CUBA - A REVOLUTION IN MOTION    By Isaac Saney
                        
                          Review by Derrel Myers

On a visit to Cuba in 1996 I was asked by Segundo Pena, a
representative of the Cuban Institute for Friendship With the People (ICAP), what
changes, if any, did I see in Cuba since my first trip there in 1969. I responded
"Given the current crisis (the devastating result of the 1989-1991 collapse of
Cuba's East European trading partners and the escalation of U.S.
economic warfare) I'm amazed at what Cuba is accomplishing now with fewer
resources than it had back then."  Segundo corrected me. "We actually have more
resources now than ever. They are the human resources developed over
the last 37 years by our revolution through education, participation and
greater equality. These human resources are the main reasons for our current
successes, for our very survival."

Although I have been a student and supporter of the Cuban revolution
since 1961 it required a reading of Isaac Saney's book "Cuba - A Revolution
in Motion" for me to fully appreciate what Segundo meant. Thank you Isaac
Saney.

CUBA IN CONTEXT

As the title implies, Sany insists that the Cuban Revolution not be
viewed as a finished product, but rather an ongoing social, political,
economic and historical process which is still in motion.

In the introduction to his book Saney writes, "The central contention
of this book is that the Cuban experience offers significant insights into
not only a different paradigm, but a paradigm that has been largely
successful - especially given the objective limitations of a small, poor,
underdeveloped island nation - in utilizing the country's resources and wealth for the
public good. This book, intended as an introduction for students and
the general reader, explores Cuba as it enters the twenty-first century, a
lone island of anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism and socialism in the age of
the so-called 'age of globalization.' This work seeks to explain what some
have called the 'miracle' of the Cuban Revolution's survival in the face of
an unprecedented economic contraction."

He further explains, "This book does not portray Cuba as a perfect
society, a paradise. Nor does it present the island's revolutionary process as a
universal model for Third World development. But, as an example, the
Cuban experience has much to offer."

The first chapter offers an excellent overview of Cuban history that
highlights a century of struggle for independence and social justice,
and how that struggle and its leaders influenced the ethos and strategies
of the leaders of the current revolutionary process. Saney details the most
important revolutionary political and economic events since 1959 and
U.S. governments' reactions to them, contextualizing the current hostility.
He further provides a comprehensive picture of the early 1990's economic
crash and the responses to it, which itself merits an entire book.

GOVERNANCE IN CUBA

Not only does Saney reject the charge that the Cuban revolution is a
one-man show backed by an elite bureaucracy. He presents convincing evidence to
the contrary that Cuban decision-making is at a minimum far more democratic
than ever before in it's history and, moreover, continues to evolve to more
interactive and broadly participatory processes and institutions.
It is no less than amazing that this process was accelerated in
response to the catastrophic economic collapse of the early 1990's.

Cuba's response to this crisis was the opposite of what her opponents expected from a
"totalitarian regime".  It's amazing how little credit the Cubans get
for their handling of what in many countries would have resulted in riots,
government repression, ethnic cleansing, or even civil war. The Cuban
political response was "an extensive and comprehensive period of
national consultation, transforming Cuba into an island-wide parliament.
Poignantly, from 1989 to 1997, the Cuban military budget declined 4.7 times,
reducing the size of the Armed Forces from an estimated 300,000 to 55,000, a
mere fraction of its Cold War strength".

It was the exact opposite of the behavior of the East European
politicians, generals and bureaucrats, who hid behind smokescreens of parliamentary
reform as they privatized and looted what was left of the social wealth
of those countries. Note those thieving and still repressive bureaucracies
enjoy the enthusiastic blessing of the same capitalist "democracies"
that are so hostile to Cuba. Today, for example, there are 27 billionaires
in Russia and one in five Russians now lives below the official poverty
line of $38 a month!

Therein lies the truth of  Fidel Castro's assertion that the miracle
"...was not economic but political". Saney elaborates, "...the
'explanation' for the Cuban 'miracle' is to be found in the Cuban political system, in
its own unique democracy". Saney further contrasts Cuba's revolutionary democratic ethos to the
dominant model of democracy which "...marginalizes the right to
economic security, employment, healthcare, education, housing, livable
environment, etc."  He argues "The illusion of participation is created through the
ballot box, obscuring the wider and systemic disenfranchisement.
Democratic rights are reduced to the exercise of the vote every few years."

RACE, INEQUALITY, CRIME AND REVOLUTION

Saney, in this section makes an important and enlightening exploration
into the successes, the shortcomings and even regressions in the struggle
against racism, sexism, inequality and crime in Cuba.  Rather than a
measurement of how much or little progress (there's been much progress and some
regression) has been made, he looks for the social, political, economic factors
that accelerate, retard or even reverse the struggle against these social ills.
Perhaps the most important truth to emerge from his investigation is
that these ills do not automatically disappear because of good socialist
intentions or even strong laws, and they can take years to overcome in
a country burdened with a legacy of class, racial and sexual elitism and
limited in resources. He describes how the "Special Period" exacerbated
these ills, and how even solutions to ease the crisis in some cases
worsened these ills. While the economic collapse worsened the already worse
conditions of the marginalized poor, tourism and foreign investment
increased inequality in Cuba, rekindled elitist attitudes, and brought
an increase in crime, including prostitution. It is a valuable
investigatio into social problems that exist globally. Even with the setbacks, Cuba
is in the forefront of attacking and overcoming these ills. We have much to
learn in what Saney describes as a "veritable laboratory" of social dynamics.

THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA

This segment is especially valuable for all North Americans and
especially Cuba solidarity activists, because we are ultimately responsible for
ending the 45-year war our government is waging against the people of Cuba,
and it may become necessary to stop a military escalation of this war.
Saney writes "Cubans keenly understand, as they have their history as a
guide, that the unrelenting U.S. hostility is not simply a product of
misguided policies: the tactical approach to the 'Cuba problem' may
changefrom U.S. administration to administration - from military assault of a
Kennedy to the rapproachment of a Carter back again to the hyper-agressiveness
of George W. Bush - but the underlying logic driving the imperialist system
remains the same, a lust for expansion and domination".

LESSONS AND FOOTPRINTS

Saney concludes this magnificent study in human crisis and capacity
with these thoughts: "Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, discussions on the pertinence
and viability of socialism have dominated the discourses that endeavor to
banish the socialist project from any emancipatory agenda. Cuba offers
profound insights on the issue of the viability of socialism as a
counter-project to the neoliberal triumphalism. Nevertheless, even on the left, the Cuban
socialist project remains neglected and maligned. For Antonio Blanco,
Cuba constitutes a socialist experiment that 'has something new to say about
the model of sustainable human development that is urgently needed by the
ecosystem and humanity'". "Washington's hostility to the revolutionary project continues
unabated,with the singular objective of the overthrow of the Revolution, the
elimination of socialism and the restoration of capitalism and U.S.
tutelage.

"As a counter, Cubans have heeded Lenin's call to erect the most
durable barriers to capitalist restoration by carrying out the Revolution 'in
the most far reaching, consistent and determined manner possible. The more
far reaching the revolution the more difficult will it be to restore the
old order'. "In Havana, there is a well known billboard, based on a quote taken
from the 1996 address to the UN General Assembly by Cuban Vice-President Carlos
Lage, that simply stated: Each day in the world 200 million children sleep in
the streets. Not one is Cuban. Perhaps, this best sums up what Cubans are -
in the face of immense obstacles - building and defending."


Isaac Saney is a member of the faculty at Dalhousie University in Halifax,
Nova Scotia and regularly lectures on, writes about and conducts research inCuba.