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﻿<title﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, Cuba Under Siege - Article﻿</title>﻿
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﻿<b﻿>﻿Cuba Under Siege
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by Jody Smith﻿<br﻿>﻿
﻿<i﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, May - June 1996﻿</i>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
﻿</center>﻿

﻿<font﻿ ﻿size="1"﻿>﻿Recent US offensives against Cuba have thrust that tiny island country back into the headlines. Jody Smith argues that while defending Cuba against American aggression, it is also vital to understand that Castro's regime is not a model for socialism. ﻿</font>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

The United States' imperialist attitude towards Cuba has again reared its ugly head. In response to the downing of two American planes on February 24 of this year, US President Bill Clinton demanded that other countries suspend trade with Cuba in order to condemn the "barbaric" actions of a country that had previously filed nine diplomatic complaints regarding violations of their airspace. These complaints detailed instances of terrorist aggression against the Cuban population, as well as attacks upon its infrastructure, crops and livestock by US civilian aircraft. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Those involved in these paramilitary style "missions" were member of Brothers to the Rescue, a group based in Florida that is virulently pro-capitalist and anti-Castro. Many of its supporters are rich Cuban émigrés who are after the property they were forced to leave behind when ownership of industry was collectivized. The group is also known to have strong ties to the intelligence and military communities in the US. It is not unlikely that the US government has provided funding for the activities of Brothers to the Rescue. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
US foreign policy towards Cuba has been consistently hostile, ranging from an economic embargo to direct or indirect physical offensives, like the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
There is no question Cuba should be defended against such imperialism. Beyond that, however, Cuba remains a serious issue of discussion among socialists. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
There is much to be critical of in Cuban society. Homosexuals are routinely persecuted, and the position of women has been attacked through a Family Code that privatizes domestic work and child care in order to relieve the state of it's social obligations. Racism is also a problem that is officially unrecognized. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Most of the ills that socialists hold capitalism responsible for continue to exist in Cuba. This is not because socialism is unworkable, but because Cuba is unable to isolate itself from the forces of the international market. As a result, the interests of the working class have to be subsumed to the needs of a state that is dominated by the world market. This creates a bureaucratic and authoritarian version of "socialism." 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
The survival of Cuba in its present condition depends on its ability to reduce the costs of producing goods, especially those for export. This means that although workers are not exploited by bosses who own their workplaces, they are still participants in a global economy that exploits their labour under a system of state-owned industries. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Particularly in the absence of aid from Russia or the former East bloc, Cuba needs to compete for investment in the same way as any country. While the austerity may be administered by a state that calls itself "socialist," the demands of the global market still dominate. This is clear in the declaration of a "special period in time of peace" by the Cuban government in August of 1990. This is a tactic similar to the cry of "recession!" or "deficit" used in most countries to keep workers from demanding a fairer share of social wealth. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Socialism in a single country is a virtual impossibility for any nation, especially in these days of capitalism without borders. The island economy of Cuba, which has long been dependent on trade to obtain essentials such as petroleum, has often been a pawn in global intrigues. During the Cold War, Cuba was a participant on the side of the USSR. Aid and trade subsidies to the tune of $1 billion a day ensured compliance as both an outpost of Soviet nuclear weaponry and participation in the Soviet Union's own imperialist wars in Africa. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Part of the difficulty is also Cuba's revolutionary tradition. The uprising that ousted the corrupt, US-backed Batista regime in 1959 was not led by mass popular movements. It was conceived and carried out by a small band of guerrilla fighters led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevera. While they enjoyed the passive support of much of the population, the participation that is necessary to self-liberation was not there. The core of activists responsible saw military power as a higher priority than political struggle, and thus did not make the connections with the working class that are essential for a socialist revolution. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
None of this is to deny the crucial importance of defending Cuba against the economic and military threats made on it by American imperialism. It is simply to insist that the goal of socialist liberation requires more than that; and that the working people of Cuba will one day have to take control of their own society from below. 
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