Never allow investors define your mission: Lessons from Cuba

After the 1959 socialist revolution in Cuba, the mother of imperialism, United States of America, used all forms of bullying tactics to try to force the leadership of the Caribbean island to abandon the cause of socialism. Thanks to their heightened political consciousness and unparalleled patriotism, the Cuban peoples did not succumb to this pressure.

On October, 19, 1960, the US institutionalized the economic, commercial and financial embargo, this after the Fidel Castro regime nationalized US oil refineries without compensation.

The el bloqueo­, or the blockade, is the most enduring economic sanction in modern times. It has brought financial, economic and commercial strain on Cuba, and has had far reaching consequences on the lives of the Cuban people.

At some point, the Cuban peoples were forced to travel on foot or using bicycles because of a lack of supply of fuel. The pressure was for the Communist Party of Cuba to abandon socialism, and return a country to its former state; a US brothel under Fulgencia Batista.

Despite these bullying tactics, the Cuban state prioritized the people of Cuba. Between January 1 and December 22, 1961, the Cuban Literacy Campaign saw the literacy rate increase from 60% to 96%. Currently, Cuba boasts the highest literacy rate at nearly 100%. In addition to outstanding engineers and other professionals, Cuba boasts world class medical doctors. In fact, Cuban universities also offer training to medical students who offer medical care to some disadvantaged communities in the US.

Despite the blockade, which assaulted its ability to grow, and lobbied other world economies not to trade with Cuba, there are no beggars in the island. This is in stark contrast to the situation in US, where beggars and the homeless sleep in makeshift structures not far from Wall Street and other economic centres. Through a system of socialism, the Cubans share the little they have, unlike in capitalist states where a few capitalists eat the whole pie, leaving a few crumbs for the few to fight for.

South Africa, a developing economy, must learn from Cuba. The ANC must ensure that the state prioritizes the motive forces of the revolution; the working class and the poor, rather than the rich and investors. The ANC must know that, in terms of the examples of history, capitalists have never had the interests of the people at heart. The capitalists, who instructed the US government to impose sanctions on Cuba, do not have the interests of the Cubans at heart. All they want is to eat and fill their tummies, at the expense of the people.

The rating agencies, especially those aligned with the West, are tools used by the imperialists to bully nation states into submission. Rating agencies do not have the interest of the people at heart. What should preoccupy the minds of the ANC at all phases of the revolution, is not rating agencies, but the poor and the working class, unless the ANC would want to abandon the revolution.

If the ANC is indeed committed to the poor and the working class, no single learner must be allowed to drown in faeces because toilets have deteriorated to an extent of dehumanizing the learners. If the ANC is indeed committed to the revolution, no single person must be forced to use a bucket toilet, anywhere in South Africa. If the ANC is committed to the working class and the poor, it must ensure that the latter access the best in terms of education, healthcare and other basic services.

Rather than massage the rating agencies, the ANC must ensure that the poor are not forced to establish informal settlements where drowning in case of a rains is guaranteed, while a few people and entities wallow in millions of hectares, in the same country. If it means taking from the rich to the poor, without compensation, the ANC must do so. This is because it is not these rich minorities who will vote for the ANC, neither will the rating agencies, but the poor and marginalized.

Whilst different stakeholders are important, a revolutionary party must never operate on the terms of a stakeholders which does not constitute part of its motive forces. A revolutionary party must never allow investors to define its revolutionary mission. When a revolutionary party has to gain permission from its enemy before waging a revolution, it ceases to be a revolutionary party, and becomes a liberal formation. History has proven that no liberal formation has ever fought for the interests of the people.

Tiisetso ‘Afrika’ Makhele is an African Socialist and an ANC member in Mangaung, Free State. He writes in his personal capacity