from many trade partners. Despite the fact that the Democratic Party is in power in the USA, Joe Biden remains loyal to the undemocratic and unfair trade embargo imposed on the island. While the USA does not impose trade embargo’s on China, Vietnam or Laos (all three are ”communist”), Cuba is still banned from trading with the USA by the imperialist regime in Washington DC.

In 2020 Covid-19 hit the world. The tourist industry of almost all nations collapsed as the virus prevented millions from traveling. Cuba’s economy relies on tourism to gain hard currency. Since the 1990’s there is a huge gap between Cubans working in the tourist sector and those in the state sector. Due to the two currency system, workers who have access to the currency meant for tourists, have access to products that state employed workers cannot buy. This inequality proofs to us that Cuba is not a socialist society, since almost no worker on the island can afford one night in a four start hotel build for western tourists. 30 U.S dollars is a monthly wage for most Cubans.

With a deathly virus spreading across the planet, tourists stayed away. Cuba is losing a least four billion U.S dollars because of Covid-19 and that is only from the tourist sector. With losing money comes the hard fact that the island is now facing a economic crisis. Workers cannot buy food, food that cannot be sold, because the state does not have the money to buy it. Because Cuba is partially capitalist, food prices rose hard which is why these protests started. Cuba is supposed to be a society under control of workers, but in reality prices are often set by individuals and the ”socialist” government stood by and did nothing.

There is now a general shortage of food, medicine and lose of electricity. The Stalinist bureaucracy blames it all on the USA and the trade embargo. This is partially true, because the Americans have blocked the island for 60 years. Cuba is not allowed to buy or trade with American companies. The reaction of the U.S government towards the protests is hypocritical, because they share a huge blame in the current economic crisis on Cuba. If American politicians cared so much about the Cubans, then should argue for an end to the trade embargo. However we know that they will not do that. American politicians use the embargo to punish the working class of Cuba because they defied the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.

Miguel Díaz-Canel has called on his supporters to rally against the ”provocateurs” as he calls the working class Cubans who now protest. Communist parties worldwide will show solidarity with the Cuban government as they are uncritical of the Communist Party of Cuba. This is why we differ from mainstream communist parties, who are often biased and ignore the oppressive nature of Stalinist regimes. True, Cuba is not North Korea, but its government remains based on the post-1956 Soviet model. Fidel and Raul Castro did not build a socialist society, otherwise the trade embargo against Cuba would not have worked. Had Cuba been genuine socialist then the USA could not have imposed it.

We defend the planned economy and the gains of the Cuban Revolution, but the Communist Party of Cuba needs to understand that their current politics are part of the problem. Capitalist reforms have resulted in massive inequality and the oppressive nature of the state needs to end. Socialism can only be build by the majority of working class Cubans and they are now in the streets, fighting against a government that is not working in their interests. What is needed are democratic councils who can organize strikes and mass resistance. These councils/committees are to be made up of working class people.

The Cuban state has support among some sections of the population. But the current youth and the generation born after 1990 is no longer 100% committed to the dogma’s of Marxism-Leninism (Stalinism). The current generation is also born in a time when inequality rose, when the majority of Cubans remained poor while a minority grew richer. This is why among younger Cubans, there is little support for Miguel Díaz-Canel. Mainly because they see the actual results of his (state)capitalist politics and the oppressive nature of Cuba. In 2016 there were 700.000 members of the communist party. However it remains to be seen how many are actual believers and how many are just members for privileges.

Revolutionary socialists call upon the Communist Party of Cuba to end its single party system. Elections must be held free and open for all political ideologies. Elections on the island are controlled by communist party members only. While it is true that the party itself is not allowed to campaign, it is still its members who decide who is allowed to run for a political office and who not. Also the economy must be put under control of working class Cubans, not state managers or capitalists. The market reforms of 2008 must be reversed, all means of production including the tourist sector (which is partially owned by foreign capitalists) must to be (re)nationalized under democratic control of workers councils.

Only when genuine socialism is build can the American trade embargo be destroyed. It is the dictatorial Cuban state that is keeping the embargo alive. When Cuba has become genuine democratic, the Americans will have no choice but to end their trade embargo. Otherwise their democratic façade will be ruined. Let us not forget that the USA is build on the lie that their electoral system is the best in the world and the American government will do anything to keep that democratic façade up. Washington DC would love to see a fully capitalist-democratic Cuba, but if a workers party is build on a socialist program, that can be prevented!

In the end it is up to the Cuban workers themselves. Revolutionary socialists are not supportive of capitalist restoration as the Stalinist communists often claim. We do not wish for the island to become a capitalist hellhole like Haiti or other Latin American countries. However the Marxist-Leninist (Stalinist) façade that Fidel Castro build in 1961 is death. Only a minority is still fully committed to the government. The youth knows the reality. That wages remain low. That food prices are rising since 2010, that they are arrested and jailed for criticizing the state bureaucracy. That there is a huge gap between Cubans who own means of production and those who own nothing.

Meanwhile capitalist American politicians all claim that ”Cubans want freedom from socialism”. Although much blame can be put on the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel, the imperialist regime of Joe Biden shares in that blame too. Because as we said, the economy of Cuba is under siege from U.S imperialism since 1961. American governments led by both the neoconservatives and neoliberals have all kept the embargo alive, just because they were defeated and humiliated by Fidel Castro. The reaction of the U.S government is hypocritical and must be rejected. Washington DC is not the ally of the Cuban working class!

We say:

• No to the policies of the Miguel Diaz-Canel regime in favour of the market and capitalist restoration. For workers’ control of production, prices and distribution.

• Down with imperialist intervention. Down with the blockade.

• For the immediate release of imprisoned workers and socialist and communist activists.

• Defend the historic gains of the Cuban revolution and advance in a genuinely socialist direction!

• Radical democracy from below, to replace the rule of the Stalinist bureaucracy: for a genuine workers’ democracy

• Unify the anti-imperialist struggle and the struggle for an alternative socialist democracy — for a Socialist Federation of Latin America.

Monetary reorganization in Cuba

Cuba is now at a crossroad for many years. With the death of Fidel Castro and Raul Castro leaving the Office of President of the Republic of Cuba, the country’s bureaucratic elite must make a clear choice. They have only two options, socialism or capitalism. As of now Cuba is moving slowly towards capitalism. Despite the propaganda of the Communist Party of Cuba, reality is that the party bureaucracy is looking towards the Asian model enforced by communist parties in Vietnam, China and Laos. Now a monetary reorganization is proposed. The Cuban government plans to abolish the two currencies on the island and replace them with a single currency.

Cuba has two currencies since 1994. There is the Cuban peso (CUP) and the Cuban convertible peso (CUC). The CUC was introduced for tourists and to buy luxury (foreign) goods. As expected this created a gap in Cuban society between a large majority who get paid in CUP and a small minority who are paid in CUC. Those who are paid in CUC can afford a better live style and have access to goods too expensive for ordinary workers. 1 CUC is equal to 24 CUP and since the average wage in Cuba is around 24 CUP a month, few Cuban workers can afford prices in the Cuban convertible peso. For tourists this is different, because the CUC is equal to the U.S dollar. The introduction of the Cuban convertible peso in 1994 was an attempt by Fidel Castro to get access to hard currency. Its introduction was not an act of socialism, it created inequality and a new caste of privileged Cubans.

In 2008, Raul Castro relaxed government laws and fired over 500.000 state workers. These state workers were forced to feed themselves and become small capitalists. As more and more laws were relaxed, a capitalist class returned to the island not seen since the expropriations of 1960. Although most means of production remain in state hands, 1/3 of all economic output is carried out by private enterprises. Twenty years ago, the state employed around 70% of all Cuban workers. With the introduction of a new constitution in 2019, greater private property and free market rights were granted. This shows that the Communist Party of Cuba is moving towards at least a state-capitalist economy in the near future. Their model seems to be the Asian one, enforced by the communist parties in Vietnam, China and Laos.

Revolutionary socialists reject and criticize the market reforms since 1994. We say it was wrong for Fidel Castro to introduce a second currency only available for those with access to tourists. Yes, Cuba is under siege and under a trade embargo by the USA. But that does not justify the huge income gap and inequality that is now everywhere. Cuba is not a role model nation for socialism, despite the propaganda and uncritical support it gets from many communist parties, the ruling bureaucracy is planning on creating a economy that tolerates a class of privileged capitalists. Because the majority of Cubans have such a low income, many are trying to get access to U.S dollars or the Cuban convertible peso (CUC).

Now the government is planning on creating more inequality with a monetary reorganization. The plan is to abolish the Cuban convertible peso and create one single currency. This would be easy if the there was only one exchange rate, this would be a relatively simple operation of withdrawing one currency and replacing it with another. But as said before, the problem is the huge differences in exchange rates. In the state-owned sector 1 CUC is equal to 1 CUP (and 1 U.S dollar). For the private sector, the exchange rate is 24 or 25 CUP to 1 CUC. The national Cuban peso (CUP) is overvalued to make export expensive and imports cheap. Unifying the currency at the same time that the exchange rate is unified, will imply a heavy devaluation of the Cuban peso in relation to foreign currencies. This would lead to price increases that would be disastrous for ordinary Cubans.

Wage increases have been proposed, but will they cover the increase in prices? Also a far more dangerous proposal is the elimination of “excessive subsidies and undue gratuities”. It means the abolishment of the principle of the universality of social subsidies to workers who need them. Since the 2011 communist party congress, there is a huge increase in inequality due to the elimination of jobs in the state sector and the promotion of self-employment. Accepting social differentiation in a supposed ”socialist” country, proofs to us that the Communist Party of Cuba is not building socialism. In a country were the national economy is run for 60% by the military says enough. Army officials control the tourist sector and most important means of production. We see this also happening in Venezuela and Laos. Why? Because the army is a stable force with lower corruption.

The proposals make one thing clear: less planning more free market. Again it is not strange that a Stalinist dictatorship is accepting capitalist methods. China started with them in 1979 (free economic zones), Vietnam and Laos in 1986 (Doi Moi). The Soviet-Union under Mikhail Gorbachev was also planning on accepting market principals. Stalinist regimes in Africa choose to abandon their Marxist-Leninist façade after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. Many (former) ”communist” parties still rule African nations like Angola or Mozambique, but all embraced the free market dictatorship. Fidel Castro too started with market reforms in 1994, he claimed that he was forced by this due to the collapse of the USSR. But he could have chosen another path, the path of democratic planning and workers democracy.

However that would mean the end for the bureaucratic elite of the ruling communist party. Genuine socialism rejects the rule of a single party which enforces its rule by dictatorial means. Yes, the Communist Party of Cuba is not allowed to make political propaganda during elections in Cuba, but its members select the people who are allowed to run for office. If a candidate is not approved by the communist party, he/she is not allowed to be on the ballot. This is why Cuba is not a democratic society, only candidates approved by communist party members can stand in elections. Socialism demands full democratic rights for all, not just for those supporting the ruling party or system. Fidel Castro never agreed with this core idea, he demanded the suppression of all critics of what he called ”socialism”.

It is no surprise that the small class of capitalists are fully supportive of the pro-capitalist politics now enforced by the Communist Party of Cuba. Many hope for more market politics that would give them more freedoms. More freedoms for the capitalist class means more exploitation for the working class. Remember that wages in Cuba remain low and in the last years the Cuban economy is slowing down. This has to do with the collapse of Venezuela, but also due to the rise of Donald Trump. In the last four years the Trump administration has strengthen the economic blockade and trade embargo against the island. Covid-19 then destroyed the profitable tourist industry in 2020. Over five billion U.S dollars have been lost.

What Cuba needs is workers democracy and planning from below. The state managers and army officials need to be replaced by elected officials of the working class. This is lacking completely in Cuba as it was in any society ruled in the Marxist-Leninist (Stalinist) way. Workers productivity will increase if they feel part of the process. They will feel in way that the means of production belong to them, that the leadership of the country is in their hands. It will give them a boost in working effectively. We seen this in Argentina with enterprises under workers self management. In Cuba, the market reforms have led to the new class of capitalists more willing to openly support government measures to weaken the planned economy. The government then masks these measures with slogans like “liberate the productive forces” and “build a prosperous and sustainable socialism”

In China, it is no coincidence that all right-wingers in Hong-Kong are in favour of the Chinese ”Communist” Party. The Chinese capitalist class stands behind Xi Jinping and fully support him and his nationalist regime. Capitalists in Vietnam and Laos also stood behind the pro-market measures taken since 1986. The results may have been more profits and more wealth, but for who? A minority has become rich and can now enjoy a western life style. But the majority of workers in China, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba do not have the income for that living standard we see in the western world. 600 million Chinese workers earn less then 140 U.S dollars a month. The majority of Cubans still earn around 25 Cuban peso’s a month.

The increase of social differentiation, the growth of a petty bourgeois layer with its own interests proof that Cuba is moving towards more capitalism. The Communist Party of Cuba is not a workers party and no vehicle for the Cuban working class. This is why revolutionary socialists must make clear that we reject the measures of the Cuban government. We must give no political support to a regime that is making concessions to world capitalism. For 60 years the Cuban Revolution was a beacon of inspiration and hope for millions. But the revolution is in decline, its limits under a bureaucratic system has been reached. Workers democracy is the only alternative for Cuba. We call this genuine socialism, the rule of those who work and who should rule in any socialist society.

Cuba’s past and future

The Republic of Cuba under Fidel Castro was praised by so many leftists. They all saw in the charismatic Castro a true revolutionary figure. Unfortunately too many socialists, communists and progressives ignored the deformed dictatorial system, that masked itself as socialist. The right-wing media loves to expose the top-down dictatorship, which is hypocritical because the same right-wing fully supported the Batista regime that ruled Cuba until 1959. U.S presidents have tried (and failed) to kill Fidel Castro, but in the end capitalism is making a return to the island. Because under Raul Castro the ideas of the Cuban revolution and Che Guevara are losing grounds. Inequality is growing as the Communist Party of Cuba moves to deregulate more sections of the economy.

In 1994, Cuba started with their ”special period”. This was the result of the collapse of the Soviet-Union, which had supplied the island since the 1960’s. As Russia embraced austerity and capitalist barbarism, Fidel Castro remained committed to Stalinist orthodoxy, meaning total state (bureaucratic) control over the economy. But by 1994, he could no longer hide the fact that the island was in a deep crisis. Fuel shortages led to stagnation as factories were unable to produce goods. Cubans saw their living standards dropping. Boycotted by the capitalist west and abandoned by their allies, Cuba was for the first time completely alone in a capitalist dominated world.

The collapse of cheap oil led also to a rise in hunger. For the first time since 1959, Cubans learned what it was like to have limited amount of food. Starvation was avoided thanks to the fact that Castro forced his bureaucrats (for the first time ever) to think more independently and creatively. In the 1990’s Cubans lost around nine kilograms in average weight. Food shortages were a clear indication of a major crisis. Rebellion however never happened since most Cubans blamed the western trade embargo. Although this played a role the reality was that the centralized economy was unprepared for the sudden withdraw of cheap Soviet oil. Win-out this vital product Cuban society stagnated, which led to shortages in almost any sector.

Washington DC allowed humanitarian aid to be send to Cuba by private groups. However in 1996 with the introduction of the Helms–Burton Act, more restrictions were placed on foreign groups trading with Cuba. The U.S government called this act the ”Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996”. By using the words: ”democratic” and ”solidarity” the Americans hide the real reason for their trade embargo. As said in the act itself: ”This law includes a wide variety of provisions intended to bring about “a peaceful transition to a representative democracy and market economy in Cuba”. Although the USA claims to fight for democracy, their real aim is to restore capitalism on the island. Their Helms–Burton Act was imposed on Cuba to further destabilize Castro’s government and to force capitalist law on him.

Fidel Castro could have embraced a socialist democracy, both in 1959 and after 1991. He could have created a workers state and a democratic economy based on public ownership. But because he was not a Marxist and did not understand socialism, Fidel choose the only model that was called ”Marxist socialism” in 1960, that model was top-down stalinism. Both Raul Castro and Ernesto Guevara also supported the Stalinist system out of idealism. They wrongly believe that this was the right road to communism, which revolutionary socialists always said it was not. Just before Guevara left Cuba he had become disillusioned in the Stalinist system, after a visit to the USSR in 1965. There he saw for the first time the deep gap between communist party bureaucrats and ordinary Soviet workers. It made him critical of a system that he helped to build in Cuba.

As the quality of life went down in the 90’s desperation rose. Socialist idealism died with the reality of growing poverty. Woman who were raised not to sell themselves as lust objects, suddenly realized that prostitution was a way to get dollars (and later euros). Although prostitution is illegal on Cuba, the die-hard reality is that many woman are living with very little income. The average wage is less then 30 dollars a month. As the government started to encourage western tourists to visit the island, prostitution grew. Because those who have access to U.S dollars can live a prosperous life. It is a sad reality that woman have to sell their bodies to obtain western money. The Cuban government is responsible for this, they created the duel economy. A parallel society of Cubans who are wealthier because of their work with tourists. These Cubans have access to dollars, euros and enjoy privileges way above the average worker.

Although sex for money was public knowledge in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the government started to crackdown on prostitutes. After 2007 it became rarer to see them in public. This does not mean that woman no longer sell their bodies. Sex for dollars is still lucrative and since more tourists are coming to Cuba, woman will keep selling themselves out of the need to obtain a good income. Inequality has also grown since Raul Castro became president in 2008. Once a orthodox Stalinist who convinced his brother Fidel to follow Marxism-Leninism (Stalinism), Raul Castro has deregulated many parts of the economy. Although the state is still the owner of most means of production, each year since 2008 has resulted in more market based politics. American capitalists are already owning one factory on Cuba, something which was impossible under Fidel.

The elder Castro died on 25 November 2016, aged 90. Fidel outlived many U.S presidents who had tried to kill him. John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, all presidents who had tried to overthrown him during the Cold War and failed. History could have been very different if the USA had not been so hostile towards Castro in the first months after the revolution. Fidel had said that his revolution was not socialist and that he would not build communism. In fact many fighters of his 26th of July Movement were supporters of a capitalist democracy on Cuba. It was the anticommunist paranoia of U.S president Eisenhower that forced Castro into the Soviet camp. It took almost a whole year before Fidel explained that his revolution was socialist and based on Marxism-Leninism (Stalinism).

Revolutionary socialists supported the expropriation of capitalists. But we rejected the bureaucratic top-down system that replaced the market economy. Also the banning of opposition newspapers we rejected. Che Guevara and Fidel Castro claimed that the whole opposition was part of the oligarchy and supportive of capitalist rule. This was however not the case. In their black/white thinking Fidel and Che attacked anybody who was not unconditional loyal to the revolution. What made Cuba different from others was the fact that a communist party was absence until 1962. The Integrated Revolutionary Organizations were founded two years after the fall of Batista, they however served as vehicles for the government. In March 1962, Castro fused all supportive groups into what you can call a political party embryo. This party was named the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution renamed Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965. Still the party was not (yet) given a constitutional role to lead the country and the first party congress not held until the late 1970’s.

Unlike the Russian revolution of 1917, the Cuban revolution of 1959 was not led by workers. The Russian soviets (councils) who fought against the White Armies and their capitalist masters were organized by workers. Cuba’s revolution was more peasant based and lacked the support of urban workers. When Batista was overthrown by the guerrilla’s of the 26th of July Movement, workers were not given the political and economic power to rule. Instead Castro used the Batista state bureaucracy. Since only 150 to 500 members of the old ruling class were actual executed for their crimes, it is clear that most government bureaucrats switched allegiance after 1959. Castro never saw the workers as the class which leads the revolution. He never spoke of them as the class that should rule. From 1959 until 2008, Fidel Castro made all political decisions. Others were allowed to voice their opinion, but in the end it was Fidel who said YES or NO. Centralizing all political authority in one leader is however dangerous and not the right way. Castro in his life never understood that the working class is the only force can lead a socialist revolution.

Today it is a fact the 90% of all Cuban peso’s stored by the state bank is owned by only 15% of the total population. Proofing that only a small group of communist party members and those with access to dollars and euros enjoy financial wealth. Raul Castro started with major reforms after 2008. Firing almost 500.000 government employees and relaxing laws on the ownership of houses and small businesses. Still the economy remains handicapped by the trade embargo and the top-down system. Tourism is bringing some money but Cuba is plagued by corruption, low productiveness and very low salaries. As said, 15% of all Cubans own 90% of all money stored in the State Bank of Cuba.

Special Development Zones have been opened like the building of a new port facility in Mariel Bay, financed by investment from Brazilian and Singapore capitalism. Like the Chinese economic zones of the 1980’s, foreign capitalists are free to exploit Cuban workers here. ”Investors” will be given 50 years contracts compared with the current 25 year one. All businesses started in these economic zones will be 100% owned by capitalists outside Cuba. They will be charged no labour or local taxes and granted a 10 year reprieve from paying a 12% tax on profits. This is how Raul Castro slowly moves his country into the market economy, just like Deng Xiaoping did in China. It is ironic that the younger Castro who always rejected capitalist ownership, now enforces politics that favor capitalists over Cuban workers. Revolutionary socialists are however not surprised since all stalinists who once ruled in Eastern Europe, embraced the ”free market” system after 1990. Allies of Fidel Castro in Africa also abandoned socialism in favor of capitalism. Like the MPLA in Angola, which has rewritten its history books and removed any references to Marxism.

Under the cloak of socialism, the government of Cuba will move the country further down the capitalist road. This has to be done slow as the majority of Cubans reject capitalism. So they play the slow evolutionary card, while remaining loyal to the revolution in public. This is why true revolutionaries must raise the alarm. The gains of the Cuban revolution are slowly dying as the market reclaims the island. Cubans who are born after 1994 will only know a society were the government praises socialism yet allows capitalist logic to flourish. Young Cubans already feel little for icons like Guevara and Castro as money making becomes more important then revolutionary idealism. In Asia the next generation already looks beyond the propaganda of the ruling communist parties. Making a lot of money, being entrepreneurial and love your nation are the new dogma’s of China and Vietnam.

U.S president Barack Obama worked more closely with Cuba then any other president. However he was never able to end the trade embargo. Since the far-right Republican Party controlled both the House and Senate, the Democratic president was unable to end the embargo. Obama did however restored diplomatic relations and opened a American embassy on the island. However Donald Trump is not willing to be diplomatic. The far-right billionaire president is more in line with with right-wing Cuban exiles. These exiles left after the revolution and tried to overthrow Castro in 1961. Far-right terrorists belonging to exiled groups also bombed a civilian airliner and carried out terror attacks. The CIA trained and supported these terrorists in murdering supporters of the Cuban revolution.

In the USA, the Cuban exiles form a conservative right-wing ethnic group. Most exiles live in Florida and are a vital voting group for the Republican Party. This is why the ”Grand Old Party” (GOP) always voted against restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba. A hypocritical move because the Republicans supported restoring ties with China and Vietnam after they restored capitalism. It would be no surprise that if Raul Castro would decide to open the Cuban economy right now, the Republican Party would end the trade embargo. Despite that the Cuban exiles are a powerful voting base, the need of capitalists will always come before the need of a small exiled minority. The Republicans also abandoned anticommunist Chinese and Vietnamese groups. Today American conservatives are very ‘supportive of the Asian ”communist” governments who have impose austerity and capitalist barbarism on their countries. The true masters of the GOP will always be the ruling class.

Cuba’s future is grim. Inequality is rising as a result of a growing capitalist mentality. The old rulers around Raul Castro maybe blind to this, but the working class is not. Party bosses keep praising people like Ernesto Guevara and Fidel Castro, however behind their revolutionary façade lies the iron fact that Stalinist thinking failed. Cubans do not want capitalism or the capitalist mentality enforced by government bureaucrats. They used to be genuine believers in socialism. But now this idealism is slowing fading away as a new generation grows up in a system that is adapting to the demands of the world market. In schools the youth may learn about socialism, but there is a huge difference between what is told and what younger Cuba will experience in the future, when more and more capitalist laws become reality.

 

End Cuban trade embargo now!!

The Republic of Cuba and the United States of America have started to talk again, after more then 55 years of none-diplomatic relations between the two nations. Cuba became a Marxist-Leninist ( Stalinist ) state in 1959, after guerrilla fighters of the 26th of July Movement defeated the corrupt government of Batista. Fidel Castro became prime minister and created a single party state based on marxism-leninism ( stalinism ). Although revolutionary socialists welcomed the removal of the corrupt dictator, we criticized the dictatorial Castro regime. The American capitalist class was not amused after they lost their casino’s and wealth in Cuba. So the US government created a small army of anticommunists to overthrow Castro. This failed and Fidel would ruled the island until 2008. His brother Raul has been president of Cuba for almost seven years and has introduced many capitalist elements!

Although Cuba and the USA are now talking again as equal nations, the trade embargo is still in place. This embargo was installed by the Eisenhower administration in 1960. Cuba had embraced revolutionary ideals and nationalized most foreign owned means of production. However Fidel Castro would reject any claims that his revolution was socialist. For two years he told the western media that he was not a communist. But Eisenhower did not trust him and the embargo was put in place to destabilize the new revolutionary government. When this failed, the administration of John F. Kennedy started to train 1500 anticommunist Cubans to overthrow Castro. On 17 April 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion started. Many hoped for a popular anticommunist uprising. But Washington has underestimated the popularity of the Cuban Revolution. By 19 April, the 1500 anticommunists were defeated and Fidel Castro became more popular then ever!

In 1982, America placed Cuba on the list of nations who support terrorism. A very hypocrite move since Ronald Reagan was actively supporting right-wing terrorist groups in Colombia, Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan and corrupt dictators in Asia. Cuba supported national liberation movements like the FARC, the ANC, FRELIMO and the MLPA. Fidel Castro even used the national airliner to ship troops into southern Angola, to aid the revolutionary government of the MLPA in their fight against the anticommunists supported by the USA. Thanks to Cuban aid and military support, the national liberation army of Namibia was able to defeat the racist South Africans and established the Republic of Namibia in 1990!

Nelson Mandela said this after his release from prison:

“The Cuban people hold a special place in the hearts of the people of Africa. The Cuban internationalists have made a contribution to African independence, freedom and justice unparalleled for its principled and selfless character – We in Africa are used to being victims of countries wanting to carve up our territory or subvert our sovereignty. It is unparalleled in African history to have another people rise to the defence of one of us – The defeat of the apartheid army was an inspiration to the struggling people in South Africa! Without the defeat of Cuito Cuanavale our organizations would not have been unbanned! The defeat of the racist army at Cuito Cuanavale has made it possible for me to be here today! Cuito Cuanavale was a milestone in the history of the struggle for southern African liberation!”

American imperialism was not happy with Castro’s involvement in Africa. They claim that the trade embargo would remain in place as long as the Communist Party of Cuba remains the absolute ruler. There are a few problems with this claim. Because in 1994, the Vietnamese trade embargo was lifted by the Clinton administration. Vietnam is a single party state too, with only one major difference. By the 1990’s, Vietnam had opened itself to western business interests. Cuba remained dogmatic loyal to the planned economy and rejected the pragmatism of the Asian stalinists. American imperialism was happy with the pro-capitalist course of the Asian ruling communist parties. This is why there are no American trade embargo’s in Asia any more!

But the Republic of Cuba has defied imperialism and capitalism. It has not made peace with the establishment of the world and up to 2008, remained fully loyal to the Stalinist model of total state control over the economy and the life of all workers. Raúl Castro changed this after he replaced Fidel, as president of the Republic of Cuba. As the younger brother, Raúl always stood in the shadows. Now he rules the Communist Party of Cuba and the island.  Under the younger Castro, Cuba started with more market reforms which now allows people to sell their houses and cars. Also they can own small businesses and employ people. Revolutionary socialists fear however that more capitalist measures will be taken once the trade embargo is lifted. Cuba’s ruling caste is supportive of more capitalism as it would increase their wealth. As bureaucrats who run the economy and the state, they are the first to profit from the new market system!

Our alternatives to more market based politics are socialist ones. Cuba must abandon the top-down planned economy and replace it with a democratic down-up planned system. In such a decentralized economy, workers councils would plan and produce. But in order for such a system to work, you need workers participation and self-management. Cuba would also need to end the monopoly of the communist party over politics. Yet the ruling caste would never allow this unless there is massive class struggle of workers and peasants against the party bureaucrats. Workers need to get organized and struggle against the old men of the bureaucracy. At the same time a workers party must be build in order to defend the gains of the Cuban Revolution. Because a capitalist restoration would not improve the lives of the Cuban proletariat!

 

The old men of the communist party. They rule, not the Cuban working class!