[Socialism Today, No 26, March 1998, p. 20-21]
The recent tour of Cuba by Juan Paul II was the first visit by a Pope to the island since the revolution of 1959. It was, argues Tony Saunois, more political than theological in its content and objectives.
The threat to the social gains made since the revolution was put under the spotlight during the shows of pomp and religious mystique that were organised in Havana, Santa Clara and other Cuban cities. The Cuban revolution abolished capitalism and expelled imperialism from the island. It brought with it a transformation in the life of the Cuban masses, The abolition of illiteracy and the introduction of free health care in one of the most developed health services in the world, remain unknown in the Caribbean or Latin America.
Since the collapse of the USSR, however, and the ending of the vast subsidies that it gave to Cuba, US imperialism has attempted to tighten the noose around Cuba and has stepped up the economic blockade which it imposed in 1961. The consequent economic collapse has already resulted in a dramatic fall in living standards for the Cuban masses. The threat of capitalist restoration is now more serious than at any other time.
During his visit the Pope gave a further glimpse of what a capitalist Cuba would be like. If he got his way the decline in living standards would be accompanied by the abolition of free abortion, education would be partly handed over to the Catholic church, and other social gains of the revolution would be wiped out.
The Pope arrived in Havana essentially to argue the case of European and Canadian imperialism, who support capitalist restoration but in a ‚controlled‘ way that will incorporate at least some sections of the Cuban bureaucracy. One of his objectives was to put pressure on US imperialism to drop its policy of direct confrontation with Fidel and abandon the trade boycott. The European powers fear that the attempt of US imperialism to strangle the regime will lcad to social explosions and conflicts. They calculate that this threat can arise if the bureaucracy is forced into a fight to defend its own interests and, in doing so, rests upon the support for the revolution and powerful anti-US imperialist sentiment in the region.
The idea of a ‚controlled‘ process of capitalist restoration is also supported by a majority of the ruling class in Latin America. For example in Mexico the ruling class hopes to extend its own influence in a capitalist Cuba. The elite of Latin America is also fearful of being too closely associated with the policies of the US. This is largely because of the hatred towards US imperialism amongst the masses of the continent. As the Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes, explained in the Spanish daily El País (26 January, 1998), „the change should come from within. As a result it will be peaceful, gradual and democratic. Imposed from outside or by blockade, it can only produce a blood bath“.
This is the risk that US imperialism takes by its attempt to strangle the regime and its refusal to compromise with it. European imperialism prefers to try and achieve capitalist restoration through opening up the economy to foreign investment and allowing sections of the Cuban bureaucracy to convert themselves into a new capitalist class.
The intransigent stance of US imperialism is for two reasons. Firstly it is a matter of prestige. The Cuban revolution took away its playground and the US has wanted its revenge ever since. Secondly, Miami became home to supporters of the former Batista dictatorship and succeeding US administrations have rested upon the support of this layer. The majority of the older exiled land and factory owners are in no mood to compromise with Castro, With the fall of the Cuban regime they would return to reclaim their former property.
The prospect of the return of Miami businessmen looking for revenge is clearly a major factor preventing sections of the Cuban bureaucracy from embracing capitalism in the way a section of the bureaucratic rulers did in the former USSR. The Miami exiles are also hated by the Cuban masses. It was not for theological reasons that the Roman Catholic church in Miami cancelled luxury cruises planned to take exiles to the Papal mass in Havana.
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The Popes visit was partly organised therefore with a view to putting pressure on US imperialism and the Cuban exiles to change their attitude, in order to try and secure a controlled transition to capitalism. It was also an attempt to throw a lifeline to Fidel Castro’s regime if it is prepared ‚gradually‘ to enact a policy of capitalist restoration. As the Argentine daily Clarín reported, the Pope, in meetings with intellectuals in La Universidad de La Habana, argued that, „the major and authentic reforms that the island needs should be made gradually“. (24 January, 1998).
The Roman Catholic church is thus attempting to establish itself as a possible channel for opposition to aid the attempts at a transition to capitalism. However, Cuba is not Poland and the church has a very narrow social basis from which to operate from. Attendances at the Papal masses were not massive, despite being encouraged by the government and Cuban Communist Party. In fact religious ceremony is so unknown in Cuba that at one stage those attending the masses chanted, ‚El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido‘ (the people united will never be defeated), a traditional Latin American song of the socialist and Communist movement.
Even prior to the revolution, Catholicism did not have the same tradition or influence in Cuban society as in some Eastern European countries. Historically, many Cubans practised religions such as Santerria, which is derived from voodoo, which were carried in secret aboard the slave ships that arrived from Africa. To try and boost the support for the Catholic church, therefore, the Pope was compelled to partly acknowledge the importance of the struggle against imperialism and support for national independence that exists in the consciousness of the Cuban people (and which is associated with the revolution). Thus, Father Felix Varela, a supporter of a 19th century equivalent of ‚liberation theology‘ who fought for Cuban independence and the abolition of slavery, was canonised during the visit, the first step to becoming a saint. Yet, as a lecturer in philosophy, Varela had refused to teach in Latin and had been exiled along with the Cuban independence leader, Jose Marti!
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Cuba is moving towards capitalist restoration but the process has not yet been completed. Moreover, attempts at carrying through a social counterrevolution in Cuba will not be easy, for two main reasons. Firstly, the revolution still enjoys massive support, with the masses having no desire to become once again the play-ground of US imperialism, living under the rule of the hated Miami exile elite. Secondly, the very threat of the return of the exiles is a big barrier that holds back the Cuban bureaucracy from going over and supporting capitalism as the bureaucracy did in the former USSR and Eastern Europe.
However, the threat of capitalist restoration can only be averted if the Cuban bureaucracy is replaced with a genuine regime of workers‘ democracy. This must include the election of all officials subject to recall by workers‘ councils, to allow a democratic emergency plan to be established. Workers must be allowed to form independent trade unions and political parties that defend the planned economy and oppose imperialism. A workers‘ democracy in Cuba can only defeat imperialism and build socialism if it looks towards the international working class to defeat capitalism and establish a socialist federation of Latin America.
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