cuba
¡Juan Almeida Bosque, Presente!

¡Juan Almeida Bosque, Presente!

Cuban revolutionary hero Juan Almeida Bosque died late Friday, Sept. 11, in Havana, Cuba. An official period of mourning for this beloved Cuban leader was immediately declared; numerous statements in homage to Almeida have poured in, and two million people visited...

Moncada: from military defeat to political victory

Moncada: from military defeat to political victory

First published in Socialism and Liberation magazine, July 2004. Some historians—particularly opponents of the Cuban Revolution—treat the July 26, 1953, Moncada rebellion in Cuba as an impetuous act of 132 idealistic radicals. They see an outnumbered, poorly armed...

Vilma Espin: A revolutionary life

Vilma Espin: A revolutionary life

June 20, 2007 Dear people of Cuba: It was with profound sorrow that we learned of the death of beloved comrade Vilma Espín, who was an exemplary revolutionary not only for Cuba but for the world. Her actions, from an early age, in the clandestine struggle against the...

Socialist revolution and women’s liberation

This article first appeared in March 2005's Socialism and Liberation magazine. In 1949, the story of a young woman named "Gold Flower" became known around the world as an example of the path toward liberation taken by millions of Chinese women. Civil war was raging...

The revolutionary role of women in Cuba

“Revolution within the Revolution.” This is what Cuba calls the struggle for women’s equality. This phrase is used because even though the social system and economic conditions in Cuba were fundamentally transformed by the revolution, social relations could not be...

Democratic centralism in the Communist Party of Cuba

Democratic centralism in the Communist Party of Cuba

The following is an excerpt from a speech given by the author to cadres and officials of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba on May 4, 1973. Raúl Castro was at that time a division commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. The speech was given on...

AIDS: Grappling with a global crisis

AIDS: Grappling with a global crisis

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, a day focused on remembering the tens of millions of people who have died from AIDS worldwide and the more than 40 million currently infected, many in oppressed countries. AIDS care and prevention programs are still underfunded or nonexistent...