Castro's Cuba (2005)
Capitalism, Communism, and the Cuban Way
Kevin J Kieswetter
December 5 2005
University of Waterloo Political Science
Dr. Shui Hing Lo
The most important political distinction among countries concerns not their form of government but their degree of government. The differences between democracy and dictatorship are less than the differences between those countries whose politics embodies consensus, community, legitimacy, organization, effectiveness, stability, and those countries whose politics is deficient in these qualities. 1
The concept of legitimacy remains a critical topic for debate among political scientists. The opening paragraph is a quotation from “Political Order in Changing Societies” by Samuel P. Huntington that will be used here as a basis when discussing Cuba in this paper on the question of legitimacy. I will argue that Cuba has a legitimate nation-state in the view of its citizens while internationally it remains a pariah due to its human rights record and adherence to a socialist methodology rooted in a state controlled economy and electoral system. Therefore, I will argue that legitimacy exists in Cuba based on the Soviet model of socialism. I will examine the impact of the sanctions and the Cuban Diaspora. Then I will consider Vietnam’s recent economic revival while contrasting the United States and their record of human rights both domestically, and with regards to the Abu Graib torture by American servicemen and women.
Defining the Concept of Legitimacy
Legitimacy arises out of the enactment of a constitution that spells out certain rights for its citizens including freedom of speech, assembly and the press. A minimum level of education is mandatory while higher learning is affordable and available to all members of society. A strong judiciary independent of the executive ensures safety and fairness to all members regardless of race, religion or gender. Police associations and special intelligence enable the protection of its borders, airspace, and embassies. Health care is available to ensure a quality of life from infancy throughout ones lifetime; multi-party systems ensure that free elections are administered in a fair and transparent manner while representing all people in all regions; allows all members to participate in the economy while promoting innovation and equal opportunity regardless of heritage, ability, or gender.
The Cuban Experience
Cuba experienced internal turbulence under the colonization of Spain which began in the 16th c. During the colonial period it was primarily an agrarian based society and economy that relied on its sugar crops. The class system was composed of the clergy who controlled a privileged education system and emphasized religious conformity. The state was controlled through the military and colonial officers 2.
The struggle for independence culminated in The Ten Years War against Spain in 1868. Cuba had anarchistic ambitions since colonization however, particularly since 1920 when the island was affected by “anarcho-syndicalists dominating the thriving labour organizations and as Kirwin Shaffer explains that by 1909 there were three newspapers published by anarchists in Cuba that promoted better working conditions and mobilized workers in the agri-sugar cane industry. 3 This culture of revolution has been their modus operandi since the 19th century and continued with the American influence in the sugar industry which created in itself a one class system with the U.S. “American Sugar Refining Company” that alienated Cubans by utilizing cheap labour and land to supply America with “70 to90 percent” of all of the United States.4 The reliance on the United States as Cuba’s number one customer for its prize commodity left it vulnerable to American interests that included mafia control of the drug trade, prostitution, and gambling centered in Havana.” 5 The American hegemonic policy that existed since Spain was ousted continued with the economic embargo on February 7, 1962 which clearly showed the U.S. intolerance for socialism despite the fact they supported the Batista regime which was corrupt and authoritarian.
Batista was strong on tourism which made Cuba a magnet for many Americans who enjoyed the sex trade, casinos, and pristine beaches much to the chagrin of the natives who were distressed by the boorish behavior of their northern cousins. The Cuban press, according to a UN report in 1958, was ranked eighth in the world and had more radio stations than Great Britain or France, was instrumental in helping Batista get re-elected as he manipulated them to gain victory. His regime was considered brutal, dishonest, and killed or jailed many of his political opponents. One of his criticisms is that he neglected the sugar industry which saw its output shrink during the 1950’s until Castro nationalized it and returned it to profitability. Although the Cuban economy performed well and the state provided necessary services like health care and education, the concept of legitimacy failed in his era of Cuba as he spent government funds effusively on telecommunications and siphoned money from the casino industry where his brother in law controlled the slot machines and funneled funds into separate bank accounts. 6 Moreover, Batista did have open elections; however, the process was skewed in his favour by virtue of his association with the media.
Castro’s Cuba
In his rendering of the merits of the impact of revolutions, Huntington explains, “the revolutions destroy old social classes, the old bases usually ascriptive, of social differentiation, and the old social cleavages. It produces a new sense of community and a common identity for the new groups which acquire political consciousness.”7 What Castro was counting on was the class divisions that became prevalent during the Batista regime would mobilize and support the revolution which he was successful in doing although with consequences. While he was the champion of the movement away from Batista’s corrupt repressiveness he could not hold sway with many middle and upper class citizens. As a result he could not stem the exodus of approximately 200,000 of Cuba’s middle and upper classes between 1959 and 1962. Thus, the advent of the Cuban Diaspora was creating a nascent community in South Florida, particularly in Miami. The loss of mobile, educated, entrepreneurs who thrived under American influence on the island had a negative impact on the economy.8 Castro began to implement land reforms based on the Soviet model of collectivization, and instituted universal health care which gave him the respect and support of the majority of the Cuban population. The revolution institutionalized the population and created a symbol of Cuba in the world that represented fierce independence from outside sources such as the U.S. and former protectorate, Spain. Cuba reached out to the Soviet Union realizing that it needed a strong ally to counter America’s presence in the region. After all by overthrowing Batista’s regime Castro and his followers had denounced the American ideal. It was necessary to secure economic ties to develop trade and receive economic subsidies from the Russians. While Cuba and the USSR co-opted together the Russians wanted to protect their interests in Latin America and particularly Cuba. Both Castro and Khrushchev in agreed to use Cuba as a base for its missiles. The strategy made sense for Cuba as Castro was still a very young revolutionary leader and Cuba was still developing its military capacity. However, this precipitated the ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ which placed Cuba squarely in the crosshairs between Moscow and Washington. While a potential Third World War was avoided, it illustrated the significant relationship between the two communist states and cemented Castro’s shared ideology with his socialist brethren. American hegemony has been, if anything, consistent since the end of the Second World War and the US was particularly mindful of its interests on April 17, 1961 with its failed invasion on Cuba at The Bay of Pigs. With Castro revealing his Marxist ideology and declaration of Cuba as a communist state the US acted in the hopes of ousting Castro. The failed attempt only galvanised support for Castro’s regime and created anti-American sentiment throughout the island. The US instituted an embargo in response to Cuba and Russia, formalizing a trade agreement involving arms, sugar, and oil. Castro couldn’t have it both ways and the Americans would punish him for renouncing capitalism and American aid which had helped Cuba escape colonial rule under Spain. Life would change markedly as Rosendahl indicates below on everyday life in Cuba.
Rosendahl explains that since socialism was instituted in 1961 most citizens are state employed except for a small group of “particulares” which include artisans, independent farmers, hairdressers etc. Profits are directed to the state and redistributed through social programs such as free education and medical care. As well people do not pay income taxes; however, membership in the Communist Party requires payment as does the armed forces. Scarcity remains a problem due to lack of foreign investment resulting from the U.S. imposed embargo that limits Western countries from trading with Cuba. Many black markets exist that have a reciprocal effect to create an exchange system outside the limits from the state economy and rationing exists in most households. People accept this into their day to day lives and adapt. It creates more human to human contact and is another vehicle of expressing their patriotism. 9
To consolidate power is to survive for any burgeoning government irrespective of it being democratic or communist. In the West, leaders galvanise support for their policies within their respective parties to acquire party leadership and maintain power. This is necessary to begin the process of instituting policy while building a legacy. There is a large vacuum between this process in Communist Cuba and Vietnam and Western Democracies, particularly where fixed terms in office create a rush to change policy in the first term. If a leader is successful in being re-elected to a second term the focus is cementing their legacy. In Cuba and Vietnam, the system remains strong because as Huntington explains “one thing communist governments do is to govern; they do provide effective authority. Their ideology furnishes a basis of legitimacy, and their party basis provides the institutional mechanism for mobilizing support and executing policy.” 10
Despite the embargo Cuba remained stable through the 1960’s. Although Castro made known his Marxist – Leninist ideologies it wasn’t until 1965 that the Communist Party of Cuba (CCP) was formalised. Castro realized that by 1970 some elements of democracy needed to be introduced into the electoral system while further augmenting the Soviet style of government to consolidate power.
By 1974 “Peoples Power” was implemented on a small scale with experimental elections in some municipalities to gauge their effectiveness and was utilized in 1976. The idea was grand and hoped to give back political freedom to the masses for the first time since the Revolution. Moreover, in this period the government reformed the judiciary which strengthened the courts, held its First Congress of the CCP that formalized government control and concentrated power, and finally established a new constitution in 1976. What this has meant is a highly structured system that has given citizens more rights through the constitution, but resulted in a larger bureaucracy that is able to maintain a stronger vigil over the people. 11 The strength of the party and its ability to institute policy give it legitimacy. It has centralized power and built a political machine based on the old Soviet model. The difficulty in Cuba remains transparency. With one dominant party and fringe parties’ citizens have never truly experienced “Peoples Power.” Still, the denizens are pro-Castro and remain unified in “their” revolution as Rosendahl illustrates in a dialogue between a Party leader and his audience. He looked up, scanned the crowd, and shouted at the top of his voice, “Patria o muerte!” (Homeland or death!) The crowd replied, “Venceremos!” (We shall win!). Voices were heard shouting “Viva Fidel, Viva el Partido!” The crowd with fists raised in the air shouted “Viva!” The Party leader in a piercing voice to the crowd “Socialismo!” with the crowd replying “O muerte!” (Or death!) 12
The Cold War Heats Up Havana
In retrospect, it is hard to imagine that anyone could foresee the demise of the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, especially Fidel Castro. He hung his hopes and dreams of Cuba’s success on the mantle of the Soviet dynasty. In December of 1991 the Soviet Union fell and with it the economic pipeline of cash that had propped up the Cuban economy. This left Cuba isolated and still faced with the American economic embargo. The Americans and particularly Robert Toricelli , a U.S. congressman and Bob Graham, a senator from Florida, were the architects of the “Toricelli Law” which is facetiously named ‘The Cuban Democracy Act’ and was legislated in 1992. The law put further restrictions on the amount of money that can be transferred to and from Cuban citizens abroad and penalties against countries that trade with Cuba will receive sanctions even if working through a third party. The Cuban Diaspora as was mentioned earlier created an influx of emigrants from Cuba that were fearful, and dissatisfied with Castro’s nationalistic policies at the time of the Revolution. This pent up anti-Castro sentiment is vociferous in Florida where Senator Graham represents their interests. Huntington explains “By 2000, two thirds of Miami’s people were Hispanic, and more than half were Cuban or of Cuban descent.” Moreover, “75.2 per cent of adult Miamians spoke a language other than English at home. Of Miamians speaking a non-English language at home 87.2 per cent spoke Spanish.” 13 The strong Cuban American base in Florida with its booming economy puts extensive pressure on the US legislators to heed to their special interests as Senator Graham’s involvement in the Cuban Democracy Act show. Yet, the US wasn’t finished.
In 1996 the Helms-Burton Law went one step further banning the use of Cuban goods in other commodities such as giving proof that Cuban sugar is not being used in their product(s). These measures are meant to disrupt the Cuban economy, manifest the downfall of the Castro regime, and bring about democracy to the island-state. Yet, when we speak of legitimacy in benevolent terms, the United States, by failing to allow Cuba to properly provide food and medicine as well as building materials, has shown contempt for human rights by directly affecting all Cuban’s: women and children, too. Yet, Helms-Burton grew out of anger from Cuba shooting down two unarmed small aircraft piloted by Cuban-American dissidents of the Castro government.14 The United Nations meets annually to hold a vote on the embargo and each year it is unanimous in its summary by its member states to lift the sanctions. Typically, the U.S. and Israel oppose removing them. , with international pressure and the support of the UN the American policy persists. The Elian Gonzalez case extends my argument regarding the influence of the Cuban population in Florida. Elian’s mother was attempting to travel on a makeshift raft from Cuba to Florida with her then 6 year old son. Her husband and she were divorced and the boy was in her custody. Unfortunately, Mrs. Gonzalez drowned yet Elian managed to cling to the raft and was rescued by fishermen. The boy was taken to his maternal relatives in Miami. Elian’s father was in Cuba and made aware of his son’s whereabouts in Miami. The issue came to a point where Mrs. Gonzales’ relatives did not want to return Elian to his father. They simply felt he was better off with them in the U.S. than returning home to Cuba with his father. After they refused to return the child, then Attorney-General Janet Reno ordered them to release the boy into his father’s custody. Still they refused and an order was given from Attorney-General Reno to retrieve the boy. The police arrived with the order and Elian was eventually re-united with his father. It demonstrates the disdain of the Cuban-American community for Castro and his policies. They feel displaced and its quite likely many of them never were born in Cuba and have experienced that lifestyle. It also shows a weakness or contempt for the U.S. legal system by ignoring the Attorney-General’s order. While they regard Castro as a dictator it would seem they “play outside the rules” and question the legitimacy of the American government. After Elian was retrieved from Mrs. Gonzales relatives and placed back into his father’s custody the Latin born baseball players that play professionally in South Florida staged a one day protest and refused to play one game. Some of these players were trained in Cuba and came to America to ply their trade and have made millions of dollars in guaranteed contracts. Moreover, it’s reasonable that the players were responding to pressure from the Cuban-American community. After all, it is a predominant force and contributes economically to support major league baseball in South Florida and helps pay their salaries. The players may have no resentment towards Castro; however, they do recognize the influence of this city-state that is Hispanic South Florida and its economic might. The irony is that they showed the same militancy towards American law just as Castro did in 1959 during the Revolution. Should Cuba democratize, it’s very debatable whether many of the anti-Castro Cuban-American’s would return home; probably the Diaspora will intensify and solidify their base in South Florida. For the Unites States, “it’s you better be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.”
Conclusion
Cuba is a communist state with democratic traits. Its citizens accept a state controlled economy and closed elections. Since the revolution there has been a Diaspora resulting in an exodus of Cuban’s to Florida and South Florida, in particular. However, according to Rosendahl, there is a fierce sense of nationalistic pride among citizens in Cuba who feel victimized by the U.S. embargo and subsequent restrictions imposed on them through the Cuban Democracy Act and Helms-Burton. This has magnified their vigilance against the United States and strengthened their nationalistic ethos. Larry Diamond writes that in order to ignite democracy in Communist nations such as Cuba and Vietnam the best approach is to allow democracy in by promoting trade, travel and particularly in Cuba’s case, remove the embargo.15 When we speak of democracy and legitimacy we assume that it means freedom of speech, the ability to choose our leader through elections, and human rights in terms of equality. Communist regimes typically manage the economy and state with rigor. In recent times socialist states have become more sensitive to these issues while operating legitimately according to socialist dogma.
The United States and other democratic nation-states will argue that Cuba fails with regard to human rights violations. However, the U.S. reached a milestone on December 2, 2005 when it executed the one-thousandth inmate since the death penalty was re-instated in 1976.16 In addition, the US Bureau of Justice indicates that in 1953 there were 131 people under the death sentence in the United States and now has 3,315 people on death row as of 2004.17 By contrast, Cuba has reportedly “at least” 50 people on death row.18 If we take into account the U.S. census of 2000 that indicates a population of 281,421,906 19 compared to Cuba’s based on their 2002 census of 11,177,743 19 20 the percentage in American prisons for the death penalty alone is significantly higher and yet Cuba is ostracized for it’s human rights record. If we consider the Abu Graib prison tortures involving American servicemen and women the notion that Cuba’s record is not acceptable holds little weight. While the US hegemony is accepted due to their economic and military strength it is in their best interest to bring about change democratically, not out of frustration or economic self-interest. If we cite Vietnam which also has a Communist government and a poor record of human rights abuse we will find that in 1995 President Clinton restored full diplomatic relations. Cuba and Vietnam have experienced great economic difficulty with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. However, in Cuba’s case they received tougher sanctions vis a vis Helms -Burton. It is very difficult to validate the American stance towards Cuba when they are aiding Vietnam in restoring legitimacy as a member of the global community. As a result, Vietnam has begun to democratize and expand their economy. Since 1987 GDP for Vietnam has climbed from approximately 4% to approximately 8%. Cuba was approximately -1% in 1987 then dropped to -15% in 1993 after the fall of the Soviet Union. It did recover in 1996 to approximately 6% before dropping in 1997.21
Today we find Vietnamese purchasing power reflected in the automotive sector which experienced growth of 43% from January to August of this year. Overall growth is 8.1% this year while the percentage of poor people according to government criteria has dropped to 20% in 2004 from 58% in 1993.22 The outlook for Cuba is difficult. Sanctions are destroying their capacity to move to an innovative workforce that can find its niche’ in today’s globalization. Castro has focused on what he has: tourism to generate foreign currency but still needs to open up the border to Direct Foreign Investment as Vietnam has done. There has been a democratic movement abound for thirty years. Data from Freedom House indicates that in 2004 there are 89 countries that are totally free compared to 44 in 1972 when they started surveying.23 Will Cuba be part of the “Third Wave” because of the embargo or Castro ceding to pressure to democratize? I would be pressed to choose one or the other, however, as Huntington said “Revolutions produce little liberty, but they are history’s most expeditious means of producing fraternity, equality, and identity. This identity and sense of community legitimize the economic shortages and material burdens.” 24
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