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Volume 14, No. 12, 2 April 2015 |
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Red Alert The US economic blockade on Cuba and its implications to alternatives and the necessity of socialism |
By Alex Mashilo
Far reaching implications.
In January I visited Cuba for training. I was surprised when I discovered that, despite a number of enabling bilateral trade and investment agreements signed between South Africa and Cuba, there are South African companies which do not invest in Cuba or trade with the island. This out the fear of victimisation by the United States (US). Exclusion from business in Global Production Networks (GPNs) controlled by US-based multinational corporations (MNCs); from the US financial system and capital markets; imposition of fines on the "violation" of the terms of US economic blockade on Cuba; but as well as imperialist political pressure, are part of the levers used by the US to that end.
There are many implications from all of this. But two points are worth highlighting, at least for now.
Firstly, world production and trade increasingly take place in GPNs, which have therefore become a key centre of power and international power relations.
For example the US`s position as the world`s largest economy, regardless of the fact that it is also a very sick economy given its massive debt level which surpasses that of any country on earth, means that it has control over many GPNs through its MNCs. The negative impact this can cause is huge, at least in three contexts.
The import of Cuban products and services and by extension of products containing Cuban raw materials is prohibited or restricted in the US. Cuba is prohibited to purchase products with more than 10% of US made components in other countries other than the US. Therefore any company which has interests in participating in GPNs involving US MNCs is either directly or indirectly sanctioned from trading with Cuba. This in the context where the US blockade on Cuba is not an act of a single piece of legislation or regulation but a complex of draconian despotism we will sketch in due course.
The second point relates to fines. "The most recent evidence of this fact is the 1.7 billion dollar fine levied on Germany`s Commerzbank, March 12 - the second largest fine ever imposed by the United States - for violating sanctions on Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Myanmar" (Granma, 25 March 2015).
Companies from other countries are perhaps in a worse position than South Africa`s, depending on the external positions of their economies, including the extent of US investment, trade, financial transactions, "aid" or "grants", and political pressure.
By and large the US economic blockade on Cuba has actually been expanded through its extraterritorial aspects - that is imperialist content - to become world sanctions than just a blockade by one country only. It might therefore be possible that among the countries that support the Cuban motion through a vote at the United Nations General Assembly annually for the US to lift its blockade on Cuba, there are those which could be more concerned about the integrity of their national sovereignty violated by the US than solidarity with Cuba. In addition, the blockade might be a barrier to various national interests including trade with Cuba based on its strategic advantages.
However, on the other hand there are countries which have transcended the barriers of the blockade, and therefore which have an emancipated foreign policy and bilateral relations with Cuba. These are the countries which have increasing trade and investment relations with Cuba. The latest state of the art technology and related services now available in Cuba is a direct result of these relations. But this has been enabled by advances in the development of the forces of production and production development by those countries.
Production development, a strategic lever of power!
In that regard, both production process and product research and development independently of US involvement would have played, and will most likely continue to play, a major role.
The development of productive forces is therefore a key policy instrument not only to address national concerns such as reducing unemployment, poverty and social inequality, but also for the advancement international solidarity.
This transcends the traditional understanding of the forms of power, important as they are, such as pickets, marches and petitions for example.
The development of productive forces as power is also important for building a resource base to support the advancement of national democratic and socialist revolutions.
Mineral and petroleum resources matter.
The other countries which have strong trade relations with Cuba are those endowed with mineral and petroleum resources, such as oil. These countries, such as Venezuela, which is facing an imperialist isolation from the US but also political destabilisation aided in part by external machination, are clearly resolved in the pursuit of a counter-hegemonic international programme to imperialism to develop a new world order.
The global South of the Western Hemisphere, comprising of a large part of South America and the Caribbean, has also played a critical role through advancing regional integration. The alternative development and financial institutions and trade relations created under this counter-hegemonic project have been, and remain, very important.
Cuba not only has some of the important raw materials itself, but has succeeded in developing advanced productive forces in terms of education, health and organic agriculture and farming, for instance. Some of these form part of the key aspects of solidarity trade with its partners.
Regional integration, very important too.
It is in part because of increasing regional integration in the South of the Western Hemisphere that the US has had to rethink its policy on Cuba. This notwithstanding that the new approach the US has adopted is more of a tactical manoeuvre to achieve its unchanged goal of regime change in Cuba rather than an act of good faith.
In his speech in December 2015 announcing the release of the remaining three of the Cuban Five and negotiations with Cuba to "normalise" bilateral relations, US President Barack Obama said the US was this year April "prepared to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas". In addition, despite the extraterritorial impact of the US blockade, Obama went on, expressing disappointment, to say that "no other nation joins us (meaning the US) in imposing these sanctions (referring to the US blockade on Cuba), and it has had little effect "
That the US is this year April "prepared to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas" did not come from the US being self-propelled and becoming, as such, "prepared" on its own. In addition to "no other nation" joining it "in imposing these sanctions" and their "little effect" in delivering regime change, which is what along with other complementary measures they were designed to achieve originally and throughout the various phases of their development, US`s "preparedness" "to have Cuba join the other nations of the hemisphere at the Summit of the Americas" came from pressure from the increasing number of countries in the South of the Western Hemisphere exercising solidarity with Cuba. These countries made it clear that they will no longer go ahead with that summit excluding Cuba.
Regional integration is therefore important not only in defining alternatives and new terms of economic, trade and investment relations but also in forging a new politics of solidarity and building an international counter-hegemonic programme in the struggle to achieve a new and fair world order.
It is important to note that while the US has adopted a programme to restore bilateral relations with Cuba, it is on the other hand contradictorily involved in the right-wing destabilisation of South America. Its recent declaration of Venezuela as the so-called "threat" to "US foreign policy" only openly highlighted the constant US`s destabilising role in South America. This aimed at disrupting the process of regional integration, altering the balance of forces and imposing the terms of US imperialism. It would be naïve to suggest that this agenda excludes the destruction of the construction of socialism in Cuba.
Likewise, alternatives such as BRICS are not immune from such destabilisation machinations. A glance on US foreign policy on Russia, and a bird`s eye look on domestic political intercourses in their international aspect in Brazil, South Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, which affects China, could actually reveal a lot more from a deeper analysis of the forces at play. Especially in the period following the BRICS announcement for the establishment of the New Development Bank (i.e. the BRICS Bank) imperialist aggression has been heightened against the BRICS countries.
Alex Mashilo is SACP Spokesperson. This is an edited version of his speaker`s notes as both a full time professional revolutionary and student as presented at the Futures Commission coordinated by the Chris Hani Institute, 27 March 2015, Cape Town. This presentation was invited to look at the implications to alternatives of the US economic blockade on Cuba.
State propaganda cut from the quotation
A leader who got attracted to a beautiful woman at the airport at his own behest blames everyone except himself
By Justice Piitso
Our message to the South African working class is one! You are the heirs and therefore the lifeblood of our revolution. When our revolution is under siege our task is to swell the ranks and defend it.
A leader gets attracted to a beautiful woman at the airport at his own behest; flaunted procedures to employ the woman at COSATU head office at his own behest; indulge in a sexual intercourse with the woman at the same office during working hours at his own behest; apologises to COSATU and the nation at his own behest; compels COSATU to accept his apology unconditionally at his own behest; and then blames the leadership of COSATU for the conspiracy of his immoral acts.
It is unprecedented that a leader of his calibre can turn around and attribute his personal mistakes to the leadership of COSATU and our party. I wonder how such an outstanding leader can go all out on rampage accusing our leadership of conspiracy to his scandalous acts of irresponsibility.
The message of a personality cult is loud and clear! "I am incorrigible, I am a law unto myself, accept my apology or otherwise I am selling the South African working class and our National Democratic Revolution (NDR) to the highest bidder".
Without fear of any contradiction, the events of the recent past confirmed that Mr Zwelinzima Vavi is suffering from an exaggeration of self-worth. He has exaggerated his individual role in the Federation to be more important than the collective leadership of our revolution.
His slanderous attacks and salvo of propaganda against the leadership of our revolutionary movement and our democratic government cannot go unnoticed. The records of our history may as well prove that he has insulted our democratic government more than the racist Apartheid regime.
Revolutionaries are the most humbled leaders of the people. Vulgar is a foreign tendency in the culture and the traditions of our movement, and on this score he has to prove if our insinuations are wrong.
Our most outstanding revolutionary genius of our epoch and the leader of the world Communist movement, Vladimir Lenin says:
"It is not he who makes no mistakes that is intelligent. There are no such men, nor can there be. It is he whose errors are not very grave and who is able to rectify them easily and quickly that is intelligent".
He further says:
"There are some compromises forced on the masses against their will due to the balance of power at a particular time, and then there are some that are not really forced on the masses but made by leaders for their own interests and personal or political advantages. A true Communist must be able to spot the difference and fight against the latter while explaining to the masses the necessity of the former.
However, anyone who is out to think up for the workers some kind of recipe that will provide them with cut-and dried solutions for all contingencies, or promises that the policy of the revolutionary proletariat will never come up against difficult or complex situations is simply a charlatan".
Again Lenin says the following about revisionists and opportunists:
"Certain individuals amongst the present social chauvinists leaders may return to the proletariat, but the social chauvinists or opportunists trend can never disappear or return to the revolutionary proletariat.
Revisionists and opportunists factions, as agencies of the bourgeoisie become more and more hostile to Marxism Leninism with the sharpening class struggles and the development of the revolutionary movement of the proletariat and the toiling masses.
Revisionists and opportunists are sworn enemies of Marxism and yet they swear by the name of Marx. You cannot prevent them from doing so any more than a trading firm can be prevented from using any label, any sign, and any advertisement it pleases.
We must relentlessly tear off their masks, discredit them before the people and leave them no place to hide anywhere in the world. Winning the masses is the key to the struggles against revisionism and opportunism.
It is our duty, if we wish to remain socialists, to go down lower and deeper to the real masses. This is the whole meaning and the whole content of our struggle against revisionism and opportunism.
If we want to win the battle against social traitors and opportunism, this political line must be followed in all spheres of our struggles without exception, and then we shall win the masses.
Our battle with revisionism and opportunism is a protracted and tortuous one. As long as the capitalist class and imperialism exist, they will always try to train new ones as their agents in the communist movement".
Lenin enriched the teachings of Karl Marx by developing a theoretical proposition on the national and colonial question. He mastered the strategy and tactics that the colonial and national question would inevitably arouse the struggle of the oppressed people.
His strategy and tactics is to unite the working class of all countries to fight imperialism and build socialism as the future to humanity. To achieve this goal, the working class must resolutely oppose national oppression, fight for national equality, the right of self-determination of the oppressed nations of the colonial and semi-colonial countries and fully support the national liberation movement against imperialism.
Imperialism means that capital has outgrown the framework of a nation state, it means extension and sharpening of national oppression on a new historical basis. In other words under imperialism, capitalism has outgrown the boundaries of a nation state and therefore assumed an international character.
It is this understanding of the national and colonial question that intensified the struggle for the emancipation of the oppressed people in the colonial and semi-colonial countries, from the yoke of imperialism. Hence the slogan imperialism the highest stage of capitalism.
Opportunists of our modern times do not appreciate the inherent contradictions arising between our struggle for the resolution of the national and colonial question and imperialism. They do not appreciate the essence that the contradictions of imperialism are between the oppressed and the oppressor nations.
Lenin appreciated well that the struggle for the liberation of the oppressed nations will intensify the crisis of the capitalist world. In other words he understood well that the struggle to resolve the national and colonial questions are part of the whole question of our struggle for socialism.
He says the following about this important theoretical formulation:
"Small nations, powerless as an independent factor in the struggle against imperialism, play a part as part of the ferments, one of the bacilli, which help the real power against imperialism to come to the scene, namely, the socialist revolution".
The truth is that in our country and many of the former colonies and semi-colonies, imperialism and neo-colonial forces are at an offensive to undermine the achievements of the struggle of our people. In many instances we have witnessed the working class splitting at the face of the onslaught by counter-revolution.
The trade union movement has always been an easy target by the forces of imperialism. We have seen sections of the leadership of trade union movement undermining the victories of the struggle of our people against colonial oppression and subjugation.
We have seen Chiluba in Zambia, Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe, the same trend is all over in all countries which are led by former liberation movements. How it comes, counter-revolution will always bring about confusion within our movement as if we are faced by the greatest crisis ever in history, and which in an unparalleled manner heaped disgrace upon our NDR.
In most cases the point of departure is to undermine the leadership role and character of our revolutionary vanguard party. This is primarily because its foremost principal task is to negate the bourgeois society and replace it with its anti-thesis, socialism.
Trade union movement is elevated to the political role of a vanguard party. In our instance this is manifested by the creation of the so-called United Front and a Movement for Socialism. The trade union consciousness which is about fighting for better wages and improved working conditions is translated into assuming the political leadership role of the vanguard party.
A revolution rather requires the highest form of political consciousness and organisation.
In our country the decaying system of Colonialism of a Special Type (CST) could not relinquish power on its own accord. The reason why the forces of imperialism and the remnants of CST are at an offensive to liquidate our NDR. To achieve this they must weaken us from within. They must undermine the unity and cohesion of our revolutionary Alliance led by the ANC.
The South African working class should not allow itself to split in the face of the onslaught by a counter-revolution. We therefore have to close ranks and defend our revolution against its enemies.
Historical and dialectical materialism teaches us that leadership could either lead a revolution to its logical conclusion or betray it. It also teaches us that revolutionary formations of the working class have been able on their own to carry the revolution, in the absence of its leadership, to its final conclusion. Over the decades of our struggle for national liberation, our revolutionary movement has been able to forge ahead with our struggle in the absence of its leadership. Most of them were in prison, others in exile and many more under stringent restrictions by the Apartheid racist laws.
Our own federation COSATU, which represents the interests of the working class and the people of our country in general, has been able to forge ahead with our struggle in the absence of its own founding President Elijah Barayi and many other countless leaders, who had on their own, left an indomitable foot print in the struggles of the working class.
Our struggle has taught us that leadership is an opportunity to learn. Our people elect us to leadership positions to afford the opportunity to learn.
Leaders come and go but the revolutionary formations of the working class always remain. In other words, with or without Zwelinzima Vavi COSATU and our revolutionary Alliance led by the ANC will remain.
Without any fear of any contradiction, in the absence of Vavi, COSATU has the golden opportunity to rebuild a truly unified federation, free from any syndrome of personality cult and tendencies which suggest that our ranks are swelled by foot soldiers of imperialism.
We will be able to build a strong militant COSATU which recognises the rich history of the struggle of our people, a history without the imposition of an individual who sort to behave to be everything that the federation represents.
Cde Justice Piitso if former Provincial Secretary of the SACP in Limpopo, former Ambassador to Cuba, and writes in personal capacity
