Foreword
This special edition is dedicated to answering the questions of thousands and thousands of fighters in Latin America and the world who want to know what is happening in Cuba. What are the causes of its social crisis and decadence? Where are the achievements of the socialist revolution of Che’s time, in the 1960s?
The central article, “From the Sierra Maestra to the pact with the multinationals”, was written for inclusion in the second digital edition of the book CUBA 11J CounterHegemonic Perspectives of the Social Protests, coordinated by Alexander Hall Lujardo, who is a member of the Cuban critical left and an Afro-Cuban activist for democratic socialism.
The massive protests of 2021, in Havana and throughout Cuba, marked a before and after on the island. The Díaz-Canel government, as always, blamed the protests on “the counterrevolutionaries from Miami” with the aim of “destroying the revolution”. The reality is that they were genuine protests over just demands for lack of food, electricity and water. The US blockade affects but is not the central cause of the Cuban social crisis. The central cause is the capitalist restoration that has led to a brutal fall in the living standards of the Cuban people. The blockade has been weakening and is limited to US companies. For over 30 years, most countries in the world have been establishing commercial and diplomatic relations with Cuba and encouraging their companies to do business on the island. Starting with Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Israel, India, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, among others.
There is no longer any socialism in Cuba. It is a repressive regime that, like China, governs for the nouveau riche and its alliances with the multinationals. In Cuba, the anger and disenchantment of the people is growing. From the IWU–FI we stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and their struggles. On the path to ending the one-party regime and achieving true socialism with democracy for the working people, who reclaim the banners of “Che” and the first years of socialist Cuba.
