English articles - full listing

Hasta la Victoria Siempre! 
Revolutionary Cuba outlasts the empire's irrational hatred

12/17/2014

The US announcement on normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba should be seen as a major and historic victory for Cuba and the peoples of the Global South generally--and it needs to be hammered home that it is a sign of failure on the part of empire. There is, first and foremost a real and meaningful admission that their strategies to topple the revolution have all failed--as well as, from the other side, an impressive and inspiring feat that a revolutionary people of this tiny island have surmounted every effort to crush the revolution from a maniacal hegemonic power. This is especially noteworthy in having overcome the collapse of the USSR, which observers have thought would quickly lead to the fall of the Cuban Revolution. 

Viewed in more recent terms, the capitulation by empire is a direct and dramatic representation of the effects of integration among resistant peoples and states, namely the potential plan for a Russian naval base in Cuba and the actually planned Nicaraguan canal in partnership with China. These developments prove that empire clearly sees these as threats in its own back yard, and is choosing to counter them by engaging in (nominally) more reasonable behavior.

My qualms are the obvious ones, and I save them for last because the Cuban people are far more aware than I am of the dangers of letting the devil in the door. Long before the rest of the world, they have been keenly aware of the pitfalls of neoliberalism and the machinations of western vampires to exploit every possible collaboration to achieve domination and regime change. More importantly, through all these machinations--which most did not see through--they have steadfastly been on the right side in every case. I'm sure they are going into this with their eyes wide open.

All that said, I am anxious. The strategy may change, but the overal goals of empire have clearly not--in fact they have become quickly and steadily more murderous just in recent years. Make no mistake: any US embassy in Havana will be a nest of vipers and spies, who will by any possible means pursue the same goals as before. It is for this reason that I want to learn more about the concrete gains foreseen by Cuba here. I assume this is thought to be the first step to lifting the embargo, though that is far from clear at this point. It seems almost schizophrenic of the northern hegemon to simultaneously be pursuing both this and the vicious attacks underway in Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, on Russia and China, etc. But that, too, may be a sign of desperation--let's hope it is. 

The bottom line is that the Cuban people are the most aware and revolutionary on earth. If anyone can be trusted with the revolution, it is they. They need our strong support, solidarity and respect. 
Hasta la victoria siempre!

 ^  Top  ^

(c) 2014 Daniel Patrick Welch. Reprint permission granted with credit and link to danielpwelch.com. Political analyst, writer, linguist and activist Daniel Patrick Welch lives and writes in Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. Together they run The Greenhouse School. Welch has also appeared in numerous television and radio interviews, and can be available for comment and analysis as his day job permits. 

Translations of articles are available in in up to 30 languages. Links to the website are appreciated.