The books by Julia Sweig and Steve Cushion are both very informative on the urban struggles in the Cuban revolution.
People may also be interested in my pamphlet on this topic: http://links.org.au/node/1451 **** Regarding the statement that "Castro shot a lot of people", it is true that in the months after the revolutionary victory in January 1959, several hundred members of the Batista dictatorship's repressive apparatus were shot after being put on trial for crimes including murder and torture. Chris Slee ________________________________ From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Dayne Goodwin <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, 9 March 2021 7:45 PM To: marxmail <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [marxmail] Cuba In regard to the discussion about "Castro's insurrectionary model", for the mainstream media and most of the left the success of the Cuban revolution was initially seen as exemplary evidence of the effectiveness of 'rural guerrilla warfare' strategy. This was certainly the view of Che Guevara who tried to replicate the Cuban revolution's success in the Congo and in Bolivia. A key factor in the successful Cuban revolution was that the U.S. government decided not to directly militarily intervene and misjudged that Fidel Castro could be 'housebroken' by U.S. imperialism. The July 26 Movement's insurrectionary guerrilla war organization was supported by an urban infrastructure of members and supporters supplying materiel and recruiting more guerrilla warriors. The July 26 Movement also had anti-Batista allies in the university student based Revolutionary Directorate, left-wing elements of the 'liberal' political parties and belatedly from the communist party (the PSP, Popular Socialist Party). This urban infrastructure of anti-Batista radical supporters and liberal sympathizers was largely middle class. Some elements of the U.S. establishment who have favored normalizing relations with the Cuban government have argued that the urban middle class was more crucial to the revolution's success than the guerrilla army. See: Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground by Julia E. Sweig Harvard University Press, 2002 Recently Stephen Cushion, a retired working class socialist, has been able to do intensive research in Cuban archives on the role of the organized labor movement in the revolution. Cushion argues that support from Cuban workers in the civilian economy was key to the success of the revolution. The July 26 Movement organized a successful national general strike that facilitated the final insurrectionary victory. See: A Hidden History of the Cuban Revolution: How the Working Class Shaped the Guerillas’ Victory by Stephen Cushion Monthly Review Press, 2016 Responding to your statement, fkalosar, that "Castro shot a lot of people" i haven't seen any evidence that that is literally true outside the warfare with Batista's army. When the guerrillas in the mountains first had to deal with a traitor none of the Cubans was eager to deliver 'justice'. Che stepped forward and executed him. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#7107): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/7107 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/81039318/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
