Castro and Cuba (Interlink Illustrated Histories)

by Angelo Trento, Arthur Figliola (Translator)

Overview

On January 1, 1959, Castro's followers entered Havana. The guerrillas took power and the "socialism of the tropics" began. Today, although the Castro regime has introduced some openings to a market economy, the island continues to wage a battle for its survival as the only socialist regime in the Americas. This concise history, which begins with the seizing of independence in 1898 and reaches to the present day, synthesizes the events that have made Cuba a singular case in the history of communism: the choice of socialism by Fidel and the missile crisis of 1962; the internationalism of Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Havana's maverick foreign policy; the adoption of the Soviet model and its effect on Cuba's social and economic life; the forms of the poder popular; the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break with Moscow; and the difficulties created by the continuing economic embargo and the historical hostility of the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781566563390
Publisher:	Interlink Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/01/2000
Series:	Interlink Illustrated Histories
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.13(w) x 7.63(h) x (d)

About the Author

Angelo Trento teaches Latin American History at the Instituto Universitario Orientale in Naples. He is the author of Brazil and co-author of Latin America in the 20th Century.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	From Independence to the Revolution	8
	An Unequal War between Spain and the United States	11
	The Prison of Sugar	14
	Political Distortions	16
	The Journey of Fidel Castro	20
	Cuba on the Eve of Revolution	21
	The Guerrilla Warfare of the Barbudos	23
	Work on the Slave Plantation	12
	Military Occupation and Economic Expansion	16
	Political Malpractice	18
	The General Principles of Guerrilla Warfare	28
	The Guerrillas on Balance	29
Chapter 2	Caribbean Socialism	30
	Moralizing, Modernization, and Voluntarism	32
	Tensions and Divisions	37
	On the Brink of Tragedy: The Bay of Pigs and the Missile Crisis	41
	Structures Supporting the Revolution	46
	The Dream of the "New Man"	48
	The Return to Sugar	52
	1961: The US Embargo	38
	Doubts in the White House: October, 1962	45
Chapter 3	Internationalism and Choosing Sides	54
	The Third World and Solidarity	55
	Supporting the Armed Struggle	58
	Guevara in the Congo and Bolivia	60
	Rapprochement with Moscow and the New Latin American Policy	65
	The Revolutionary Offensive and the Harvest of 1970	68
	Limits of the Internationalism of the 1960s	58
	Guevara and 1968	64
	The Failure of the Latin American Guerrilla Movement	68
	Workers and Small Merchants	70
Chapter 4	Economic Growth and the Soviet Model	72
	The Directions of Economic Policy	74
	The Party: Mass Organizations and Institutions	79
	Dissent and Discontent	83
	Renewed Internationalist Zeal	86
	Rates of Economic Growth: 1970-1985	74
	Poder Popular	80
Chapter 5	A New Road	94
	The Strategy of "Rectification of Errors"	96
	The Trial of General Ochoa	99
	Tensions with Moscow and Washington	103
	What to do?	97
	Restive Youth	100
Chapter 6	Embargo, the Fall of the Ussr, and Economic Openness	106
	The "Special Period"	107
	The Crisis of the Balseros, or Boat People	109
	The Opening to Foreign Capital and Economic Reform	110
	Hardening of the US Position	114
	An Intense Period of Diplomacy	118
	Between Political Openings and Closings	119
	Reforms, Warnings, and Regrets	113
	The Terms of the Embargo	116
	Resentment Created by Tourism	117
	The Sirens of Consumer Society	122
	Bibliography	124
	Chronology	125
	Index of Names	127