Book Review: The Economic War Against Cuba by Salim Lamrani

Salim Lamrani - French academic and expert in US-Cuban relations - will be touring the UK in May to discuss his new book The Economic War Against Cuba. Full details of the tour can be found here and you can buy a copy of his excellent academic study ahead of his visit online now.

Salim Lamrani presents a comprehensive and systematic study of the United States’ economic sanctions against Cuba and the harm they cause the Cuban people. Lamrani delicately combines a heart-rending catalogue of human suffering with robust analysis – including the examination of official U.S. government documentation – as he considers the origins, provisions and legality of the blockade. He exposes the farcical nature of blockade legislation, one example being that the export of pianos to Cuba was deemed detriment to the interests and security of the United States.

The introduction expertly shows that the blockade is unique in terms of its length, thoroughness and sophistication. Whilst Washington has normalised relations with China and Vietnam, the blockade has been strengthened and applied retroactively and extra-territorially.

Lamrani exposes the ideological nature of the blockade and demonstrates how it originates from the United States’ historical desire to subjugate Cuba. The blockade’s initial justification was a dispute over compensation following the nationalisation of U.S. multi-national corporations after the triumph of the Revolution. Cuba agreed compensation with France, the UK, Canada and Spain – only the U.S. rejected the compensation process which adhered to all international standards and laws.

Throughout its fifty-year history, the validation for the blockade has changed. Reasons cited include: issues over compensation, Cuba’s alliance with the Soviet Union, Cuban intervention in African liberation movements and fabricated concerns over democracy and human rights. The chapter on economic sanctions from Eisenhower to Obama – which considers each President’s tenure individually – skilfully shows how the blockade has evolved and multi-layered sanctions have been imposed despite growing international condemnation. 

Further chapters consider the impact of sanctions on Cuban healthcare – which documents how the blockade causes the deaths of thousands of Cubans every year – and the extra-territorial application of the blockade. Lamrani references numerous examples of foreign banks and businesses being fined by the U.S. for trading with Cuba and showcases the various cases where U.S. law has superseded domestic law which makes it illegal to discrimination on grounds of race and nationality.

The extra-territorial nature of the blockade means an American tourist that smokes a Cuban cigar or drinks Havana Club anywhere in the world, “could be fined a million dollars and sentenced to ten years in prison” whilst a Cuban living abroad “cannot, theoretically, eat … at McDonald’s”. 

Finally, Lamrani highlights the growing American opposition to the blockade – whilst recognising the continuing influence of the vitriolic Cuba-American lobby – and considers the Cuban claim that the blockade is a “genocidel policy” with reference to supporting Articles from the Geneva Convention.

Lamrani’s book presents the concealed reality of an economic blockade which has cost the Cuban economy more than $751 billion and which particularly affects the most vulnerable people in Cuba. Over 70% of Cubans have lived in a climate of permanent economic hostility and the blockade remains “the main obstacle to Cuba’s national development as well as contrary to the UN Charter and international law”. 

At just under 100 pages, Lamrani’s study is accessible and engaging, however its relevance and erudition make it a timeless reference book and compulsory read for all activists. Lamrani expertly demonstrates that sanctions have totally failed in their objective, which is nothing less than the overthrow of the Cuban government.

Buy the book online now for just £12:45  (inc. p&p)

Book Review: Remembering Ché – My Life With Che Guevara, Aleida March

In this touchingly affectionate book, Aleida March – Ché’s second wife – recalls a revolutionary romance tragically cut short by Ché’s execution in Bolivia by CIA-backed troops.  From a young “girl from the sticks” hopelessly addicted to romantic fiction, Aleida joins the guerrilla struggle against Batista before falling in love with iconic revolutionary hero Ernesto ‘Ché’ Guevara. 

Their first encounter – deep in the Escambray Mountains – involves Ché removing a secret package of supplies and money strapped to Aleida’s torso. Whilst Ché confessed he suspected her of being sent to “monitor him because of his reputation as a communist,” Aleida found Ché’s “penetrating gaze rather intriguing”. It is not long before Ché is serenading Aleida with poetry as they cavort through battlefields.

Aleida – with tremendous passion and poignancy – conjures a remarkable picture of a remarkable man. Unlike most literature surrounding the subject, the book gives a truly unique insight into Ché’s personality and touching humour. Like all of us, he is a flawed human being, but he is underpinned by steely determination and selfless dedication.

It also gives the first detailed impression of the life and role of Aleida March herself. Her strength and courage is exemplified – not just by her role bringing up four children with an absent father – but the crucial part she played establishing and developing the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) which is now the biggest NGO in the whole of Latin America. No other organisation has done more to champion and advance the role of women in Cuban society. Furthermore, she succeeded in raising her family – according to the frugal ideals she shared with Ché – as ordinary Cubans. She went on to institute the Ché Guevara Studies Centre in Santa Clara and, to this day, remains its Director. 

The book gives a fresh perspective on decisive historical events – such as the Battle of Santa Clara – and illustrates the qualities of Ché’s leadership. Correspondence between Ché and his family and between Ché and Fidel help deepen understanding of Ché’s revolutionary sojourns in the Congo and Bolivia. When Aleida’s narrative requires further clarification, helpful footnotes explain the historical significance. 

Letters and poems sent between Ché and Aleida are peppered throughout the book and reveal Ché’s psychological state as he endeavours to export revolution. In a remarkable short story, The Stone, written in the Congo and reproduced in full here, Ché predicts: “I would decompose on the grass or they might exhibit me”. The precise foreshadow is truly chilling.

One hundred priceless photographs from family albums – many published here for the first time – illustrate the story and add further depth to our understanding of Ché. One particular photo shows Ché disguised as the balding “old uncle Ramón” with his four children in 1966. It tragically captures the last time Ché saw his beloved family.

As Ché once wrote: “At the risk of seeming ridiculous, the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.” This book provides an authentic insight into Ché’s love – for the world’s dispossessed, popular revolution and his treasured family.

Buy it now for just £12.99 from our Cuba Connect website

Che and Aleida’s daughter – Dr. Aleida Guevara March – will be touring the U.K. in September. Catch her at a venue near you - full details here