{"id":2749,"date":"2016-11-27T07:35:33","date_gmt":"2016-11-27T07:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/imjussayin.com\/blog\/?p=2749"},"modified":"2016-11-30T21:54:05","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T21:54:05","slug":"fidel-castro-cubas-white-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imjussayin.com\/blog\/fidel-castro-cubas-white-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Fidel Castro – Cuba’s White Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fidel<\/a><\/p>\n

Fidel Castro died aged 90 in his sleep. \u00a0No thanks to America. \u00a0Castro rejected America and its decadence. Consequently, he escaped 600 assassination attempts. \u00a0From Dwight Eisenhower to George Bush Junior (10 Presidents) tried to kill and otherwise oust him from power at the cost of more than $1bn. \u00a0 Castro was a man with a radical vision. \u00a0He overthrew\u00a0the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. It was a revolution for the people, but I am still not sure for which people. \u00a0As much as I saw Castro as a revolutionist I was never confident of his position on race.<\/p>\n

Cuba Africa and The\u00a0Caribbean<\/h3>\n

Fidel Castro was the lone voice in the western hemisphere who stood up\u00a0to American and its\u00a0Munroe Doctrine<\/a>. \u00a0The overthrow of Prime Minister Eric Gairy in Grenada’s bloodless coups d’\u00e9tat may have been an echo of that influence. However, the Munroe Doctrine was a white on white dichotomy.<\/p>\n

Castro has shown solidarity with the developing world. \u00a0He has provided doctors and teachers free of charge to Caribbean islands and Africa. Castro lent military support to Ethiopia and Mozambique. \u00a0He sent \u00a025,000 troops to Angola,\u00a0to fight against apartheid South Africa. He has shown solidarity with Black America giving amnesty to Black Panthers like Assata Shakur<\/a>. \u00a0In times of humanitarian crisis, Castro has been the unsung hero in countries like Haiti and Sierra Leon. \u00a0However, it is possible to explain these actions as a benevolent necessity. \u00a0After all, Cuba had been marginalised by the West and Russia; their ally collapsed in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\"fidel<\/a><\/h3>\n

Afro-Cubans Euro-Cubans<\/h3>\n

Fidel Castro appeared to support ‘the cause’<\/em> on the world stage. \u00a0Yet at home, the story\u00a0is not so, pardon the pun, – black and white. Before Castro’s revolution, Cuba was as segregated as America. \u00a0Two years after it Castro considered Cuba post-racial. \u00a0He said that the ‘Revolution… enacted laws which ended discrimination, humiliation, and the suffering of the people.’ That may be true for the Euro-Cubans.<\/p>\n

Cuba, like some other countries subjected to European rule, often refer to people not of European descent as the ethnic minority. \u00a0Cuba’s population is estimated\u00a0to be at least \u00a060% Afro-Cuban. So they are not a minority at all. \u00a0Yet,\u00a0local and public leadership is about 70% Euro-Cuban. \u00a0Fidel Castro handed the reigns of power to his brother\u00a0<\/b>Ra\u00fal. \u00a0It reminded me of the way the Afrikaans thought it was their duty to look after the childlike<\/em> Africans.<\/p>\n

Cuba has high levels of literacy and life expectancy because it has universal and free education and healthcare. \u00a0These benefits have reached the poorest people in Cuba, who also happen to be Afro-Cubans. \u00a0Nonetheless, a study by \u00a0Esteban Morales Dom\u00ednguez<\/a>, a Cuban economist, found that professional positions such as scientists, technicians and university professors were 80% Euro-Cubans. \u00a0The lucrative tourist industry is the same. Euro-Cuban’s are the management and Afro-Cubans the janitors; the Guinness Effect. \u00a0Meanwhile, black women have to supplement their income with prostitution.<\/p>\n

Fidel Castro And Cuba’s White Revolution<\/h3>\n

Cubans do not speak of racism. \u00a0They deny it because there is a sizable\u00a0mestizo<\/a>\u00a0population. That union of black and white is held up of proof of integration and equality. \u00a0Another reason\u00a0is one can end up in jail for 17 years like Jorge Luis Garc\u00eda P\u00e9rez<\/a>. So Afro-Cubans are denied freedom of speech. \u00a0For them,\u00a0the revolution has not begun<\/a>.<\/p>\n

imjussayin<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Connect with me on Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Further reading<\/p>\n

Castro, The Blacks And Africa<\/a><\/p>\n

Acting On Our Conscience<\/a><\/p>\n

Cuba’s Support For Africa<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n