Edberg Espinoza
Writing Studies II
Lindsey Wilson College
5/1/2015

Socialism in Cuba and Venezuela
The Socialist ideology policy that titles those philosophies and political actions that protect an economic and political system founded on the organization of production systems and social control by an organized bottom-up workers' state, economic and political sectors to evade that a minority of citizens owning the means of to exercise the abuse of a majority that does not possess the means of production is enforced to sell their labor in exchange for a salary.
This socialist ideology has been enforced in two countries for several years; Cuba and Venezuela, but this has not been solved yet, and it’s a topic that everybody should knew something. I will start with Cuba and then Venezuela, and then I will compare them so the reader can know the similarities between them.
The first intentions to implement socialism in Cuba come with Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his attempts to overthrow the dictatorship of then-President Fulgencio Batista, the dictatorial president was unconditional ally of the United States . They had already had approaches with communist leaders especially from Mexico, there was brewing a plan for the dissemination of communist ideas and policies, especially at the head of Leon Trotsky. In the Cuban revolution that culminated in Batista fled and the establishment of Fidel Castro in power in 1959, who in four years as the island proclaimed socialist who raises concerns in the US ahead in the time of President Eisenhower proposes immediate action The geostrategic importance because the island had for American power, however most concern by the government of the United States was the growing communist influence and the improvement in relations Moscow-Havana in terms of economic and political aspects that USA had neglected during the Cuban revolution.
One of the main objectives that the Cuban government had to ally with the USSR was to break those ties of dependency that bound him to the US government through bilateral treaties purchase of sugar and raw materials from the Soviet Union. These partnerships generated discontent in the United States as a coercive measure denied the arms sales to Cuba and embargaba any arms supplies to the island, however, this single impulse to Cuba to seek an increasingly large support in the Soviet Union. In 1960 it enters into force on economic treaty that allowed Cuba to export sugar to Europe and also allowed the acquisition of loans and oil from the USSR; Island relations with the US worsened when US oil companies refused to refine oil from Cuba's Soviet Union which generated the expropriation of these companies by the Cuban government. The government's reaction was even more radical Eisenhower choosing to cancel the sugar quota, taking the island all industrial enterprises, applying export control law with which any trade with Cuba was restricted and finally breaking diplomatic relations with Havana in 1961. That same year, Fidel Castro declares that Marxism-Leninism is a big blow to the US because it is one of the facts which affected him and he could not help because Cuba was positioned as a satellite state the USSR bypassing the Monroe Doctrine.
When Cuba and URSS got together, United States was not happy about this fact, so they went to invade Cuba with a fail try because they were not expecting that the URSS army was there waiting for them, but United States gave clear advice to the other Latin American countries to do not follow Cuba steps regarding to socialism because was a wrong decision and they will not allowed other countries to become socialist. While the time was running, the relationship between the URSS and Cuba was getting colder, because a lot of facts that happened between 1970-1990. One of the main causes of tension in the relations was the ideological disagreement between the leaders that implied that by the end of 1990 the summit was already doomed. It was inevitable that relations with Cuba to cool as the outlines of the two governments were in opposite directions; however Gorbachev made the decision to completely break relations with Cuba remained as a strategic card of world politics and especially his relationship with the US. The idea of Fidel Castro and his inner circle was and remains in the background to maintain the orthodox communism, so as to break away from the USSR, take the road to sponsor social-communist movements in Central and South America African countries. Another factor of distance between Cuba and the USSR is the high economic cost that represented this way aid in weapons, technology, food and logistical support to the Cuban regime.
It is important to note that one factor that accelerated the dissolution of the USSR was precisely the food shortage in that region of the world.
After the coup attempt in 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union begins, privatization of the economy is given and a party system is implemented. The former Soviet republics become independent and begin to begin to be free to decide their economic future. After falling the USSR Cuba enters a crisis known as Period Especially in falling exports as the most dependent on purchases made by States Soviets, besides this is Cuba without the financial help he provided the USSR with buying sugar and selling cheap oil; 1993 trade to the island collapsed and the quality of life dropped significantly which led many Cubans to emigrate to the United States for better opportunities, although this phenomenon has been characteristic in that country since the fall of Batista and the triumph of the revolution, come 1995, decides to help Cuba with the arrival of foreign investment and private initiative, this helped the Cuban economy was recovering what led to the mid-90s the country was already almost completely stabilized by tourism and foreign exchange earnings to the country, but this came to an end in 2004 when Fidel decree Castro that US dollars would be banned in the country and finally give the policy that had been implemented to improve the economy.
In Cuba have remained almost unchangeable several factors: only one party, although there are elections is guided by the Castro dominant in Cuba game is practically a lifetime dictatorship, control rigorous the media, although lately with the development of other technologies have broken in some controls, controlling the supply of food. Indoctrination of the population in Marxist-Leninist theory.
It is important to consider that for the US strained relations with Cuba have been appropriate and necessary, because this justifies the interventionist support, especially in the military area in the countries of the region. Latin American countries mostly have great social and economic differences, ideal breeding ground for cultivation establish a socialist system, which it wanted to use Cuba and before the USSR-Cuba alliance to spread their ideas, have tried sponsoring insurgent movements that have for many years of struggle without favorable results.
Now, talking about another country that has suffered the socialism several years; Venezuela. The socialism of the XXI century must not, however, deny the inheritance of the highest human thought (including Marxism), as happened with European socialism. As a result of the democratic, popular and anti-imperialist projections of power, is the revolutionary process in Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez.
The revolutionary development of consciousness of the masses in Venezuela has been the result of a process that is beginning in the Caracazo was a spontaneous uprising of the masses without political leadership, but an expression of their dissatisfaction, pointing to the left forces that economic and political crisis had reached its end point and could be overcome through a political movement that brought to power a democratic and popular government that will derail mismanagement and betrayal of Carlos A. Perez.
The history of the Venezuelan political movement that is now known as V Republic is the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement (MBR-200) Movement, military congregation founded in 1983, which was prepared for years for violent confrontation with a governance structure that gave back to town. The founders of this movement and its main leaders were Hugo Chavez, Jesus Ernesto Carlos Urdaneta and Felipe Acosta.
Its objectives were to rescue the patriotic values and honor the military career and fight corruption. Its ideological foundations lie in the Bolivarism, which is a body of principles and values under construction which offers an explanation of the point of departure and the ways to overcome them. His philosophical and political foundations are Simon Bolivar, Simon Rodriguez and Ezequiel Zamora, who advocated the originality that Latin American institutions should present government and inconvenience of moving inapplicable to the reality of our country models.
His program of broad popular participation with concrete results in the measures that have favored the majority, has aimed at the transformation of the system of political corruption in the country to separate the power to the officials involved in these practices. It is a revolutionary government in power has faced privatization to eliminate the harmful effects of neoliberalism, has supported the poorest sectors of society, it has expanded the network of medical and educational services to the farthest places and is determined to make an agrarian reform to halt the estates and controlling Venezuela's oil resources through restructuring PVDSA to put in the interests of the nation and the solidarity to neighboring countries. This has given her a broad support of the population.
The Venezuelan revolutionary process has singularities. The previous congress was dismantled and created the patriotic and sovereign National Assembly, which has had most revolutionary project V Republic which has favored the implementation of laws to benefit the people and of policies to progress in the country at all levels. It has received the support of the armed forces and the people, which defeated the coup attempt and the economic boycott of the country with handling PVDSA. It has instituted a participatory-democratic policy, which has made possible the implementation of agricultural programs, public health, education, economic development, housing, increased welfare and consumption of the population through the state markets and non-state. It has established regular consultation and rendering account before the people of the government's efforts. The rights of indigenous peoples to their culture and idiosyncrasy respect, therefore people are recognized, consolidated the power of the revolutionary project V Republic, which was manifested in a particular way in the triumph of the recall referendum held in 2004.
Socialism being built in Venezuela has moved away from the old and outdated centralized command and control styles that were experienced in the former socialist camp. This process has highlighted the authentically Latin American character, which is based on the traditions of their people and respect the diversity of all kinds. Fight for the people and for the people. His original way of managing the economy, taking into consideration the proper correlation between the private and the state according to the objective conditions of the country, today is a learning process for today's socialist without renouncing the principles, or the essence of popular the revolution.
Following the provisions above on each nation can establish great similarities and yet large differences in how the two countries chose to implement socialism, as the starting point should be mentioned that the brotherhood that exists between these two nations it was not always so good, include the break in relations that occurred between Havana and Venezuela during the presidential term of former President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela for the alleged support given by this country to attempt to invade Cuba and to the rear exit of the Organization of American States, along with this, the existing dictatorships in Venezuela and the continuing oppression of the communist parties in the decades of the 60s, 70s and 80s has been able to explain why that even if the two countries are very consistent ideals, their inputs to the socialist model have been presented in periods of history quite far.
The most marked similarities between socialism of both nations is the fact that both base their ideology on Marxist-Leninist currents, both intend to get to meet the main goals of socialism as the abolition of classes, distribution of wealth and the decline of capitalism, and that both countries and especially the two leaders considered anti-imperialist. However, the real differences between the systems of government are reflected in the way we apply the model as a result of the needs, and various aspects such as social, economic and geopolitical how to act and make decisions diverge some forms. For example, the Cuban socialist model, considered by many capitalist nations as an oppressor, seeks to comply fully socialist assumptions eliminating social classes and private property, this is reflected in the inability of people to buy more goods or monetary benefits of established or continued expropriation of foreign companies on the island, leaving only the monopoly by the state; otherwise the socialist model that tries to implement in Venezuela is partly directed to provide support to Cuba is not as radical, although it shares with the model of Cuba his aversion to the United States and to the imperialist models, economy of Venezuela is not a closed to imports from capitalist countries economy does not reject entirely private and foreign investment, and allows people to earn according to their level of expertise and retain their property.
Another similarity of the models is the impossibility of Americans use dollars in the territories which generates the movement of so-called black dollar affecting the US economy.
The main criticism that is made to both countries is the failure of the socialist model, which is reflected in economic crises by passing countries, which are currently in Venezuela and Cuba that takes several years. Despite knowing that pure socialist model is unfeasible both states continue to seek these ideological bases, in most part by the desire to make a counterweight to US imperialist capitalist ideology with the desire to encourage the creation of more Socialist states mainly in Latin America.
As a conclusion, this idea of socialism has been installed in this two countries, with a good objective and the goals were set, but the problem here was that they did not had the resources to build it properly and even though for example Cuba had the help of URSS to found a great country, they did It wrong, and now they are suffering a great economic crisis that has not help them because they decided to be socialist. On the other hand Venezuela is suffering with their currency, every day their money it is worth less, but they are still on the wrong way to become a socialist country, after researching the 87% of the population is against this idea, this means something, the citizens, the ones that live there and suffer every day, are the ones that are trying to revote so other parties with different mentalities support the idea of the capitalism, and that every citizen earn what they deserve and not treat everybody as the same because it is something that in our actual society can bring you a lot of problems, because there are people without moral so they will affect the ones that wake up every day to work. Also, Chavez and Castro are two amazing leaders and one of the smartest people on earth, but they use their ideas to the wrong way, they could create a great country. A solution can be the idea of the people get together peacefully and try to advertise their ideas that they are against the socialism and that they are the ones that suffer every day in the streets fighting to get money to give food to their family. This will take time, this will not be from one day to another, but it will start changing if their people decide to start making good decisions and enforce the government to change the ideal and help them to succeed.

Work Cited

Rozman, Gilbert. A Mirror For Socialism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 1 May 2015.

Larrabure, Manuel. "Human Development And Class Struggle In Venezuela's Popular Economy: The Paradox Of 'Twenty-First Century Socialism'." Historical Materialism 21.4 (2013): 177-200. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 May 2015.

FOSTER, JOHN BELLAMY. "Chávez And The Communal State On The Transition To Socialism In Venezuela." Monthly Review: An Independent Socialist Magazine 66.11 (2015): 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 1 May 2015.

"Cooperatives And Socialism: A View From Cuba." Workingusa 17.3 (2014): 425-431. Business Source Premier. Web. 1 May 2015.

Gold, Marina. "Healing Practices And Revolution In Socialist Cuba."Social Analysis 58.2 (2014): 42-59. Sociological Collection. Web. 1 May 2015.