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Best regards, Andrew Stewart - - - Subscribe to the Washington Babylon newsletter via https://washingtonbabylon.com/newsletter/ Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <h-rev...@lists.h-net.org> > Date: November 7, 2019 at 7:57:47 AM EST > To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > Cc: H-Net Staff <revh...@mail.h-net.org> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-War]: Golding on Randall, 'Exporting Revolution: > Cuba's Global Solidarity' > Reply-To: h-rev...@lists.h-net.org > > Margaret Randall. Exporting Revolution: Cuba's Global Solidarity. > Durham Duke University Press, 2017. Illustrations. 280 pp. $26.95 > (paper), ISBN 978-0-8223-6904-2; $99.95 (cloth), ISBN > 978-0-8223-6384-2. > > Reviewed by Marcus Oliver Golding (University of Texas at Austin) > Published on H-War (November, 2019) > Commissioned by Margaret Sankey > > "Exporting the revolution" became a synonym for impending communist > takeover in Latin America during the Cold War. The United States > employed this old phrase to characterize any action taken by Cuba > beyond its borders as a ploy to undermine democracy and capitalism in > the "free world." Margaret Randall's Exporting Revolution: Cuba's > Global Solidarity provides an alternative interpretation of this idea > by focusing on the revolution's policy of solidarity with the world. > The author asks what has motivated an underdeveloped nation, which > has faced an economic embargo for decades, to be generous with other > impoverished countries. Her main argument is that the roots of Cuba's > global solidarity lie in the New Man created by the revolution after > Fidel Castro's victory over Fulgencio Batista. The new regime > instilled generations of citizens with such values as selflessness, > kindness, and care for the less fortunate. This commitment to social > justice explains Cuba's seemingly unique approach to humanitarian aid > around the world. > > Randall examines Cuba's global solidarity policy by addressing > several domestic and international programs launched from the onset > of the revolution in 1959 until the second decade of the twenty-first > century. She also draws on her own experiences and engagement with > these initiatives as she lived and raised her children there for > several years. Randall concludes by arguing that Cuba's solidarity > might not be completely driven by altruism but that any capitalist > model of humanitarian aid pales in comparison with the example set > forth by the Caribbean island. > > Central to Cuba's solidarity policy are education and health care. > Since 1959 the country's main concern became providing free access to > education and health care for everyone on the island. Randall reveals > how during the first years of the revolution the government favored > quantity over quality of education, leading to deficiencies in the > system, such as poorly trained teachers. However, the state soon > overcame these hurdles by training qualified professionals and > eventually exporting educators to other countries in need of them. As > a consequence of these policies, the government eradicated illiteracy > from the island while citizens have enjoyed tuition-free education > since Castro's power grab. Mirroring its educational breakthroughs at > home, Randall shows Cuba's solidarity with the rest of the world > through such international programs as Yes I Can. Launched by the > state in 2001, this initiative has fought illiteracy in more than > thirty countries and has been praised for its effective pedagogic > methods by international organizations like UNESCO. > > Health care takes central stage throughout the book. The author > devotes significantly more time to explain the country's health-care > policies and humanitarian aid to other parts of the world. Randall > emphasizes the commitment of the Cuban government to free diagnosis > and healing for every citizen. She acknowledges that periods of > economic stress have left the island's hospitals bereft of medical > supplies. However, the author contends that those obstacles have not > stopped Cuba from having a health-care system where everyone is taken > care of, every child is vaccinated, and freedom of reproductive > choice has been available to all women. > > Internationally, Randall exposes how Cuba's need for helping others > has driven its citizens to different locations around the globe. From > providing doctors and health-care specialists to fight Ebola in > Sierra Leone to sending first response teams to regions struck by > natural disasters like in Peru and Pakistan, the revolution's > humanitarian aid model is characterized by its reach and long-term > design. This social mission is complemented at home by other > initiatives. The Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) has trained > doctors from all around the world in Cuba. The Tarara facility, > created originally to treat children with radioactive poisoning from > the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident of 1986, serves now as an > international post-disaster medical center. Throughout the narrative, > the author weaves in testimonies and pieces of literary work produced > by Cuban health-care specialists, highlighting their experiences in > remote locations. > > The rest of the book addresses how the revolution's internationalism > has been a key component of its political identity. The Cuban state > aided other nations to fight oppressive regimes during the 1960s and > 1970s. In that capacity, Cuba served as a training ground for > different guerrilla groups from Latin America and Africa, offered > shelter for their families, and provided military aid. However, > Randall's narrative ignores the fact that many times the Caribbean > island participated in initiatives to overthrow democratic > governments in Latin America through direct or indirect military > intervention. Cuba's policy of indiscriminate meddling in a country's > internal affairs contributed in exacerbating polarization, > discrediting democratic forces, and helping to lay the path for > authoritarian takeovers. Randall obscures Cuba's fair share of guilt > during the Cold War. > > In her final analysis, Randall presents key differences between > Cuba's humanitarian aid and those of capitalist nations like the > United States, Russia, and China. First, its services are never > imposed and never respond to invitations from the country in > question. Second, Cubans respect and adapt to the local values, > system of beliefs, and politics of the host nation. Third, service in > these international initiatives is voluntary and stem from the > selflessness and solidarity of its own people. Finally, the > government does not use the data it gathers in foreign countries for > its own ends nor does it advertise a particular form of political > regime. These components are what, according to Randall, make the > revolution's example worth not only emulating but also preserving. > Although the country offers this aid freely, the author acknowledges > that in the last decades Cuba has also signed reciprocity treaties > with governments that can pay the island for its services. She > dismisses accusations that economic profits and political goodwill > are behind Cuba's solidarity by arguing that the social benefits > experienced by those in need outweigh any other critique. > > _Exporting Revolution _is a well-written book with a clear and fluid > prose. The book is engaging and, although chapters do not follow a > particular order, the author's argument is not hard to follow. In > terms of sources, Randall draws heavily on her experience on the > island as well as her network of friends and contacts involved with > humanitarian aid. She states that Cuba's situation resists easy > analysis and that any interpretation runs the risk of being somewhat > biased. Her book does not escape this premise. Although Randall's > main argument is important, there are some issues that demand further > explanation. Cuba's decision to profit from its humanitarian missions > defeats the sole idea of solidarity. Furthermore, the country's > support for authoritarian regimes, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua, > seems contradictory in light of the island's legacy of helping other > nations fight tyrannies. These alliances are no different from those > created by the United States with right-wing dictatorships in the > past. Finally, the appalling lack of political and civil freedoms in > the Caribbean country cast some doubts over Cuba's overall interest > for the welfare of its own citizens and the people of other nations. > > Randall's account does not strive for a more nuanced analysis. It is > not her goal. The book serves the purpose of underlining Cuba's > humanitarian commitment to the world. The author makes us rethink how > foreign aid is conceived and deployed in other countries by focusing > on the policies implemented by the Caribbean island. Hers is an > interesting contribution to the literature concerned with > humanitarian assistance and foreign aid where, in many ways, Cuba's > example is unusual. > > Citation: Marcus Oliver Golding. Review of Randall, Margaret, > _Exporting Revolution: Cuba's Global Solidarity_. H-War, H-Net > Reviews. November, 2019. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=54261 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
