Jany, N. (2018). The Cuban revolution of 1959 – legitimating an ongoing revolutionary process. [online] Sozialpolitik.ch. Available at: https://www.sozialpolitik.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/2018_1_Forum_Jany.pdf [Accessed 19 Nov. 2019].

The text explains how the Cuban Revolution came about in the late 1950s, and how the ideology attached to the movement penetrated to the foundations of Cuban society, and it is still in effect today. The article talks about the abuse that had always been present in Cuba’s history, as it explains the passing of power from Spanish colonial rule to US dominance over the country after Independence. The article explains how the US started to exert control over Cuba through neglecting Cuban representative during the peace negotiations with Spain after the war and occupied the island for four years immediately after the war. 

The foundation of disapproval of Spanish and United States regimes in Cuban people had been planted. The Imperialist and capitalist regimes that both countries enforced were seen in a disapproving light for Cuban people. A turning point in the escalation of the country yearning for a revolution came about with Fulgencio Batista. His presidency was contaminated with corruption, nepotism and social inequality. This was a catalyst in forming a strong and unbreakable disapproval of his rule, and a need for a radical change in Cuban society and rule.   

This article will be helpful for our group project, as it focuses on a great amount of detail on how the ideology that Fidel Castro conveyed to the Cuban population was extremely influential, as it became part of the national discourse – “[t]he themes of struggle and continuity of the revolutionary process became fused […] in a unifying historical construct”. This will help us to provide evidence of how the revolution is still ongoing in Cuba, and that in a sense the two are unable to be apart because the two were always intertwined.   

The article notes that the entire historiography of the Cuban Revolution can not be fully covered in his work, but it is clear that it will provide a good background on the beginnings of the revolution, but also an insight into why Cuba’s revolution was not necessarily a ‘revolution’ in the assumed definition, as there is no specific end-date to it. Nina Jany – the author – notes how the actual definition of a revolution does not necessarily have to end. I think this will prove to be very beneficial in our project, as it can help us come to a conclusion about the Cuban revolution.