Cuba: A New Era

http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/4421
Date Written:  2015-05-01
Publisher:  Against the Current
Year Published:  2015
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX20954

The normalization of U.S.-Cuba political relations was possible due to the changed geopolitical situation, Obama, and the Cuban diaspora being open to dialogue.

Abstract: 
-

Except:

The revolution's slogan Patria o Muerte meant that national sovereignty would not be negotiable. And it was not negotiated. The political line that the leadership followed unfailingly for half a century was shared by a majority of the population, which is why it was victorious in spite of exceptionally difficult historical and geopolitical conditions. Without mass support, Fidel Castro’s policies would have failed.

This doesn’t mean that the revolution was a walk in the park. The Cuban people greatly suffered for decades. They paid a heavy price for the Island's isolation, the North American military and economic embargo, and the policies of the Soviet Union. On top of the economic situation were political constraints and the authoritarian style of Fidel Castro -- itself a product of being a besieged fortress.