adri kelly whap period 3 coach hutson february 22, 2016 revolutions...
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The Cuban and Venezuelan Revolutions
Adri Kelly
WHAP Period 3
Coach Hutson
February 22, 2016
Revolutions Research Paper
Kelly 1
As historians today analyze the patterns that present themselves in the history of our world, one of the recurring themes that arises is the idea that historical events are interconnected. One small action in a certain time period, a mere ripple in the ocean of time, can radically influence another historical event. Wars, explorations, revolutions— all of these items have impacts, even in today’s modern world, further proving the idea that the past, present, and future are connected. Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro once said that “A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past”. One area of the world that has seen its share of impactful history is Latin America, where 1
revolutions against oppressive powers have shaped the way these countries have developed into their own independent nations. When looking at the various revolutions in Latin America, a question emerges. What political aspects of the Cuban and Venezuelan revolutions lead to modernday repercussions?
Both Cuba and Venezuela’s struggles for separation from an oppressive authority lead to poor international relations, divisions within society, and different, yet both ineffective, political structures. This pair of nations both undermined relations with a country closely linked to them, with Cuba isolating itself from the United States, and with Venezuela severing ties with Spain through its independence movement. Additionally, both movements in these nations lacked the presence of unity, with various rebel groups in Cuba and social classes in Venezuela competing. Nevertheless, while Cuba’s postrevolution government developed into a Castroled dictatorship with communist undertones, Venezuela fell into an oligarchic system after the revolution, cycling through a plethora of leaders through the centuries.
Both nations, through their respective revolutions, set in motion the start of poor international relations. Firstly, the American response to the Cuban revolution was negative, as a result of preexisting tensions and the actions of both nations during the revolt. When rebel attacks first started, President Eisenhower sent men to Havana to protect the presidential palace, in a show of support of the Batista regime. Between an American hostage situation in 1958 to Cuban takeovers of American plantations, 2 3 4
tensions between Cubans and their American neighbors have only grown. Some historians even assert that one subconscious reason for the Cuban revolution was to gain a national identity, separate from the United States. Prerevolution, Cuba was heavily influenced by the US. It was a tourist destination and American soda, cars, and literature permeated the island nation. Scholar Julia Sweig comments that 5
“there was a desire to challenge the economic status quo and address the issue of dependence” as many 6
revolutionaries felt that they had lost touch with their Cuban roots. Conditions in Venezuela prerevolution were similar to that of Cuba’s. For years, Spain had plenty of control over its primary
1 Castro, Fidel. "Castro's Speech on the Second Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution." Speech presented in Havana, Cuba, January 5, 1961. Latin American Network Information Center, University of Texas. http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1961/19610105.html
2 Sweig, Julia E. “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 22
3 Sweig. “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know”. 25. 4 Grant, Will. “BBC iWonder: Fidel Castro.” BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zttpfg8 5 Sweig. “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know” 25. 6 Ibid., 27.
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cocoa producer, Venezuela. The Spanish crown crafted an monopolized colonial export system, which 7
lead to resentment from Venezuelan farmers who sought economic independence. Spanish subjects felt 8
discontented, as shown by Venezuelan revolutionary Simón Bolívar’s writings in his Proclamation of 1813. Bolívar wrote that the “barbarous Spaniards, who have ravished you, plundered you, and brought you death and destruction...They have committed every manner of crime, reducing the Republic of Venezuela to the most frightful desolation.”. Both of these rocky relations between countries continued 9
on into the 21st century. For over 60 years, the US and Cuba remained estranged, especially after the fall of the Soviet Union. Cuba and the US mutually agreed to pursue “economic and diplomatic isolation” through the HelmsBurton embargo in 1996. However, in April 2015, Barack Obama and Raul Castro 10
began talks, which lead to airline flights in August 2015 going from Houston to Havana. Although 11
tensions are still high between the two nations, boundaries are slowly starting to erode with promising hopes for the future. Venezuela similarly developed a shaky relation with Spain. When Spain’s national economy fell, so did its relations with Venezuela, as both nations went through economic crises. In 12
2015, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro denounced Spain in a national TV address, calling out the “racists of the corrupt elite of Spain”, and stated that Spain was so concerned with meddling in Venezuela’s oil 13
issues it was neglecting its own economic impoverishment. Maduro boldly pronounced that he was 14
“preparing for battle a gainst Madrid”. The topic of Spanish neoimperialism reared its head during a 15
debate in 2007 in which Spain’s king Juan Carlos I asked Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez, “Por qué no te callas? (Why don’t you be quiet?)”. Cuba and Venezuela’s actions during their revolutions, 16
although they may have been centuries apart, still impact today’s Latin American politics. CubanAmerican tensions have dramatically impacted the way these two nations currently interact. Venezuela and its former colonialera ruler, Spain, are still at odds. However, with CubanAmerican
7 Salas, Miguel Tinker. “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know”. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. 19
8 Salas. “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know” 19. 9 Bierck, Harold A. and Lecuna, Vicente, eds., “Selected Writings of Bolívar” (New York: Colonial Press,
1951), Vol. I, 31–32. Reprinted in Peter N. Stearns, ed., Documents in World History (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988), 89–90. http://mhs.mcsd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_21163/File/Social%20Studies%20Teachers/Jeremy%20Chandler/Primary%20Source%20%20Latin%20American%20Independence.pdf
10 Zolov, Eric. "Let's Revisit HelmsBurton." Huffington Post. Last modified January 16, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ericzolov/letsrevisithelmsburton_b_6488476.html
11 Mulvaney, Erin. "First Regular HoustonCuba Flight Begins Next Month." The Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX), July 16, 2015. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/FirstregularHoustonCubaflightbeginsnext6389311.php
12 Lee, Brianna. "VenezuelaSpain Diplomatic Dustup Marks the Latest in Long List of Spats." International Business Times. Last modified April 17, 2015. http://www.ibtimes.com/venezuelaspaindiplomaticdustupmarkslatestlonglistspats1886566
13 Lee."VenezuelaSpain Diplomatic Dustup Marks the Latest in Long List of Spats." 14 Lee. "VenezuelaSpain Diplomatic Dustup Marks the Latest in Long List of Spats.” 15 Ibid. 16 Egurbide, Pedro. "El Rey a Chávez: '¿Por Qué No te Callas?'" [The King to Chavez: "Why Don't You Be
Quiet?"]. El Pais (Santiago, Chile), November 10, 2007. http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2007/11/10/actualidad/1194649213_850215.html
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tensions slowly subsiding and the substantial shift in politics after Hugo Chávez’s death, political analysts
remain hopeful that international relations will improve.
Additionally, both Venezuela and Cuba had ineffective governments postrevolution thanks to
revolutionary actions. After Fidel Castro and his revolutionary forces took Havana, they spoke of
freedom, equality, and justice in politics. However, the political structure that Castro’s regime created was
anything but equal. Soon after the revolution, Communist philosophies began to emerge in the Cuban
political system, as Fidel Castro made himself an ally of USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev. Eventually, 17
Castro “declared himself a MarxistLeninist”, and the man who was once called a prime minister earned 18
the title of dictator throughout the rest of the world. Under Fidel Castro’s rule, the government “closed
down opposition newspapers, jailed thousands of political opponents and made no move toward
elections.”. In Venezuela, following the revolt, Simón Bolívar ambitiously set out to create a grand 19
union of Latin American nations known as the Gran Colombia. However, Bolívar’s home country of 20
Venezuela left the union and declared its freedom. Eventually, a congress and constitution emerged, and 21
Joze Paez emerged as a central political figure. Paez created an oligarchy, with himself at the helm, 22
accompanied by a small cabinet of trusted advisors. The first few leaders of Venezuela were not chosen
through fair elections and had strong military support, and a string of leaders came and went as the years 23
passed by. Currently, Cuba is still in the hands of the Castros. Raul Castro took charge in 2008 due to 24
his older brother’s health complications, maintaining the autocracy Fidel Castro created in 1926. 25 26
Venezuela continued on its path of unstable leadership into the 21st century, with radical leaders like
Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro seizing control. When comparing the governments of Cuba and 27
Venezuela, not much has changed. Cuba still remains an authoritarian system with a Castro at the helm.
Venezuela’s political scene is still unstable but can be classified as a federal republic with Maduro in
charge. 28
Lastly, both nations experienced a lack of unity during their revolutions, which lead to modern
repercussions. The Cuban revolution, on one hand, was not a people’s revolution. The entire population
did not unite as one against Batista’s government. Some people were Batistan loyalists, and a few even
17 Sweig. “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” 38.
18 Ibid., 38.
19 History.com staff. "Fidel Castro." The History Channel. Last modified 2009.
http://www.history.com/topics/coldwar/fidelcastro 20 “Selected Writings of Bolivar”.
21 Rose, Christopher, and Neuberger, Joan. "Simón Bolívar." University of Texas: 15 Minute Histories.
Podcast audio. February 20, 2015. http://15minutehistory.org/2013/02/20/episode13simonbolivar/ 22 Salas. "Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know” 88.
23 Ibid., 88.
24 Ibid., 89.
25 “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” 271.
26 Ibid., 75.
27 Langley, Lester D. “The Americas in the Age of Revolution: 17501850.” N.p.: Yale University Press,
1996. 28 "Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know” 241.
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fled with their leader in his private helicopter during his exile. Also, various groups arose with different 29
goals. For example, the famous attack on the Cuba presidential palace was not lead by Fidel Castro and 30
Che Guevara’s forces, but by the rival rebel group El Directorio. El Directorio, a student protest group, 31
aimed to assassinate Batista in order to end his reign. Although both groups, Castro’s and El Directorio,
both wished to bring about a change in government, Castro did not see assassination as an effective path
to change. In Venezuela, there were also separations between the Venezuelan people. Llaneros,
Venezuelan ranchers and farmers, were adamant in their support of the Spanish crown and offered
resistance to Simón Bolívar’s cause through their formation of a loyalist cavalry. Racial tensions were 32
also heightened at the time, with Native Americans, mestizos and creoles all looking to achieve their own
status in society. In his Proclamation of 1813, Simón Bolívar urged his countrymen to unite against 33
King Ferdinand VII, pleading to the “Americans who, by error or treachery, have been lured from the
paths of justice”, urging them to “To sever the ignoble ties with which your executioners have bound you
to their own fate.”. Today, this difference in political alliances and lack of shared interests continues. 34
Cuba prerevolution had a controlling leader that restricted its people. Today, conditions remain the same
under Raul Castro. Cuban citizens are deprived of many opportunities for economic growth, all the while
being extremely close to the United States. Venezuela is still politically unstable, with constant turmoil 35
leading to a lack of unity amongst the government and its people. There are various political parties vying
for a chance to fix many aspects of their nation that are controversial. Venezuela is experiencing an oil 36
crisis, and has startling disparities in prices of basic commodities such as toilet paper. However, things 37
are politically more stable than they were at the beginning of Venezuela’s history as an independent
nation.
In summary, Cuba and Venezuela’s struggles for independence from a harsh ruler lead to
different political situations, damaged diplomacy, and a lack of unity. The actions of Venezuelans and
Cubans during their respective revolutions greatly influenced where their nations are today from a
political standpoint. Both nations’ rebellions serve as prime examples of the enduring effects of history.
Both of these significant historical events demonstrate that the past, although it may have happened
already, has a profound impact on today’s world.
29 Sweig,.“Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” 36.
30 Sweig,.“Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” 22.
31 Ibid., 23.
32 Langley. “The Americas in the Age of Revolution: 17501850.” 242.
33 Salas. “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know.” 21.
34 Lecuna and Bierck. “Selected Writings of Bolívar”.
35 Teichert, Pedro C.M.. 1962. “Latin America and the Socioeconomic Impact of the Cuban Revolution”.
Journal of InterAmerican Studies 4 (1). [Wiley, University of Miami, Center for Latin American Studies at the
University of Miami]: 105–20. doi:10.2307/164834.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/164834?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents 36 Grandin, Greg. "What is Happening in Venezuela?” The Nation. March 2, 2015.
http://www.thenation.com/article/whathappeningvenezuela/ 37 Sanchez, Fabiola, and Karl Ritter. "Venezuela Toilet Paper Shortage: Government To Import 50 Million
Rolls." Huffington Post. Last modified July 16, 2013.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/venezuelatoiletpapershortage_n_3285478.html
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Bibliography
Primary Sources
Bierck, Harold A. and Lecuna, Vicente, eds., “Selected Writings of Bolívar” (New York:
Colonial Press, 1951), Vol. I, 31–32. Reprinted in Peter N. Stearns, ed., Documents in World
History (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988), 89–90.
Castro, Fidel. "Castro's Speech on the Second Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution." Speech
presented in Havana, Cuba, January 5, 1961. Latin American Network Information Center,
University of Texas.
Secondary Sources
A&E Networks. "Fidel Castro." The History Channel. Last modified 2009.
http://www.history.com/topics/coldwar/fidelcastro
Egurbide, Pedro. "El Rey a Chávez: '¿Por Qué No te Callas?'" [The King to Chavez: "Why Don't
You Be Quiet?"]. El Pais (Santiago, Chile), November 10, 2007.
http://internacional.elpais.com/internacional/2007/11/10/actualidad/1194649213_850215.html
Grandin, Greg. "What is Happening in Venezuela?" The Nation. March 2, 2015.
http://www.thenation.com/article/whathappeningvenezuela/
Grant, Will. "BBC iWonder: Fidel Castro." BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/timelines/zttpfg8
Langley, Lester D. “The Americas in the Age of Revolution: 17501850.” N.p.: Yale University
Press, 1996.
Lee, Brianna. "VenezuelaSpain Diplomatic Dustup Marks the Latest in Long List of Spats."
International Business Times. Last modified April 17, 2015.
http://www.ibtimes.com/venezuelaspaindiplomaticdustupmarkslatestlonglistspats1886
566
Mulvaney, Erin. "First Regular HoustonCuba Flight Begins Next Month." The Houston
Chronicle (Houston, TX), July 16, 2015.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/FirstregularHoustonCubaflightbeginsn
ext6389311.php
Teichert, Pedro C. M.. 1962. “Latin America and the Socioeconomic Impact of the Cuban
Revolution”. Journal of InterAmerican Studies 4 (1). [Wiley, University of Miami, Center for
Latin American Studies at the University of Miami]: 105–20. doi:10.2307/164834.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/164834?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
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Rose, Christopher, and Neuberger, Joan. "Simón Bolívar." University of Texas: 15 Minute Histories. Podcast audio. February 20, 2015. http://15minutehistory.org/2013/02/20/episode13simonbolivar/
Sanchez, Fabiola, and Karl Ritter. "Venezuela Toilet Paper Shortage: Government To Import 50 Million Rolls." Huffington Post. Last modified July 16, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/venezuelatoiletpapershortage_n_3285478.html
Salas, Miguel Tinker. “Venezuela: What Everyone Needs to Know.” N.p.: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Sweig, Julia E. “Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know.” Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Zolov, Eric. "Let's Revisit HelmsBurton." Huffington Post. Last modified January 16, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ericzolov/letsrevisithelmsburton_b_6488476.html