A History of the Cuban Revolution

List of Illustrations viii

Series Editor’s Preface x

Acknowledgments xii

Introduction 1

Talking about Freedom 2

Scholars Weigh In 4

Why Revolution? 6

Comparing Capitalism and Socialism 9

Latin American Attitudes 14

1 Cuba through 1959 18

Colonial History 18

The Colony in the Republic 25

Revolution: A War, or a Process? 34

2 Experiments with Socialism 44

Analyzing the Situation: Economic Backwardness 45

The 1960s: Experimentation and the Great Debate 48

The 1970s: Institutionalization and the Soviet Model 55

Democracy: U.S. and Cuban Style 56

Cuba in the 1970s: How it Worked 57

1986: Rectification 61

How Democratic was Cuban Socialism? 62

3 Relations with the United States 65

The United States and Cuba 66

In their Own Words: U.S. Policymakers Respond to Revolution 69

Covert War: Up to the Bay of Pigs 76

Covert War: After the Bay of Pigs 79

The Missile Crisis 82

After the Missile Crisis 85

The War Continues 86

4 Emigration and Internationalism 91

Miami 94

Cuba’s Global Reach: Beyond the Cold War 97

Cuba and Black Internationalism 98

Cuba in Africa and Latin America 100

Civilian Aid Missions 103

5 Art, Culture, and Revolution 106

Literature 110

Film 116

Music 120

Sport 122

Dance 125

Political Culture 126

Food 131

6 Cuba Diversa 134

Race 135

Gender 141

Sexuality 144

Religion 149

7 The “Special Period”: Socialism on One Island 153

1993–95: Rapid-Fire Reforms 154

Social Impact of the Market Reforms 157

Limits to Capitalism 159

Charting New Territory 162

Contradictions: Inequality and Jineterismo 164

Opting to Leave: The 1994 Exodus 168

Debate and its Limits during the 1990s 171

8 Cuba into the Twenty-First Century 176

From Perfeccionamiento to Recentralization 177

Civil Society into the New Century 183

Disillusionment 186

Bush-Era Policies 188

Cuba, Venezuela, and the ALBA 189

Cuba after Fidel 190

Conclusion 193

Notes 196

Bibliography 214

Index 228