The Revolution Next Door: Cuba

Abstract

The Cuban Revolution, led by the charismatic Fidel Castro, is remarkably complex. Its causes were varied: the long overshadowing by the United States, social and eco nomic imbalances, and others. Castro, himself a complex per sonality, has led it along an erratic path of development, but probably much constructive reform has been accomplished. The Revolution has been chiefly social and economic, not politi cal. Fidel Castro, his brother Raul, and Dr. Ernesto Guevara have quite different personalities, but Fidel alone dominates the Revolution. In recent months, the movement has shifted far to the left, due to both positive and negative factors; Rus sian and Chinese Communist influence is now considerable. The major defects of the Revolution include its failure to de velop institutional apparatus other than the Communist party, its cavalier attitude toward freedom of expression, and the abandonment by masses of the people of any wish to think for themselves. The Revolution has had an enormous impact on Latin America and, hence, naturally, on the United States as well.