Cuba Past and Present: An Arduous Journey Towards Self- Determination

The text shares decades long political and economic suppression faced by generations of Cubans at the hands of Western powers. Initially it transmits a message of inhumane Spanish governance and a quest for fortune at the expense of the local population. Further, more of the same would follow as US oversight replaced Spanish rule with the aid of the local aristocracy. Continuity as described herein amplifies internal division and as a consequence the historic 1959 revolution that would place Cuba at the vortex of an East/West confrontation on the North American continent. It posits the forging of an alliance between the Kremlin and the Cuban Communist Party and in return Washington’s recourse in the form of attempted coup d’etats and penalties (e.g., diplomatic and commercial cancellations). Moreover it accentuates Cuba’s relentless struggle for social justice during the post-Cold War era and suggest possible alternatives to that end.