The legacy of Fidel and the Cuban Revolution

"No social scientist and no revolutionary socialist could have foreseen the Cuban revolution... There was an ideological and political reason that illuminated the prospective vision of some revolutionaries, and it proved correct in many respects. Even so, only one man, Fidel Castro, got to the bottom of that reason, and today the similarities and uncertainties that permeated his political struggles are evident. Faced with something as great and valuable as this revolution, it is therefore recommended that we avoid simplifications in order to grasp it in its flow, in its totality, and in its intrinsic beauty..."

Florestan Fernandes in the early 80s, on the Cuban revolution.

Fidel Castro departed leaving a clear and profound legacy of resistance and successful struggle for the complete decolonization of Cuban society. He also left the example of internationalist commitment to the liberation and decolonization struggles of Third World nations in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. While still young, he was the main leader of a social revolution that, through an uninterrupted process, overthrew the neocolonial social order and dynamically transformed itself into a socialist revolution. The political and moral leadership he exercised during this process, uncontested even by peers of the stature of Che Guevara, was decisive for the total liberation of Cuban society. Supported, along with the 26th of July Movement, by exploited workers and peasants, and capable of understanding the popular aspirations that flourished with the unleashing of the revolution, he had the ability to lead it to its zenith: the expropriation and nationalization of large estates and monopolistic companies, and the institution of social property.

Between 1953 (the year of the attack on the Moncada barracks) and the seizure of power in 1959, he led the construction of the political instruments that forged the success of the revolution. This included the formation of the guerrilla movement, the 26th of July Movement, and the rebel army, as well as the formation of the Cuban Communist Party after coming to power.

The Cuban revolution was not organized and led by a 'revolutionary party'. The party linked to the USSR, the PSP, which had influence in the trade union movement, did not want the revolutionary process to become radicalized. To a certain extent, it can be said that it was a revolution that happened 'despite the international apparatus of Stalinism'.

The "rebellious youth," which became the armed vanguard in the guerrilla war and the rebel army, constituted itself throughout the process as the driving force and link to the sense of revolt of the humblest (workers and peasants), and the vanguard that, increasingly radicalized during the revolutionary process, led it to its conclusion, with the construction of a new society, a new socialist order.

Fidel led the first socialist revolution in the Southern Hemisphere and Latin America. A concrete example showing that overcoming the neocolonial condition, the submission to the chains of imperialist exploitation, demands reflection and action for the socialist transformation of society.

We owe to Fidel an extraordinary contribution to this achievement of Cuban society, an example of rebellion for the our america And for the poorest countries on the periphery of capitalism. As Florestan Fernandes asserted in his book "From Guerrilla Warfare to Socialism," Fidel was the man capable of profoundly understanding the underlying reason for the Cuban revolution. His praxis as leader of the revolution enabled him to decipher the social dynamics established by the revolutionary process and the end to which the revolution should lead. He understood the impotence of sectors of the bourgeoisie with whom he formed a united front to overthrow Batista, in responding to the emerging desires of the oppressed classes, awakened by the revolutionary process. He did not hesitate to recognize and exploit the class antagonisms that became explicit in the course of the revolution. Therefore, he played an inescapable role in its victory and long duration.

It is well known that the specific social and material conditions of Cuba, a nation with a small territory and limited industrial development, greatly hindered the construction of Cuban socialism. However, the social forces awakened by the revolutionary process sustained an intense social mobilization, which initiated the collective work of Cuban society. As early as 1961, two years after the revolution, Cuba declared itself a country free of illiteracy. Social indicators in education, health, and the right to work rapidly improved, qualitatively transforming the lives of the Cuban population.

Still in the 60s, the American economic blockade began, lasting for six decades. The American administrations transformed the island of Cuba into a 'besieged territory', attacked by various acts of espionage, economic sabotage, and terrorism. A widely known fact.

Under Fidel's leadership, the island continued to resist all pressures from the greatest empire in history. Through this leadership, even under siege, Cuba supported liberation struggles in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Despite being associated with the Soviet Union (USSR), a power that sought peaceful coexistence with the US, Cuba sought to "export" its revolution, materially supporting revolutionary movements in numerous countries. In other words, despite its association with and economic dependence on the Soviet Union, it preserved its sovereignty and maintained its commitment to revolutionary internationalism. Supporting political liberation movements and resistance against military dictatorships in Latin America was a Cuban decision, independent of Russia's will. It also preserved its sovereignty in relation to the USSR, particularly regarding its internationalist cooperation in Africa over four decades.

This internationalist commitment becomes clear, among other possible examples, when one observes the direct Cuban participation in political processes of national liberation in Africa, such as the civil war in Angola and Ethiopia, the liberation struggles in Congo, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and other countries. It is worth noting that the victory of the MPL in Angola over the South African army was only achieved in the battle of... Cuito Canavale...when Angolan troops fought under the full command of Cuban generals and the supervision of Fidel. Cuba's participation in this historical episode contributed decisively to the defeat of one of the most deplorable political regimes in contemporary history: apartheid in South Africa. Cuba's role in Africa, as Eric Hobsbawm emphasizes in his celebrated book. age of extremes, “attests to Fidel’s commitment to revolution in the Third World” (Hobsbawm, p. 245, 1994). Cuban support for decolonization struggles in Africa and throughout the Third World involved sending expeditionary forces containing tens of thousands of soldiers, but also medical support (brigades of Cuban doctors) and technical know-how.

The support of Cuban military instructors was decisive in the MPLA's capture of Luanda in 1975. The defeats of the South African generals by the Cubans in 1976 and 1988 also accelerated the end of the South African occupation of Namibia.[1].

The end of socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, a severe blow to the Cuban revolution, indirectly served to demonstrate its almost inexhaustible energies. At the very moment when its enemies were proclaiming the inevitable end of socialism, the Cuban people resisted, after 1991, all sorts of privations they had not experienced during the entire revolutionary period. As Raúl Castro said at the ceremony honoring Fidel in Santiago de Cuba before his burial, the Cuban people resisted, for example, 20 hours of electricity rationing for extended periods. They lacked food and essential items such as hygiene products. They resisted and even achieved the feat of preserving the social gains of the revolution, including one of the best education and healthcare systems in the world. This resistance suggests the profound meaning of the revolution, alive and shared by the people of Cuba.

This capacity for resistance becomes even more remarkable given that the high cost shared by the Cuban people for maintaining socialism during the Special Period coincides precisely with a moment of retreat, ideological crisis, and disorientation of the left worldwide. It is a time of deepening globalization under the aegis of financialized capitalism and the vigorous ideological onslaught of neoliberalism.

Fidel bids farewell, leaving behind the example of not abandoning the principles of the Cuban revolution and national liberation. After proving that the social forces awakened by a revolution, even in a small country, can inflict a 'painful moral and political defeat on the greatest empire on the planet,' they can sustain one of the longest and most heroic resistances. Showing that even a poor nation can contribute to the liberation and well-being of other peoples. Through military and health aid in numerous peripheral countries, the Cuban revolution projected itself internationally. It was this work that enabled the Cuban people to achieve a position of freedom, by finding and recognizing themselves in the "other" with whom they share the same humanity and the same impetus for liberation.

PS: The Cuban people's recognition was evident in the farewell to Fidel with the massive gatherings in Havana and Santiago. Furthermore, the warm reception from the Cuban people in all the cities where the funeral procession carrying Fidel's ashes passed was remarkable. International recognition of Fidel and the Cuban revolution was revealed in various expressions of support from authorities, personalities, institutions, and social movements in several countries. It is noteworthy that some countries, such as Uruguay, Venezuela, Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and North Korea, declared national mourning.

Texts consulted:

Britain, Victoria – Cuba in Africa - New Left Review 17, September-October 2002.

Fernandes, Florestan – “From Guerrilla Warfare to Socialism” TA Queiroz publisher, São Paulo, 1979.

Guevara, Che – Social Proyeciones del ejército rebel”, in F. Castro, La revolución cubana.

JacobsSean - "Viva Fidel", published on the website africasacountry.com. December, 2016.

Hobsbawm, Eric – “The Age of Extremes” The Short Twentieth Century – 1914 – 1941.

Morris Emely - Unexpected Cuba - New Left Review 88, July-August 2014.