Corresponding text found on p244-249 of Brief History of the Caribbean.
Economic struggles force decisions in stabilizing economy
1970 - Mass mobilization for largest sugar crop ever; failure; accepts Soviet economic advisers
1972 - Cuba joins Soviet bloc common market
Soviets reward Cuba with generous aid; global sugar prices soar
1976 - new Constitution reorganizes power structure in government
Aug 1975 - Castro sends 20,000 Cuban troops to aid Communist regime in Angola
Cuban troops in Angola
By end of 1980s, 57,000 Cubans had served in Angola
1977 - 15,000 troops to Ethiopia to aid Communist regime against Somalia
Aids Sandinista rebels in Nicaragua; incl 2,000 military advisers
1979 - aids new socialist government of Maurice Bishop in Grenada; incl 800 military advisers
Sends supplies and arms to guerillas in Guatemala, El Salvador, Colombia
Close relationship with Michael Manley government in Jamaica
Cuban government used people as foreign assistance; sent doctors, agronomists, teachers, etc to more than 30 countries throughout Africa and Latin America
Economy still struggles; repression of political opposition rampant
April 1979 - Mariel Boatlift
Cubans fleeing during the Mariel Boatlift
Cuba continued to run foreign trade deficit; off-set by Soviet subsidies; overpay for sugar, sell cheap oil
Borrowed money paid for continuing social welfare programs; much in rural Cuba; urban decay
Investment in education and health paid off
- by 1990, 1 doctor for every 300 Cubans (well trained, not well paid)
- by 1990, 1 teacher for every 12 children
By mid-70s, alternative markets set up to allow for purchase of goods beyond ration level
Constant reevaluation and reformulation of Cuban socialist system
1986 - Rectification Process begins; return to more pure communism; central economic controls return
Corresponding text found on p267-270 in Brief History of the Caribbean.
Stenio Vincent elected President of Haiti by National Assembly in 1930; US troops leave in '34
Vincent reelected in 1935 in fraudulent referendum; dictatorial rule; close ties to US
Oct 1937 -DR President Trujillo has army execute near 50,000 Haitian laborers; civil unrest in Haiti
1941 - Vincent forced to step aside; Assemble elects Elie Lescot new President
Lescot rule sees increased coffee sales due to WWII; blatant corruption and nepotism; repression of Vodun religion; alienates many
Jan 1946 - military coup; Lescot removed; National Assembly dissolved
May 1946 - new national elections; subsequent National Assembly elects Dumarsais Estime president
Estime tries to rig election in 1950; organizes mob to intimidate Senate; military coup against Estime
1950-1956 - President Magloire; same problems of corruption and ineffective government
Sept 1957 - Francois Duvalier elected President
Duvalier was writer and former member of National Assembly; reputation for honesty
Base of support was military, vodun priests, peasantry, young middle-class
Francois Duvalier - Papa Doc
Soon after election, removes chief of staff and takes direct control of army; creates new military bodies
Tonton Makoutes created as secret police for purpose of terrorizing population and maintaining order
1964 - Duvalier declares himself "President for Life"
Tactics of 'Papa Doc' to maintain control and power were numerous
- chose members of National Assembly
- engaged in corrupt practices with important businesses
- gave good-pay govt jobs to middle class intellectuals
- closed unions
- closed independent press organizations
- expelled many Catholic priests and closed seminaries
- offer government contracts and jobs to ensure support
- Tontons
Duvalier with his military support
State ownership of industry greatly expands
Due to corrupt power relationships, elite benefit from Duvalier rule while peasantry gets poorer; many flee
April 1971 - Papa Doc dies; 19-yr old son had been named succeeding "President for Life"
Jean-Claude Duvalier - Baby Doc
Early years of rule of Jean-Claude Duvalier (Baby Doc) see mild reforms; new assembly industry jobs
Short documentary on Haiti from 1975 (Part 1 of 2)
Short documentary (Part 2 of 2)
1980 - Baby Doc marries light-skinned daughter of elite business class
Seen as rejection of 'Black Power' Movement which had an association with Papa Doc
What is 'Black Power'? How did it transform the Caribbean? Walter Rodney, Guyana, and Jamaica Trinidad's Black Power Revolution of 1970
Starts to name his own appointees; new wave of government intimidation
Duvalier and wife
1985 - severe food shortage; Madame Duvalier lavish shopping spree in Paris; peasant unrest grows
Demonstrations grow in size and intensity; young army officers disenchanted; protests of more rural population gain support of Catholic priests - Haitian born, middle-class background
Duvalier response inconsistent; army shoots at protesters; cuts prices on goods; dissolves Tontons partly
Jan 30, 1986 - news reports govt collapse (false report); protests move to Port-au-Prince
Feb 7, 1986 - Baby Doc and family flee for exile in France; made off with millions
Corresponding text found in p330-333 in Brief History of the Caribbean.
Split between Alexander Bustamante & Norman Manley in Jamaica led to creation of two political parties
- Jamaican Labour Party (Bustamante)
- People's National Party (Manley)
JLP controls Jamaican government between 1962-72
1969 - Norman Manley dies; son Michael assumes party leadership
Michael Manley
PNP gains support of lower classes as well as those of business and professional class disenchanted with results of JLP governments; high unemployment and inflation
1972 - PNP wins elections; Michael Manley becomes Prime Minister
Increases social welfare programs; cultivates friendship with Fidel Castro
Manley and Castro in Jamaica
Sept 1974 - PNP declares intention to reform Jamaica under 'democratic socialism'
What did 'democratic socialism mean for Michael Manley?
Manley interview from 1977 (Part 1 of 5)
Manley interview part 2 of 5
Part 3 of 5
Part 4 of 5
Part 5 of 5
Govt seizes control of large segments of economy; sets up agricultural cooperatives; nationalizes electricity, television, transportation, sugar factories, etc; purchased 51% of state bauxite mines from companies
1976 - PNP sweeps elections; JLP develops new tone under leadership of Edward Seaga
Edward Seaga
Parties now had clear bases of support; not just parties of personality
- JLP - professionals and white-collar workers
- PNP - unemployed and blue-collar workers
Blood & Fire -- Documentary on the political history of Jamaica
Despite rhetorical closer move towards socialism, economic hardships in 1977 force moderation; IMF
1980 - production down, inflation high, unemployment around 30%; extremely violent election period
Bob Marley attempts to bring 'One Love' back to his homeland of Jamaica during 1980 elections
Dominated by two political parties for most of 20th Century
- PDC (Christian Democratic Party) - middle class support
- PCN (National Conciliation Party) - military support
1972 - presidential election; Jose N Duarte (former leader of the PDC) runs as member of new National Opposition Union (UNO); loses what many view as fraudulent election
Begins revolt to protest results; captured, tortured, exiled to Venezuela
President Arturo Molina enacted numerous land reform measures; reforms fail due to opposition from landed elite in El Salvador
1977 - General Carlos Romero (PCN) wins election; fraud and intimidation
Frustrations mount with populace as govt seen as representing interests of only military and/or oligarchy
Protests break out; quickly repressed by outgoing President Molina
Repression continues under Romero; suspends civil liberties, numerous disappearances, death squads
Oct 1979 - military coup against President Carlos Romero (PCN) brings Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador (JRG) to power; feared successful revolution by leftists and populists
Junta govt nationalized companies and privately held land; minor agrarian reforms
Established martial law
United States endorses coup to avoid "another Nicaragua"
Counter-junta forms with support of Salvadorian oligarchy; gains upper hand
Split military and society begins guerrilla war for control
By Oct 1980, major leftist groups in El Salvador had unified in guerrilla war against govt junta
Govt junta becomes more influenced by extreme right elements
United States helps form new junta to try and pacify country; invites Duarte back from Venezuela
Government uses military and death squads to suppress opposition to junta; war against leftist guerrillas and sympathizers
Number of documented killings by government forces reaches 1,796 in 1979
Catholic Church denounces government actions; clergy soon repressed
Brief overview of Civil War in El Salvador
Archbishop Oscar Romero speaks out on behalf of peasantry against ruling junta; assassinated by military death squad while saying mass - March 1980
Lecture on Oscar Romero
Warfare spirals out of control; right-wing govt with military, national guard, and death squads versus left-wing guerrilla forces
Salvadroan forces engage in 'scorched earth' policies against leftist insurgents
Civil war between government forces and leftist insurgents continued until 1992
Nicaragua
William Walker and Nicaragua in the 19th Century
1912 - US occupation of Nicaragua begins (Banana Wars)
Occupation lasts until Great Depression era; Augosto Sandino led opposition
US supports establishment of presidency of Anastasio Somoza; Somoza Dynasty dominates Nicaragua
- son of wealthy coffee planter
- Anastacio Somoza (1937-1947) (1950-1956)
- Luis Somoza -son (1956-1963)
- Anastacio Somoza - son (1963-1979)
Somoza Dynasty characterized by corruption, personal wealth building, authoritarian, totalitarian, torturous
FSLN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) founded in early 1960s; university students form core
Sandinista movement grows following Dec '72 earthquake that leveled Managua
1974 - successfully kidnap government officials; hold ransom
1975 - Somoza regime cracks down further; murder, torture, censorship, etc
Split within organization over philosophy and tactics
1978 - murder of editor of leftist newspaper; massive insurrection; suppression by Somoza draws ire of US government
1979 - FSLN reorganized and reunified; increased guerrilla warfare; supported by Castro
OAS tries to negotiate truce between FSLN & Somoza govt; Somoza refuses to hold elections
By June 1979, FSLN controls almost all of Nicaragua outside Mangua
July 1979 - Somoza resigns and flees to Paraguay; Sandinistas march into Managua
Junta made up of heads of various factions within FSLN governs Nicaragua
By 1981, Daniel Ortega became director of the governing junta
Daniel Ortega
Decade of warfare and disaster left 150,000 as refugees, 600,000 homeless (total pop about 2.8 mil)
Sandinista principles of govt espoused during revolution were: pluralism, national unity, economic democracy
Major push for Sandinista government was for agrarian reform; 4 stages
- confiscation of property owned by Somoza and his allies (1/5 of Nic?) - 1979
- Agrarian Reform Law - 1981
- massive cession of individual land
- Agrarian Reform Law - 1986
Agrarian Reform Law of '81 recognized four types of property: state, cooperative, communal, individual
Economy reformed based on central planning
Nicaraguan National Literacy Campaign; utilized secondary students, college students, and teachers
Immediate success; illiteracy drops from 50% to 13%; earns govt UNESCO award in 1980
1984 - general election; Daniel Ortega wins presidency with 67%; intl observers call it a clean election
United States criticizes elections and Sandinista govt in general; sees it as Soviet satellite
President Reagan made the case that Central America was vital to US security
Corresponding text found on p359-362 of Brief History of the Caribbean.
1974 - Grenada granted independence
Eric Gairy 1st Prime Minister; maintains power through election fraud, corruption, repression
Gairy built massive personal wealth through corruption
Govt spent almost nothing on education or health care; economy terrible; almost 50% unemployment
Actions of Gairy govt lead formation of opposition groups
Organized by urban middle-class with university education; ideas of marxism and black power
Maurice Bishop - London-educated lawyer
Unison Whiteman - Howard University educated economist; creates Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation (JEWEL)
1973 - Bishop & Whiteman join organizations to form New Jewel Movement; Bishop becomes leader
Mar 12, 1979 - Gairy flies to New York to address UN on existence of UFOs
Mar 13, 1979 - 46 NJM members; pre-dawn attack; capture army barracks and state radio station
Suspended 1973 Constitution; establish People's Revolutionary Government under NJM control
Held all executive and legislative powers, controlled judiciary; existing laws replaced by "People's Laws"
Bishop in charge of foreign affairs; Bernard Coard in charge of economy; internal struggle for control
Puppet Cabinet with Bishop as Prime Minister
Real power was in Central Committee, chaired by Bishop, with about 20 members
Bishop also chaired Politburo
Maurice Bishop
True marxist-leninists, NJM never sought to include poor rural population in NJM
Strict screening for membership in NJM; 1982 - only 80 members
Created grass roots organizations throughout Grenada to spread communist thought
People's Revolutionary Army had authority to imprison people for any reason; opposition repressed
PRG propaganda billboard
Established close ties with Soviet Union and Cuba; supply large amounts of aid
Nationalized electric, telephone, banks; expropriated large estates for state farms
Bishop established close friendship with Castro
Daniel Ortega, Maurice Bishop, and Fidel Castro
1979 - Cuban aid (funds, engineers, workers) to begin construction of new airport at Point Salines; new runway could support largest aircraft (civilian and military)
United States became very suspicious
Below are links to a RPG Documentary produced in 1983 about Grenada's Revolution.
Socialism and Communism in Political Theory
- differences in ideas
- leading thinkers
- characteristics
Liberation Theology
- What is it?
- Who framed it?
- Who advocates for it?
- What is the Vatican's position?
Socialism in Practice
- Cuba
- Sandinistas of Nicaragua
- Zapatistas of Mexico
- FARC of Colombia
- Sendero Luminoso of Peru
- Peronism in Argentina
- 'Democratic Socialism' in Jamaica
- Lavalas in Haiti
The Socialism Project - University of Texas at Austin
