History in first person
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Story of the leader of the Cuban Revolution related in terms of social and historical processes
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FIDEL CASTRO — My Life: Edited by Ignacio Ramonet and translated by Andrew Hurley, Allen Lane – Penguin, 11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110017. Rs. 795.
Venkatesh Athreya
This book is hardly a conventional autobiography. In fact, it has emerged from a series of interviews — or long conversations, as Ignacio Ramonet calls them — spread over the period from late January 2003 to December 2005 that Castro gave Ramonet at the latter’s request. It is an extremely important contribution to the understanding of the history and politics of the present times. The fact that Castro speaks so little about himself in a book of over 700 pages shows both the immense modesty of the man and his consistent attempt to understand all phenomena — including his personal life — in terms of social and historical processes. The book, in the excellent English translation by Andrew Hurley from the Spanish original put together by Ramonet, is a pleasure to read and keeps the reader engaged at all times.
Anti-imperialism
Castro’s responses to the interesting questions and observations of Ramonet, who has clearly done his homework, and does not hold back even questions pertaining to the most controversial events of the Cuban Revolution in the last 50 years, constitute a very insightful analysis of contemporary historical events from a consistently Marxist perspective.
While we do get glimpses of Castro’s personal life and learn something about his parents, his childhood and early youth, for the most part, and especially for the period since the attack led by Castro on July 26, 1953 on the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba to free Cuban people from the tyranny of the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Batista, Castro’s responses focus mostly on broader questions of society, politics, culture and political economy. They are fundamentally informed by unflinching anti-imperialism and by the determination to uphold the principles of national liberation and socialism.
Practical approach
One learns a great deal about the crimes and continuing machinations against Cuba perpetrated by successive regimes in the U.S.: the imposition of a brutal trade and economic boycott against a small and poor neighbour, now nearing five decades; the numerous — and spectacularly unsuccessful, at least up to the present — attempts to assassinate Castro, planned by the CIA and other agencies of the U.S. government; the shameless and brazen support given by the U.S. government to terrorists operating from U.S. soil, and with U.S. funding, against Cuba, including harbouring of criminals who have hijacked Cuban planes and boats and killed Cuban citizens; the attempt to malign Cuba by including it in the list of “states sponsoring terrorism”; the audacity of the U.S. government appointing an officer “to oversee the Cuban transition”, presumably to capitalism; continuing illegal occupation of Cuban territory; and numerous acts of hostility against Cuba in particular, and all popular democratic movements in Latin America (and elsewhere in the world) in general. The list of U.S. crimes — which testify to the hollowness of its claims to being a force for freedom in the world — is long, and surely of relevance when our country is being pushed into a strategic embrace with it.
The book brings out an interesting aspect of Castro’s approach to politics and political leaders. His approach is always practical, grounded in reality and surprisingly free of personal animosity. Thus his assessment, of even some one like John F. Kennedy — who ordered the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in April 1961 that failed miserably — is remarkably free of rancour.
He says objectively that Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 had raised his prestige. Castro says about Kennedy’s tragic death: “His death touched me and grieved me.” Similar is his approach to other U.S. Presidents like Clinton and Carter, even though none of them lifted the globally condemned blockade against Cuba, nor stopped the acts of sabotage.
Achievements
Castro places a great deal of emphasis on education as a means of cultural advancement. Indeed, the achievements of Cuba in the areas of education and health are phenomenal. Cuba provides free education to all, and the retention rate from pre-school to ninth grade is 99 per cent. Cuba’s medical education is the envy of much of the world, and its doctors have served around the world, not for money, but for the worthy cause of national liberation and third world development.
Cuba produces a very large number of medical professionals for its size and population, and also provides medical education for a large number of students from other poor countries, especially those from Latin America. Its infant mortality rate at less than six deaths per 1000 live births makes it the second best performer in the Americas, just behind Canada and better than the U.S. Its expectation of life at birth has increased by more than 15 years since the Revolution and stands at 80. Cuba is in the top third of the nations of the world in terms of the human development index. These achievements are all the more remarkable in that they have taken place under hostile conditions imposed on the tiny country by its big northern neighbour.
Solidarity
Castro is as strongly committed to internationalism and solidarity with the people across the world as he is against imperialism and hegemony. Cuba’s vital support to the African and Latin American liberation movements even when it was itself facing many difficulties is an indelible contribution to global solidarity among the oppressed.
Castro seems very conscious of the many failings and inadequacies of Cuban development, but is equally clear that overcoming them can be done only by further progress along socialist lines, not by succumbing to neoliberal globalisation.
Ramonet and Hurley, and above all, Fidel Castro, deserve our gratitude for documenting key aspects of contemporary history in such a readable manner. It is indeed a miracle that Castro found the time to respond as he has.
This book is a must-read one.
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