History of the Cuban Revolution

Aviva Chomsky is Professor of History and Coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Salem State University. An active member of Latin America solidarity and immigrants’ rights movements for decades, she is the author of several books, including Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal (2014), Linked Labor Histories: New England, Colombia, and the Making of a Global Working Class (2008), and They Take Our Jobs! And Twenty Other Myths about Immigration (2007).

• List of Illustrations viiiSeries Editor’s Preface ixAcknowledgments xiTimeline xiiIntroduction 1Talking about Freedom 2Scholars Weigh In 3Why Revolution? 5Comparing Capitalism and Socialism 8Latin American Attitudes 121 Cuba through 1959 15Colonial History 15The Colony in the Republic 20Revolution: A War, or a Process? 282 Experiments with Socialism 36Analyzing the Situation: Economic Backwardness 37The 1960s: Experimentation and the Great Debate 40The 1970s: Institutionalization and the Soviet Model 45Cuba in the 1970s: How it Worked 461986: Rectification 51How Democratic was Cuban Socialism? 513 Relations with the United States 54The United States and Cuba 55In their Own Words: U.S. Policymakers Respond to Revolution 57Covert War: Up to the Bay of Pigs 63Covert War: After the Bay of Pigs 65The Missile Crisis 68After the Missile Crisis 70The War Continues 724 Emigration and Internationalism 75Miami 78Beyond Miami 80Cuba’s Global Reach: Beyond the Cold War 81Cuba and Black Internationalism 82Cuba in Africa and Latin America 84Civilian Aid Missions 865 Art, Culture, and Revolution 88Literature 89Film 94Music 98Sport 100Dance 102Food 103Political Culture and Cultural Politics 1056 Cuba Diversa 110Race 110Gender 116Sexuality 119Religion 1237 The “Special Period”: Socialism on One Island 1261993–95: Rapid‐Fire Reforms 126Social Impact of the Market Reforms 130Limits to Capitalism 132Charting New Territory 134Contradictions: Inequality and Jineterismo 135Opting to Leave: The 1994 Exodus 138Debate and its Limits during the 1990s 141Debating Democracy 142Limits to Debate 1468 Cuba into the Twenty‐First Century 149From Perfeccionamiento to Recentralization 150Disillusionment 153Cuba after Fidel: A New Era? 155Civil Society into the New Century 159U.S. Policy: The Bush Era 163Cuba, Venezuela, and the ALBA 164Barack Obama and Raúl Castro: A New Relationship? 166Analyzing the Changes 168Conclusion 171Glossary 174Notes 177Bibliography 198Index 214