Fidel Castro passed away, during the night of November 25, 2016. In 1959 he led the revolution that overthrew the dictator Fulgencio Batista, and since 1960 this revolution became the first Workers’ State in Latin America, right next to the coast of the US imperialism.
By Editorial Team.
As a product of the Revolution, the Cuban people achieved major victories, expressed in the huge advances regarding food, health and education, that showed the immense potential of planned economy, the socialization of the main means of production and the State monopoly of foreign trade, even in a country like Cuba.
The Cuban Revolution and its conquests made Fidel one of the most influent political characters of the second half of the XX century, and without a doubt the main reference of the Latin American leftists. Our Morenist tendency was a great sympathizer and defender of the Cuban Revolution.
Because of this prestige, millions of peoples in Cuba, Latin America and the world will cry the death of the old leader. We understand that pain and we support it because, to those people, a revolutionary leader just passed away.
Nevertheless, over the last decades, from IWL-FI we have criticized and debated hardly with Fidel and the Castrist leadership. We did it based on two considerations that are not shared by the vast majority of the international left-wing tendencies around the world. The first one is we characterize that since the end of 1990’s Fidel and the Castrist leadership restored capitalism in Cuba, and so started attacking and eliminating the achievements of the revolution. The second one is that, in coherence with this, and different from its rebel past, Fidel and the Castrist leadership played a clear role as defenders of the “world order”. As a clear expression of both facts we can see the meetings and hugs with Barack Obama and Pope Francis.
We know our positions are deeply polemic and, beyond the differences about the debate itself, there is a wrong tradition of silencing criticism when facing death. This is not our tradition: we respect the pain of the millions who saw Fidel as their leader, but together with this respect we also believe the truth is revolutionary and must not be silenced, even in the most painful moments.
We present here a dossier with several articles we have published through our website, which approach these polemics and criticism:
Revolution and counterrevolution in Cuba – By Martín Hernández – Marxism Alive New Epoch Nº 1.
On the reinstatement of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US – IWL-FI Statement.
Castro-Chavism: rise and fall – IWL-FI.
The Cuban Revolution, class and leadership – By Jeronimo Castro.
Obama’s visit to Cuba: another step toward recolonization – By Alejandro Iturbe.
Why Does Fidel Negotiate In Secret With Reagan? – By Nahuel Moreno (1982).
