How Did Fidel Castro Resilience
Fidel Castro 's Resilience Fidel Castro, as the leader of Cuba, maintains his power to this day because he found different ways and sources to keep his promises. For example, he maintained agrarian reform to improve the economy, he nationalized all the institutions of Cuba, including putting property in the service of the Cuban people for the Cuban people; and he improved the health care system and education to decrease illiteracy greatly. The results are a more equal state with documented advances and advantages for the Cuban people. The Cuban Revolution, which was pivotal when it occurred in the 1950s, remains, as we know, important to discussions and studies of social, political and economic issues today globally. Along with the event, the importance of the foremost leader of the revolution, Castro, also remains. In addition, it is important to consider why the revolution occurred. In short, inequality was a problem and the revolutionaries sought to solve this problem. Moreover, new theories of revolution, such as
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Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s theories of guerilla warfare and the foco theory emerged and are still significant and useful today. Next, the revolution did indeed bring about change in Cuba and finally, today, we can still see how that country has developed economically, politically and socially, post-Revolution, and much of this lasting change can be attributed to Castro 's vision and execution. Therefore, it is important to understand the condition of Cuba, pre-revolution. Under the dictator Fulgencio Batista, was not simply a tropical playground for tourists from the United States. Based on Grossman 's lectures, “Batista came to power with the financial backing of the United States in a coup in 1952. Batista suspended the constitution of 1940 and dissolved the political parties. Some 47 percent of the land in Cuba belonged to American companies.” Cuba at that time was viewed as a casino -- a paradise of prostitution, gambling and drugs for the American government. Instead, in reality, it was an area filled with unfair practices, discrimination and inequality. The American mafia was involved and by the time Batista came to power, he was also involved with taking money from the mafia. Still, Cuba, in the 1950s, was one of the richest places in the world. However, there was a monopoly of sugar and 25 percent of the population cut sugar cane for a living, three or four months of the year- and about 25 percent of the population was illiterate, according to Grossman. In addition, unemployment was high. Cuba under Batista was so bad, with illiteracy and the low exportation of sugar and tobacco, that Cubans started leaving the country. During Batista’s years in power, Havana became the capital of drugs, prostitution and casinos; much of these enterprises were run by the American Mafia.
(Nieto 32). As Nieto states, “The top capos—Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, Amadeo Barletta—owned hotels, casinos, dazzling nightclubs, whorehouses, and popular game arcades. They also owned commercial centers, banks, financial institutions, airlines, radio and television stations, and some newspapers (33). These facts show that not only were the Cuban people not in control of many the commercial interests of their own country, but that those who did own these businesses were corrupt, thus creating a difficult atmosphere for real progress for the Cuban people. The Mafia’s interests, of course, were not to better the situation of the Cuban people, but instead to further their own economic
interests. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 was the reaction of the people of Cuba against long years of oppression and dictatorship by those who were in power before. Castro and his barbudos (bearded ones), overthrew the government of Batista.(Wright 2). Since 1959, as Saul Landau writes, Cuba has essentially been on its own – with little effective outside support – to develop a healthy economy and improve the education system. “We didn 't realize how difficult it would be when we took power and had to make a revolution in an underdeveloped country (Landau 136). Still, Castro endeavored to develop new programs, create interest and keep the Cuban people 's attitudes positive. By developing new programs, Laundau writes, the Cuban government can achieve the goals of creating equality so that people can have the same benefits and take advantage of the resources of the island. Landau writes that Castro says, “ ' Underdevelopment […] is more than an economic or technological problem. It 's also a psychological issue. The people have lived for so long without hope and the resources and education that make optimism possible, that they feel paralyzed by the challenges before them, the tasks required to build a nation” (136-37). Castro also acknowledged, Landau writes, that many professional Cubans such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and architects fled Cuba after the revolution. Therefore, post-revolution Cuba had to move forward, using its resources to its advantages and implementing forward-looking plans. One of Castro 's lasting visions was his idea for the island to specialize in sugar. According to William M. LeoGrande and Julie M. Thomas, “The new strategy focused on exploiting Cuba 's comparative advantage in sugar to geenrate hard currency that would then be used to finance the development of the rest of the economy. Castro pledged that by [the end of the 1960s], Cuba would produce 10 million tons of sugar annually” (327). Although this idea went against the revolution-era idea of ending the dependence on sugar, LeoGrande and Thomas write, this plan would help Cuba work toward economic independence in the future. In addition, this plan, write LeoGrande and Thomas, moved Cuba toward a more solid relationship with the Soviet Union, which included a five-year trade agreement (1964-69) that gave Cuba insurance against economic downturns (327). “With the help of the Soviet Union, Cuba 's international economic relations were radically transformed” (LeoGrande and Thomas 326). In fact, they write, Cuba enjoyed a steady economy even during the oil crisis of the 1970s because this relationship, which began with sugar, allowed Cuba to buy petroleum “at a set price from the Soviet Union” (LeoGrande and Thomas). Thus it can be argued that Castro 's vision of focusing on the sugar market let to a greater economic, and therefore social, security for the people of Cuba. However, this economic stronghold would not last forever. “By 1982, Cuba could no longer maintain regular debt service, and in 1986, after several restructurings, Cuba declared a moratorium on payments. […] Cuba 's trade dependence on the Soviet bloc also reinforced its dependence on sugar” (LeoGrande and Thomas 332-33). The great idea had, instead of creating independence, caused a dependency that LeoGrande and Thomas argue was near that of pre-1959 Cuba. However, they write, Castro sought solutions. For example, as Saul Landau writes, he was very knowledgeable in the subject of “hydraulic resources and the genetics of cattle breeding. […] [Castro] said he had begun immersing himself in books about animal husbandry and genetics so that Cuban cattle could produce efficiently, for both meat and milk” (127). The preceding example shows Castro 's dedication to working to find multiple ways in which Cuba could avoid dependency on other countries. He promoted “self-sufficiency to reduce the need for imports, […] increasing foreign investment and exploiting the potential of the tourism sector” (LeoGrande and Thomas 343). Indeed, by 1991, Cuba saw 70 additional foreign investments, mostly in the tourism industry. These examples show that although Castro 's plans may not be eternal solutions, they create the environment through which the country and its people can benefit. When the plans cease to be useful, Castro and his government move forward. In fact, Wayne S. Smith reports that Cuba 's growth rate in 1995 was more than 2.5 percent. Still, despite the gains, Cuba has seen its share of problems with increasing the tourism industry. For example, gambling, prostitution and drugs are a problem, as they are in any country. But LeoGrande and Thomas write: “Despite the problems that tourism produces, it has become so vital to the economy that the government has no choice but to endure its social and political costs. No other sector has shown the potential to replace sugar as the main producre of hard currency or to grow rapidly at such a sustained rate” (349). Again, this example shows how Castro is willing to revisit his ideas, revise as needed and keep current with what the market demands, all while striving to maintain a socialist regime. A good example of Castro changing plans to suit the needs of the people and contemporary society occurred in 1993. Wayne S. Smith writes, “Castro did what he had said he would never do: permit Cubans to own and spend dollars and hold dollar-denominated bank accounts. He also authorized self-employment in some 100 occupations, mostly in the service sector” (101). The result, Smith notes, is that Cubans could open small businesses such as “television repair shops, laundries, restaurants” (101). Then, in 1994, Smith writes, Castro reestablished farmers ' markets and handcraft markets for artisans. In addition, an investment law, writes Smith, allowed Cuban exiles to return to Cuba, invest in the market and even open their own businesses. Although this move has caused some hard feelings among those who resent the exiles, Smith writes, it is a forward step for the Cuban economy (103). The result of these changes was hope among the Cuban people. “Some optimism and the old Cuban joie de vivre have replaced the despair of 1993” (Smith 101). According to LeoGrande and Thomas, this foreign investment law was amended in 1995 “to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership in certain industries” (144). In addition, they write, Cuba increased and improved relations with other Latin American countries through bureaucratic reforms. “In 1995, there were 212 joint ventures with partners from across the globe, and by 1999, that number had grown to 360” (LeoGrande and Thomas). Clearly, Cuba 's more open policies have benefited the country. Cuba has continued to move forward in other ways, including improvements in education, healthcare and infrastructure. As Saul Landau writes of his experiences in chronicling Castro, the Cuban leader would regularly go among the people and find out what sort of educational, healthcare and capital improvements would be needed (135). “Fidel told Guillermo Garcia to note the name [of an area of education and supplies were scarce] and promised the woman he would check” (135). After the revolution, for example, literacy increased. According to Grossman’s lecture, in 1953, 20 percent of the populations were literate; by 1970, 32 percent were literate, and by 1981, 61 percent were literate. These numbers show that Cuba is a participatory democracy instead of a country ruled by a dictator who is governed by those only interested in their own economic development can truly help the population. It is clear that Castro has worked to develop economic and education solutions to benefit the Cuban people as a whole. As Castro noted in his Report to the First Congress of the CPC in 1975, “ 'Today we may proclaim with pride […] that we are a country without unemployment, without racial discrimination, without hunger or beggars, without prostitution, without drugs, without illiteracy, without barefoot children who cannot go to school, without slums of the indigent, and without sick people abandoned to their fate. Our publication education and health systems are models of social success which are the causes of much admiration throughout the world (Nieto 213-14). For example, Rebecca Rogers reviews Mark Abendroth 's Rebel Literacy: Cuba 's National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship, highlighting some of the gains Cuban people experienced as a result of Castro 's aim to increase literacy. She notes that the literacy campaign of 1961 has a lasting effect today. “Hailed as one of the greatest literacy accomplishments of the century, [the campaign] lowered Cuba 's illiteracy rate from 23.6% to 3.9%, as confirmed by a United Nations study” (87). Moreover, she notes that it is important to realize that the spirit of Cubans and Castro had much to do with this success. Not only were people positive about the revolution and its results, she writes, they were ready to improve their lives. “In the case of Cuba […], the conditions for establishing education as a human right were established long before the Cuban revolution of 1959. The Cuban constitution of 1940, for example, included 13 articles about education and culture” (Rogers 87). In addition, she writes, in 1959 Law 680 included “humanist and anti-imperialist ideas of Jose Marti as central to the curriculum” (87). In this way, Castro shows that he is forward-looking, according to Rogers ' assessment of Abendroth 's book, he is pushing Cubans to be responsible global citizens. “Throughout the book, [Abendroth] makes claims that the Literacy Campaign of 1961 (and the educational initiatives that followed) were in many ways, examples of critical global citizenship. Additionally, he singularly praises Cuba for its educational system” (87). This example indicates that not only have the plans of Castro have benefited the people of Cuba but have served as a model for educators and students worldwide. In addition, Rogers notes that Abendroth praises this literacy movement as revolutionary not just in terms of the Cuban revolution but in terms of new, better ways to educate everyone, not just the privileged. “He makes the case that the Cuban literacy mobilization can be viewed as both a national and a global example of popular education. […] Cuban effort were in compliance with the new revolutionary government” (88). Overall, it is clear, that Cuba has benefited under the leadership of Castro. It is certainly true that some of Castro 's plans have failed or faltered, but these incidents occur in any society, even with the most respected, educated, forward-thinking, solutions-focused leaders. As Landau writes, Castro stated, “ 'Many good things may have done by the revolution to liberate the peasants from exploitation from landowners, to liberate the workers from exploitation by the rich” (124). Castro then sought to follow up on these ideals through his plans and reforms for the economy and education. He wanted Cuba to take its place as a viable player in the 20th century and beyond, but more important was that the island be able to support itself and its people in the most beneficial way possible. As Smith notes, although Castro is seen as a devil, a dictator, a radical by much of the capitalist world, “most Cubans see another side of the revolution, the side that has provided free education, excellent free health care, a high degree of equality, and most important, a sense of national pride” (108). In addition, it is time for the United States to understand that Cuba is a country moving toward benefiting its people and society in general. According to Smith, “The United States should halt all efforts to interfere with the trade and investment of other countries in Cuba, lift the embargo on the sale of food and medicine because it is inconsistent with international practice, and lift all travel restrictions, which are of dubious constitutionality and infringe on the rights of American citizens” (111). In fact, if the United States were to indeed remove the embargo and form an alliance with Cuba and Castro, citizens from both countries could clearly benefit and share ideas.
Works Cited
Landau, Saul. “Filming Fidel: A Cuban Diary, 1968.” Monthly Review. July-August 2007. Blackboard.
LeoGrande, William M. and Julie M. Thomas. “Cuba 's Quest for Economic Independence.” Journal of Latin American Studies. 34.2 (2002): 325-63. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Nieto, Clara. Masters of War: Latin America and US Agression. New York: Seven Stories, 2003. Print.
Rogers, Rebecca. “Understanding Literacy Development 'Lifelong and Life Wide '” Reading Research Quarterly. 46.1 (2011): 86-96. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Smith, Wayne S. “Cuba 's Long Reform.” Foreign Affairs. 75.2 (1996): 99-112. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Treto, Carlos Alzugaray. “Continuity and Change in Cuba at 50: The Revolution at a Crossroads.” Latin American Perspectives. 36.8 (2009). Blackboard. 30 January 2012.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara’s theories of guerilla warfare and the foco theory emerged and are still significant and useful today. Next, the revolution did indeed bring about change in Cuba and finally, today, we can still see how that country has developed economically, politically and socially, post-Revolution, and much of this lasting change can be attributed to Castro 's vision and execution. Therefore, it is important to understand the condition of Cuba, pre-revolution. Under the dictator Fulgencio Batista, was not simply a tropical playground for tourists from the United States. Based on Grossman 's lectures, “Batista came to power with the financial backing of the United States in a coup in 1952. Batista suspended the constitution of 1940 and dissolved the political parties. Some 47 percent of the land in Cuba belonged to American companies.” Cuba at that time was viewed as a casino -- a paradise of prostitution, gambling and drugs for the American government. Instead, in reality, it was an area filled with unfair practices, discrimination and inequality. The American mafia was involved and by the time Batista came to power, he was also involved with taking money from the mafia. Still, Cuba, in the 1950s, was one of the richest places in the world. However, there was a monopoly of sugar and 25 percent of the population cut sugar cane for a living, three or four months of the year- and about 25 percent of the population was illiterate, according to Grossman. In addition, unemployment was high. Cuba under Batista was so bad, with illiteracy and the low exportation of sugar and tobacco, that Cubans started leaving the country. During Batista’s years in power, Havana became the capital of drugs, prostitution and casinos; much of these enterprises were run by the American Mafia.
(Nieto 32). As Nieto states, “The top capos—Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, Amadeo Barletta—owned hotels, casinos, dazzling nightclubs, whorehouses, and popular game arcades. They also owned commercial centers, banks, financial institutions, airlines, radio and television stations, and some newspapers (33). These facts show that not only were the Cuban people not in control of many the commercial interests of their own country, but that those who did own these businesses were corrupt, thus creating a difficult atmosphere for real progress for the Cuban people. The Mafia’s interests, of course, were not to better the situation of the Cuban people, but instead to further their own economic
interests. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 was the reaction of the people of Cuba against long years of oppression and dictatorship by those who were in power before. Castro and his barbudos (bearded ones), overthrew the government of Batista.(Wright 2). Since 1959, as Saul Landau writes, Cuba has essentially been on its own – with little effective outside support – to develop a healthy economy and improve the education system. “We didn 't realize how difficult it would be when we took power and had to make a revolution in an underdeveloped country (Landau 136). Still, Castro endeavored to develop new programs, create interest and keep the Cuban people 's attitudes positive. By developing new programs, Laundau writes, the Cuban government can achieve the goals of creating equality so that people can have the same benefits and take advantage of the resources of the island. Landau writes that Castro says, “ ' Underdevelopment […] is more than an economic or technological problem. It 's also a psychological issue. The people have lived for so long without hope and the resources and education that make optimism possible, that they feel paralyzed by the challenges before them, the tasks required to build a nation” (136-37). Castro also acknowledged, Landau writes, that many professional Cubans such as doctors, lawyers, engineers and architects fled Cuba after the revolution. Therefore, post-revolution Cuba had to move forward, using its resources to its advantages and implementing forward-looking plans. One of Castro 's lasting visions was his idea for the island to specialize in sugar. According to William M. LeoGrande and Julie M. Thomas, “The new strategy focused on exploiting Cuba 's comparative advantage in sugar to geenrate hard currency that would then be used to finance the development of the rest of the economy. Castro pledged that by [the end of the 1960s], Cuba would produce 10 million tons of sugar annually” (327). Although this idea went against the revolution-era idea of ending the dependence on sugar, LeoGrande and Thomas write, this plan would help Cuba work toward economic independence in the future. In addition, this plan, write LeoGrande and Thomas, moved Cuba toward a more solid relationship with the Soviet Union, which included a five-year trade agreement (1964-69) that gave Cuba insurance against economic downturns (327). “With the help of the Soviet Union, Cuba 's international economic relations were radically transformed” (LeoGrande and Thomas 326). In fact, they write, Cuba enjoyed a steady economy even during the oil crisis of the 1970s because this relationship, which began with sugar, allowed Cuba to buy petroleum “at a set price from the Soviet Union” (LeoGrande and Thomas). Thus it can be argued that Castro 's vision of focusing on the sugar market let to a greater economic, and therefore social, security for the people of Cuba. However, this economic stronghold would not last forever. “By 1982, Cuba could no longer maintain regular debt service, and in 1986, after several restructurings, Cuba declared a moratorium on payments. […] Cuba 's trade dependence on the Soviet bloc also reinforced its dependence on sugar” (LeoGrande and Thomas 332-33). The great idea had, instead of creating independence, caused a dependency that LeoGrande and Thomas argue was near that of pre-1959 Cuba. However, they write, Castro sought solutions. For example, as Saul Landau writes, he was very knowledgeable in the subject of “hydraulic resources and the genetics of cattle breeding. […] [Castro] said he had begun immersing himself in books about animal husbandry and genetics so that Cuban cattle could produce efficiently, for both meat and milk” (127). The preceding example shows Castro 's dedication to working to find multiple ways in which Cuba could avoid dependency on other countries. He promoted “self-sufficiency to reduce the need for imports, […] increasing foreign investment and exploiting the potential of the tourism sector” (LeoGrande and Thomas 343). Indeed, by 1991, Cuba saw 70 additional foreign investments, mostly in the tourism industry. These examples show that although Castro 's plans may not be eternal solutions, they create the environment through which the country and its people can benefit. When the plans cease to be useful, Castro and his government move forward. In fact, Wayne S. Smith reports that Cuba 's growth rate in 1995 was more than 2.5 percent. Still, despite the gains, Cuba has seen its share of problems with increasing the tourism industry. For example, gambling, prostitution and drugs are a problem, as they are in any country. But LeoGrande and Thomas write: “Despite the problems that tourism produces, it has become so vital to the economy that the government has no choice but to endure its social and political costs. No other sector has shown the potential to replace sugar as the main producre of hard currency or to grow rapidly at such a sustained rate” (349). Again, this example shows how Castro is willing to revisit his ideas, revise as needed and keep current with what the market demands, all while striving to maintain a socialist regime. A good example of Castro changing plans to suit the needs of the people and contemporary society occurred in 1993. Wayne S. Smith writes, “Castro did what he had said he would never do: permit Cubans to own and spend dollars and hold dollar-denominated bank accounts. He also authorized self-employment in some 100 occupations, mostly in the service sector” (101). The result, Smith notes, is that Cubans could open small businesses such as “television repair shops, laundries, restaurants” (101). Then, in 1994, Smith writes, Castro reestablished farmers ' markets and handcraft markets for artisans. In addition, an investment law, writes Smith, allowed Cuban exiles to return to Cuba, invest in the market and even open their own businesses. Although this move has caused some hard feelings among those who resent the exiles, Smith writes, it is a forward step for the Cuban economy (103). The result of these changes was hope among the Cuban people. “Some optimism and the old Cuban joie de vivre have replaced the despair of 1993” (Smith 101). According to LeoGrande and Thomas, this foreign investment law was amended in 1995 “to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership in certain industries” (144). In addition, they write, Cuba increased and improved relations with other Latin American countries through bureaucratic reforms. “In 1995, there were 212 joint ventures with partners from across the globe, and by 1999, that number had grown to 360” (LeoGrande and Thomas). Clearly, Cuba 's more open policies have benefited the country. Cuba has continued to move forward in other ways, including improvements in education, healthcare and infrastructure. As Saul Landau writes of his experiences in chronicling Castro, the Cuban leader would regularly go among the people and find out what sort of educational, healthcare and capital improvements would be needed (135). “Fidel told Guillermo Garcia to note the name [of an area of education and supplies were scarce] and promised the woman he would check” (135). After the revolution, for example, literacy increased. According to Grossman’s lecture, in 1953, 20 percent of the populations were literate; by 1970, 32 percent were literate, and by 1981, 61 percent were literate. These numbers show that Cuba is a participatory democracy instead of a country ruled by a dictator who is governed by those only interested in their own economic development can truly help the population. It is clear that Castro has worked to develop economic and education solutions to benefit the Cuban people as a whole. As Castro noted in his Report to the First Congress of the CPC in 1975, “ 'Today we may proclaim with pride […] that we are a country without unemployment, without racial discrimination, without hunger or beggars, without prostitution, without drugs, without illiteracy, without barefoot children who cannot go to school, without slums of the indigent, and without sick people abandoned to their fate. Our publication education and health systems are models of social success which are the causes of much admiration throughout the world (Nieto 213-14). For example, Rebecca Rogers reviews Mark Abendroth 's Rebel Literacy: Cuba 's National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship, highlighting some of the gains Cuban people experienced as a result of Castro 's aim to increase literacy. She notes that the literacy campaign of 1961 has a lasting effect today. “Hailed as one of the greatest literacy accomplishments of the century, [the campaign] lowered Cuba 's illiteracy rate from 23.6% to 3.9%, as confirmed by a United Nations study” (87). Moreover, she notes that it is important to realize that the spirit of Cubans and Castro had much to do with this success. Not only were people positive about the revolution and its results, she writes, they were ready to improve their lives. “In the case of Cuba […], the conditions for establishing education as a human right were established long before the Cuban revolution of 1959. The Cuban constitution of 1940, for example, included 13 articles about education and culture” (Rogers 87). In addition, she writes, in 1959 Law 680 included “humanist and anti-imperialist ideas of Jose Marti as central to the curriculum” (87). In this way, Castro shows that he is forward-looking, according to Rogers ' assessment of Abendroth 's book, he is pushing Cubans to be responsible global citizens. “Throughout the book, [Abendroth] makes claims that the Literacy Campaign of 1961 (and the educational initiatives that followed) were in many ways, examples of critical global citizenship. Additionally, he singularly praises Cuba for its educational system” (87). This example indicates that not only have the plans of Castro have benefited the people of Cuba but have served as a model for educators and students worldwide. In addition, Rogers notes that Abendroth praises this literacy movement as revolutionary not just in terms of the Cuban revolution but in terms of new, better ways to educate everyone, not just the privileged. “He makes the case that the Cuban literacy mobilization can be viewed as both a national and a global example of popular education. […] Cuban effort were in compliance with the new revolutionary government” (88). Overall, it is clear, that Cuba has benefited under the leadership of Castro. It is certainly true that some of Castro 's plans have failed or faltered, but these incidents occur in any society, even with the most respected, educated, forward-thinking, solutions-focused leaders. As Landau writes, Castro stated, “ 'Many good things may have done by the revolution to liberate the peasants from exploitation from landowners, to liberate the workers from exploitation by the rich” (124). Castro then sought to follow up on these ideals through his plans and reforms for the economy and education. He wanted Cuba to take its place as a viable player in the 20th century and beyond, but more important was that the island be able to support itself and its people in the most beneficial way possible. As Smith notes, although Castro is seen as a devil, a dictator, a radical by much of the capitalist world, “most Cubans see another side of the revolution, the side that has provided free education, excellent free health care, a high degree of equality, and most important, a sense of national pride” (108). In addition, it is time for the United States to understand that Cuba is a country moving toward benefiting its people and society in general. According to Smith, “The United States should halt all efforts to interfere with the trade and investment of other countries in Cuba, lift the embargo on the sale of food and medicine because it is inconsistent with international practice, and lift all travel restrictions, which are of dubious constitutionality and infringe on the rights of American citizens” (111). In fact, if the United States were to indeed remove the embargo and form an alliance with Cuba and Castro, citizens from both countries could clearly benefit and share ideas.
Works Cited
Landau, Saul. “Filming Fidel: A Cuban Diary, 1968.” Monthly Review. July-August 2007. Blackboard.
LeoGrande, William M. and Julie M. Thomas. “Cuba 's Quest for Economic Independence.” Journal of Latin American Studies. 34.2 (2002): 325-63. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Nieto, Clara. Masters of War: Latin America and US Agression. New York: Seven Stories, 2003. Print.
Rogers, Rebecca. “Understanding Literacy Development 'Lifelong and Life Wide '” Reading Research Quarterly. 46.1 (2011): 86-96. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Smith, Wayne S. “Cuba 's Long Reform.” Foreign Affairs. 75.2 (1996): 99-112. JSTOR. 15 April 2012.
Treto, Carlos Alzugaray. “Continuity and Change in Cuba at 50: The Revolution at a Crossroads.” Latin American Perspectives. 36.8 (2009). Blackboard. 30 January 2012.