Fidel Castro is dead
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ALB wrote:Here's some of the things we've said about Castro and Cuba over the years:http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1960s/1961/no-677-january-1961/cuban-background http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1960s/1961/no-680-april-1961/cuban-cockpit-and-castro http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1960s/1968/no-772-december-1968/abolition-wages-system-cuban-stylehttp://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/1980s/1984/no-956-april-1984/cuba-under-castrohttp://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2000s/2003/no-1190-october-2003/cuba-no-workers-paradisehttp://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/socialist-standard/2000s/2008/no-1250-october-2008/cooking-books-1-cuba%E2%80%99s-wage-systemNaturally, there will be a major article on him in the January Socialist Standard.
In a few articles the Socialist Party has described the real situation of Cuba with more clarity and efficiency than the thousands of articles written by the leftists in regard to Cuba and Fidel Castro
You did not travel to Cuba when pure Stalinism was taking into practice including the local KGB and they had the support of the. Soviet
On several occasions I have wandered up to the callow youths selling which ever Trotskyist rag is in fashion at the local universities and asked them about their view of the Cuban regime. The predictable response is the usual cut and paste collection of "heroic stand against US imperialism", "solidarity with the Cuban revolution", etc.When asked about the way Castro gave a hero's welcome to Ramon Mercader, they generally become a little bit confused, unsure about who I'm referring to.When it is explained that Ramon was the guy who restyled old Leon's fringe with an ice pick they generally become very confused.I had one of them (presumably one of the leading cadre) tell me I was "a liar, a fucking liar" and he then ran around in a frenzy telling the rest of "the comrades" that they couldn't speak to me and saying words to the effect that I was a counter-revolutionary tapeworm in the pay of the CIA. Strange buggers these Trotskyists
Tim Kilgallon wrote:On several occasions I have wandered up to the callow youths selling which ever Trotskyist rag is in fashion at the local universities and asked them about their view of the Cuban regime. The predictable response is the usual cut and paste collection of "heroic stand against US imperialism", "solidarity with the Cuban revolution", etc.When asked about the way Castro gave a hero's welcome to Ramon Mercader, they generally become a little bit confused, unsure about who I'm referring to.When it is explained that Ramon was the guy who restyled old Leon's fringe with an ice pick they generally become very confused.I had one of them (presumably one of the leading cadre) tell me I was "a liar, a fucking liar" and he then ran around in a frenzy telling the rest of "the comrades" that they couldn't speak to me and saying words to the effect that I was a counter-revolutionary tapeworm in the pay of the CIA. Strange buggers these TrotskyistsLeftists always contradict themselves. You can ask them why Celia Hart a famous Trotskyists proponent of the so called Theory of the Permanent revolution, intimate friend of Tony Clif, and speaker of the Fourth International was a top member of the Communist Party of Cuba, a party that was founded by Stalinists. The PCC is considered as the leading party of the Cuban revolution but it was inactive for several years, and it was collaborating with Batista, and it was reactivated later one, and its membership was very small .The Trotskyists of Argentina gave support to the government of Fulgencio Batista
Young Master Smeet wrote:Yes, although in many ways Zimbabwe and South Africa Struggles were classical nationalist ones, there was also a real democratic issue, and, of course, the Southern African workers played an immense part in their own liberation, but the military rule of the colonialists would have been much harder to break without the Cuban assistance. I don't for a second think this exonerates Castro, or means he was worthy of support, but in strict historical assessment, it is something worth mentioning.There is a useful article here which touches on the role of the Cubans in the struggle against the Apartheid regime's strategy of destabilsing the frontline states http://monthlyreview.org/2013/04/01/the-military-defeat-of-the-south-africans-in-angola/I speak from some experience here as my brother, Andy, and I were young military conscripts in the South African army at the time – in the 1970s – and were stationed in the dingy little town of Walvis Bay on the Namibian coast. We were due to be sent up to the Caprivi Strip where South Africa had set up a number of military bases to support its military campaign in Southern Angola against the MPLA and, later, their Cuban allies. South Africa eventually backed UNITA which also had American support. I remember vividly us rookies being processed in large military hangar and having to sign our last will and testament. Wisely, Andy and I opted to join the regimental bugle band to be detained on regimental duties in Walvis bay while others were sent on up to the Caprivi. Years later after we had emigrated to the UK, I learnt from a lecturer at London university that the South African army had suffered a devastating defeat in Southern Angola and a large force – possibly a whole company of several platoons (I can't remember) – had been encircled by the MPLA and Cubans who had cut off all its supply lines. South Africa was then forced to sue for peace and remove its military presence from Angola and you can imagine the demoralising effect, had they not done so, with scores of body bags being returned to the country. That was some time after Andy and I had done our military stint there and I cant recall if at the time South African troops had started to move into Angola yet though clearly they were intent upon invasion at this point . All the same, I'm still quite thankful for my rudimentary drumming skills to this day!
Tim Kilgallon wrote:On several occasions I have wandered up to the callow youths selling which ever Trotskyist rag is in fashion at the local universities and asked them about their view of the Cuban regime. The predictable response is the usual cut and paste collection of "heroic stand against US imperialism", "solidarity with the Cuban revolution", etc.When asked about the way Castro gave a hero's welcome to Ramon Mercader, they generally become a little bit confused, unsure about who I'm referring to.When it is explained that Ramon was the guy who restyled old Leon's fringe with an ice pick they generally become very confused.I had one of them (presumably one of the leading cadre) tell me I was "a liar, a fucking liar" and he then ran around in a frenzy telling the rest of "the comrades" that they couldn't speak to me and saying words to the effect that I was a counter-revolutionary tapeworm in the pay of the CIA. Strange buggers these TrotskyistsIn this article we debunk Trotskyismhttp://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/education/depth-articles/history/trotsky-prophet-debunkedWe can see that it has a lof of affinity with Castroismhttp://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/education/depth-articles/history/trotsky-prophet-debunked
There is quite a good put down quote when dealing with Trot admirers of the Castro regime, which I recently came across . Here is what Fidel said when urging Mexican businesspeople to invest in Cuba, in 1988:“We are capitalists, but state capitalists. We are not private capitalists.” (Daum, Walter , 1990,. The Life and Death of Stalinism; A Resurrection of Marxist Theory, NY: Socialist Voice Publishing., p.232)
Vladimir Lenin said that state capitalism was a step toward socialism, and it was going to be beneficial for the majority of the workers, therefore, there is not any with the declaration made by Fidel Castro, that they were state capitalists
Weekly worker have printed my reply to one of the more overblown worshippers at the altar of Fidel http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1135/letters/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/f39fc54f-b05a-3988-8ef6-7d0fd38e5b73/cuba-bans-use-of-fidel.htmlCuba bans use of Fidel Castro name on public places as per his own instructions
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