This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. IV, No. 40, November 7-13, 2004

Cuba Libre!

This island-nation in the tropics, bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, may be small but it is known to the world as the country that ousted two colonial powers - Spain and the U.S. - and established not only an independent and sovereign nation but, as Cuba’s constitution proudly proclaims, “a socialist state of workers and peasants.”

BY RUTH G. CERVANTES
Posted by Bulatlat

Despite Spanish and American colonization, Cuba, an archipelago of some 110,000 sq. kms. and home to 11.3 million people. (UN, 2003), has retained its indigenous name. 

The Cuban revolution toppled the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959.  Since then, Cubans, led by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, persevered to build a country far from that which was plundered and aggrieved by almost four centuries of Spanish colonial rule (1510-1898) and more than six decades of American occupation (1898-1959).

After the revolution, there was an “exodus” of Cubans to Miami, Florida, USA. Those who fled Cuba, according to Mexican author-illustrator Eduardo “Rius” del Rio, were Batista’s cohorts, killers, political hacks, bandits in government and brothel owners. He, however, acknowledged that not all who fled the island were undesirables. Many fled because of the “terror of the atheistic communism,” people who thought that “communists eat people raw.”

Dr. Lisandro Perez, professor of sociology and anthropology and Director of the Cuban research institute at the Florida International University explains that an “exile ideology” eventually pervaded the Cuban community in Miami, one that favors U.S. military intervention to topple Cuba’s government and supports armed invasion by exiles.

In the midst of all these, Cuba rebuilt itself as a nation. It became independent of U.S. capital, goods and technology.  Cuban leaders earned the ire of the U.S. because they nationalized “American-owned” properties and businesses.

Despite a most brutal and unjust trade embargo by the U.S., Cuba was able to establish a reputable health and education system.  The World Health Organization (WHO) places Cuba in the first place in vaccination among 214 countries worldwide. 

In a recent CNN report, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton confirmed that Cuba has a well-developed and sophisticated biomedical industry for 40 years and that the industry is one of the most advanced in Latin America and leads in the production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

Cuba’s literacy rate is 99 percent In the academic year 2001- 2002, more than 2.4 million students attended

school.  Cuban officials say that the advances in the field of education led the island to “head education in the primary level in Latin America, the 89.9 percent of Cuban children under 0-5 years old receive education and childcare, a record statistic in Latin America.”

Of course, Cuba is no paradise, but it has begun its pursuit of the right to live in a social order that is defined by its people.

Cuba today is a dignified country that has withstood 45 years of U.S.-led economic blockade, black propaganda and terrorist attacks intended to topple the government of Fidel Castro and to regain control of the former U.S. colony. 

Disrupting Cuba

With the help of its Cuban-American allies in Miami, Florida, the U.S. government continues to bully Cuba.

The U.S. adopted the Torricelli Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996.  The former curtailed  trade in medicine and food that Cuba had with subsidiaries of American companies based outside U.S. territory.  The same act sets forth severe prohibitions against maritime navigation from and to Cuba. The latter prevents foreign investments from entering Cuba.

Meanwhile, a BBC report cited that Cuban President Fidel Castro is said to have survived more than 600 CIA-sponsored attempts on his life.

On Feb. 24, 1996, an overflight of two planes belonging to the Miami-based organization calling itself “Brothers to the Rescue” was led by Miami-based Bay of Pigs veteran, José Basulto and was being funded by a suspected CIA-supported organization, the Cuban-American National Foundation. The unauthorized flight persisted over Cuban airspace and was downed by the Cuban Armed Forces as a consequence.

In 2004, Washington approved the use of U.S. military aircraft to transmit “pro-democracy” broadcasts from the Washington-backed Radio-TV Marti in Miami, which claims to provide “balanced, uncensored” news for Cubans. 

Renewed threats

Cuba may be on the road to progress but a Damocles’ sword hangs over it.  It is facing yet another threat from the U.S. as it was placed among seven countries on the State Department’s list of terrorist sponsors.

The Bush administration has publicly accused Cuba of developing biological weapons.  In 2002, in a speech entitled “Beyond the Axis of Evil,” Undersecretary Bolton announced that suspicious activities are conducted in Cuban biomedical facilities.

U.S. President George W. Bush has time and again declared that he will support “efforts to free Cuba from Fidel Castro’s dictatorship.” The National Assembly elected the Cuban president and vice president for a term of five years; elections were last held on March 6, 2003 with a 100 percent legislative vote.  (CIA-The World Factbook, 11 May 2004)

In a bid to toughen his noose against Castro, Bush outlined the U.S.’ policy toward Havana on May 6, 2004. This included the further tightening of travel restrictions to Cuba; increasing aid to help bolster Cuban dissidents and making sure that U.S. government propaganda gets to the Cubans. A reported US$59 million will be allocated by the U.S. government to finance what they call “democracy-building efforts by youth, women and Afro-Cubans.”

Bio-weapons and regime-change – tag lines used by the U.S. government as pretext to invade Iraq – are the same lines now being used in a bid to regain control of Cuba and to exhibit U.S. supremacy worldwide.

Cuban resistance

A million Cubans gathered in Havana last May 7 to denounce what they described as brutal, ruthless and cruel measures against Cuba by the Bush government.

Cubans believe that the U.S. is attempting to destroy the Cuban Revolution and its example. They also believe that the danger of a direct military invasion is now surfacing once more under the Bush Administration.

They are however, prepared for whatever sacrifices the new U.S. aggression may entail for Cuba. The Cuban people and their government vowed to defend their independence and right to self-determination. In a joint statement, the Cuban Revolutionary Government and Communist Party of Cuba said, “Cuba will never return to the horrible, wretched, inhuman condition of a U.S. colony.”

Fidel Castro declared, “I shall be in the frontline to die fighting in defense of my homeland.” Bulatlat

Note: This article was first published in the September issue of FHR (For Human Rights) a publication of the KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights

References:

1. History of Cuba, the Challenge of the Yoke and the Star, Prof. Jose Canton Navarro

2. Cuba for Beginners, Eduardo del Rio, 1970, New York USA

3. Joint Statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban Revolutionary  Government, 7 May 2004

4. Country profile: Cuba http://news.bbc.co.uk 7.02.2004

5. U.S. expands ‘axis of evil’ BBC News, Monday, 6 May, 2002

6. CIA World Factbook http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

 © 2004 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Publications

Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.