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Back From The Future: Chapter 7 Internationalism. Cuba Under Castro. Military Assistance. 1960’s guerrilla movements FSLN trained and armed Che was captured and murdered in Bolivia in 1967 Castro laid foundation for African involvement Angolan mission had a great impact
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Back From The Future:Chapter 7 Internationalism Cuba Under Castro
Military Assistance • 1960’s guerrilla movements • FSLN trained and armed • Che was captured and murdered in Bolivia in 1967 • Castro laid foundation for African involvement • Angolan mission had a great impact • Socialist governments gained power and revolution seemed inevitable • Castro seemed to spur revolutions but gave little aid • Cuban military internationalism drastically changed
Civilian Assistance • Expanded in 1970s along with internationalism • Construction and building was key • Major construction in North Africa and Middle East as well • Cuba offered extensive education and medical aid • Castro quickly expanded his medical aid to others • Cuba also offered heavy economic assistance • Cuba seemed to aid everyone in anything they needed
Cuba as a Soviet Surrogate • Cuba as a Soviet Surrogate • Resource-poor Cuba undertook overseas commitments • Thought “socialist internationalism” was a prerequisite for continued Soviet assistance • If Cuba had been a soviet surrogate it should not have been extended aid to countries that had bad relations in Moscow. • Moscow disapproved of Cuba’s overseas activities • In the 1970’s and 1980’s Cuba and the soviet union advanced complementary and coordinated overseas military program • Evidence suggests that Cuba initiated the commitment of massive combat troops to Angola • Internationalism became an arena of tension between Moscow and Havana
Moral Bases for Overseas Involvements • Castro’s early foreign policy • 1960’s Castro pressed upon the Cubans • Steps to institutionalize the revolution • 1976 Constitution • Cuba’s commitment • The window of opportunity “involved changes both at home and abroad” • Vietnam War and Watergate
Economic Benefits • Internationalist commitments • Moscow provided Cuba with extensive aid • 1977 Cuban internationalists generated an estimated $50 million • 1980: bad year • UNECA • The Cuban government turned some initial hard currency contracts into donations • Global export earnings improved • Middle Eastern aid • Negotiating with Western firms • Special Period Cuba
Domestic Opportunity Cost • Expenditures • The dollar value peaked in the 1980’s • Military internationalism weighed on the economy • Island’s growth rate could have been higher • Internationalism became a source of corruption
Future Prospects of Internationalism • Main Question: Is Internationalism a viable future strategy? • Third World Governments inclination to Cuban internationalists lead to limitation of Cuba’s prospects • Soviet global withdrawal • Domestic constraints: The Special Period crisis • Some 2,300 islanders lost their lives on international missions • Angolan and Namibian settlements helping defeat South African forces • Internationalism: early1990s • Government remained officially committed to internationalism • Castro’s redefining of internationalism