In the analysis of the revolution, Cuba is seen here as one of the few countries in the world history that has made a bad name for itself due to the reputation of its former leader, Fidel Castro. Castro was and is still viewed by many as a dictator who was repugnant and autocratic. Chomsky (2010) points out that the survey showed a shared opinion among the US students in which 98 percent knew Fidel Castro and in the same analysis, 82 percent of them had a negative opinion of him.
In most studies though, Fidel Castro is less discussed as many writers focus on the people of Cuba, their politics and the process of revolution. In admission, historians usually link the story of Cuba with US involvement and politicians and the world see USSR as the main source behind the nature the Cuban revolution.
Freedom is a common concept that Cuba and the US have an interest in as far as describing Cuba’s history and current realities is concerned. The contrast among the two is that the United States refers to freedom as a private enterprise while for Cuba the meaning alludes to the concept of being released from the US entanglement. Evidence is seen in writing by one Cuban nationalist who asserts that the Cuban people ought to be disentangled from foreigners who have no regard for the flag as they bury it in the ground.
This criticizes the United States’ political and economic domination and local collaborators who perpetrate US principles and influence. The image used by Santa Clara of two giant hands in which one is black and the other white is a pointer to the current situation of the Cuban wishes of being free from the domination of foreigners.
In addition, Jose Marti in emphasis makes the view that Cuba faces a threat from the US, a country that proclaims freedom from slavery, racial equality and its independence struggle. There is a popular belief among the students in Cuba on the concept of freedom as one of them defined freedom as being free from international capitalist exploitation. These views are a testament of the fears and perceptions of many US policy makers. Questions arise of what will happen to private companies in the new era of a new regime.
We see this in the speech of President Bush in 2007 when he highlights the importance of the private sector in Cuba associating economic freedom with political freedom which according to him was lacking in Cuba.
He continued to stress the fact that success stories in the past were due to economic and political freedom that was present in Latin America. He criticized Cuba for being a stumbling block to this venture for the reason that Cuba isolates its people from the hope that freedom brings therefore trapping them in a system that propagates lack of development.
The current president of the US, Barrack Obama also showed an interest in the emancipation of Cuba. He said that his policy in Cuba will be guided by one word which is liberation. In review, he quoted Jose Marti, who said that every moment was critical in the attainment of freedom. But even in saying this, Barrack Obama still vowed to maintain the US embargo on Cuba which is a clear contradiction to the spirit of the so called freedom.
It is in these crossroads that the Latin Americans find themselves at logger heads with the US due to the fact that during the Cuban revolution, the states came up with studies to find out why, when, and where revolutions occur and their nature. In coming up with answers both the Cuban historians and researchers of the Cuban revolution have said that they occur due to people’s oppression and the need for reconstructing the society.
It is therefore evident that the Cuban revolution is a reflection of earlier revolutions among the West especially the global age of revolutions. This philosophy was an enlightenment concept among people as the world advanced in ways of governance and individual freedom. In this thought, people became conscious of questioning political philosophies, social movements and political ideologies and tried to imagine new ones.
Therefore the Cuban revolution can be said to have been made by people who believed and wanted change in their environment and the world around them. By challenging oppressive regimes and unjust social order, they could have become their own change agents and come out of their passiveness as pointed out by Paulo Freire’s (1970) book pedagogy of the oppressed.
He asserts that it is the neo-colonial and colonial rule that has impoverished people and propagated inequality among them. We can therefore draw the analysis that the same human beings that create oppressive conditions can alleviate them.
In conclusion we can point out that the Latin American people have conflicting feelings about democracy and the role of the United States in their region. This is for the reason that there is a huge gap in knowledge between the Latin America and the United States as beliefs and attitudes vary immensely which is an influencing factor of the Cuban revolution. It is therefore apparent to go by Freire who says that the oppressed are bound by duty and terms this as the greatest calling for the down trodden in the society.
References
Chomsky, A. (2010). A History of the Cuban Revolution Volume 11 of Viewpoints / Puntos De Vista Viewpoints/puntos de vista: themes and interpretations in Latin American history Viewpoints/puntos de vista. New York: John Wiley & Sons,
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed [1st American] ed. A Continuum book. New York: Seabury Press,.
Gray, R., B. (2011). Jose Marti: Cuban Patriot. New York: Literary Licensing, LLC,
USA International Business Publications (2001). Cuba: Foreign Policy & Government Guide, Volume 1 World Country Study Guide Library Volume 1316 of World Foreign Policy and Government Library. New York: Int’l Business Publications,