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- Convenors:
-
Par Kumaraswami
(School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, University of Manchester)
Ramón I. Centeno (The University of Sheffield)
Robert Huish (Dalhousie University)
- Location:
- Malet 624
- Start time:
- 3 April, 2014 at
Time zone: Europe/London
- Session slots:
- 3
Short Abstract:
Since 2006 Cuba has experienced sweeping reform, giving rise to wide-ranging reverberations at all levels of society. This panel invites participants to assess and engage with such new developments in Cuban culture, politics, ideology, economics, and society. How can we grasp Cuba today?
Long Abstract:
Since 2006, when Raul Castro assumed the de facto presidency of Cuba, the island has experienced sweeping socio-political and economic reforms. These changes have included an overhaul to the public sector employment system and a vast increase in the range of acceptable forms of small private investment (cuentapropismo). There are also socio-political changes, such as the recent loosening of official restrictions on foreign travel.
Such reforms have given rise to wide-ranging reverberations at all levels of Cuban society, accelerating an already-rapid pace of change on the island, and have profound implications not just for the country's ongoing economic recovery, but for the wellbeing of individual Cubans, for the Revolutionary project, and for Cuba's overall place in the world. Social liberalization within the country and out-migration has also put pressure on Cuba's programs of international solidarity outreach, within and across the Global South.
This panel invites participants to assess and engage with reform and its impact on Cuban society. We are interested in papers which discuss recent developments and research on Cuban culture, politics, economics, and society in light of economic restructuring and political reform since 2006. In short, how can we grasp Cuba today?
The panel will share research findings that touch on the impacts of reform, including (but not limited to) market reforms, social liberalisation, South-South solidarity abroad, political transition, international tourism, grassroots activism, cuentapropismo, etc.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
Analysis on the two perspectives on the recent political and economic reforms in Cuba: skepticism toward the idea of a real change and the belief that they represent a step towards a change in the Cuban system.
Paper long abstract:
Since Fidel Castro handed power over to Raul Castro, there has been many expectations around the idea of a change in Cuba. This anticipation and wonder about the future of Cuba diminished after no dramatic changes in the first stage of Raul's government. But lately, there has been a revival due to long expected political and economic reforms.
These recent reforms have raised a debate over whether the new policies represent a real change which will bring real benefits to the population or whether it is a move to reduce international pressure and criticism or some sort of "safety valve" strategy. Certainly, skepticism towards Cuban policies is not something new but there is no denial on a rise of expectation over a real change in the socialist system.
The paper will discuss the domestic and international perspective on a discourse on change in Cuba. Also an analysis of the coverage of the international media will be made.
Some questions analyzed in the paper would be: How is the international media perceiving the smoke signals of change in the island? How does a discourse on change affect the international and domestic perspective on the Revolutionary government? What is the effect and credibility on a discourse on change when it comes to Cuba?
Paper short abstract:
This paper discusses the rise of 'red managers' by looking at an organism that claims to represent the 'Cuban businessmen'. Since 2001, the Chamber of Commerce politicizes for the regime the group that restored capitalism in other socialist countries and turned itself into a new bourgeoisie.
Paper long abstract:
This paper discusses the rise of 'red managers' by looking at a managerial corporatist apparatus: the Chamber of Commerce. Such organism, created to promote national exports, experienced in 2001 a political turn that propelled it to also be the representative, before the State, of the interests of the "Cuban businessmen" -that is, the group that leads the companies oriented to the global market.
In other words, the Chamber has the delicate function of politicizing, for the regime, the group that restored capitalism in other socialist countries and turned itself into a new bourgeoisie. Due to its political implications, the analysis of the link that the regime has established with the managers does not have a merely retrospective relevance. Such link is the starting point of any future relationship between the managers and the political context in Cuba.
In this paper I characterize the link regime-managers as a post-totalitarian one, which implies to deduct equilibrium in such relation, as opposed to something ephemeral. As such, the Chamber's corporatist side is not aimed at the "mobilization of enthusiasm", but "to achieve a minimum degree of conformity and compliance". Thus, the politicization the regime undertakes through the Chamber is of a kind that wants to produce 'red managers', or, a (contradictory) subject integrated to the official ideology.
Apart from presenting relevant empirical evidence, I will address the political implications of the characterisation I propose both for the political transition under the presidency of Raúl Castro and for a hypothetical capitalist restoration.
Paper short abstract:
Multiplicity in Cuba today is a symptom of capitalist hegemony. It can be explain by the hegemony that neoliberal capitalism have on it, to free it from its constitutive antagonism (class struggle), that a true democratization of their lifestyle.
Paper long abstract:
The crisis of the nineties in Cuba and subsequent reforms, have led to the diversification of society, in political, economic and cultural terms. The emergency of actors such as entrepreneurs, political organizations and the Catholic Church, (re)new Cuban scene today. However, we can ask ourselves: What has been the role played by these actors in building a more democratic society? ; What consequences follow from social diversification? And; Do these changes actually lead to a democratic regime?
In this paper I argue that the multiplicity and recent diversification in Cuban society, are explained by the hegemony of neoliberal capitalism have on it, to free it from its constitutive antagonism (class struggle), that a true democratization of style life. Recall the Freudian premise about the denial of castration is represented as the multiplication of phallic symbols. In other words, the multiplicity in Cuba denies inherent social antagonism and follows the example of liberal democracies.
Paper short abstract:
The paper examines the evolution of recent state-led tourism campaigns from the 2000s onwards, analysing the strategic projection of images through tourism as a negotiation and reflection of the shifting realities of contemporary Cuba more generally.
Paper long abstract:
Cuba's urgent imperative to generate hard currency following the Soviet bloc collapse in 1989 meant, amongst other rapid reconfigurations of the economy, strategic and accelerated development of the dormant tourism industry. With the threat of total economic collapse, but in full recognition of the adverse social effects and ideological compromises that such developments represented, the revolutionary government placed strict parameters on the industry, limiting foreign investment and control, allowing increasing degrees of activity in the informal sector (legalising but regulating micro-enterprises which had swiftly sought to profit from booming tourist numbers) and retaining creative and administrative control of marketing campaigns. Beyond the 'world-making' authority that scholarship has attributed to tourism marketing (Ballerino Cohen, 1995; Hollinshead, 2004), the specific context of Cuba during the 1990s and 2000s merits special consideration: tourism allowed the projection of carefully selected images to establish political sympathy in the wider world during austerity and crisis (Sanchez and Adams, 2008) but also undermined socialist aspirations, provoked accusations of an inevitable backslide to pre-revolutionary social ills, and exposed the limits of state control. This paper considers the thematic and aesthetic evolution of state-led tourism campaigns during the specific political, economic and social-cultural context of this period, with special focus from 2006 to the present day, as well as reflecting on the multiple voices in formal and informal spheres that emerged alongside them.
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyses a turning-point in Cuban cinema, establishing a dialogue between the actions of both ICAIC and the ‘Grupo de trabajo’ proposing to reform the Cuban filmmaking industry and two recent Cuban films: Alfredo Ureta’s La guarida del topo (2011) and Kiki Álvarez’s Jirafas (2013).
Paper long abstract:
In May 2013, a group of Cuban filmmakers gathered in Havana to discuss internal proposals for change being formulated within the ICAIC and suggest potential solutions to the problems faced by the industry. The group's Acta de Nacimiento underscores a desire to expand production beyond the state and nation, addressing the troubled legal status of independent filmmakers, and to reestablish links with other Latin American cinemas while reaffirming commitment to ICAIC's historic vision. Their suggestions are inextricable from wider reforms that have taken place in Cuba since 2006, but can also be seen as consequences of predating processes such as the democratisation of film through digital technology, and the longer-standing crisis of the Special Period.
This paper analyses this turning-point in Cuban cinema, establishing parallels between the actions of both ICAIC and the aforementioned 'Grupo de trabajo' in dialogue wtih two recent feature films produced in Cuba: Alfredo Ureta's La guarida del topo (2011) and Kiki Álvarez's Jirafas (2013). Whilst the former is a co-production between ICAIC, ICRT and the filmmakers' own Aurora Productions, the latter has been explicitly identified as an 'independent', 'alternative' project. Both films eloquently express the coexistence of and clashes between different practical and theoretical models of filmmaking in contemporary Cuba. Dwelling in particular on the blurring of the inside/outside divide, these films underscore the difficulties and rewards entailed by an opening up of the film industry that has been underway for a number of years and is arguably only now being confronted head-on.
Paper short abstract:
This paper, based on research conducted at the National Centre for Sexual Education (CENESEX) in Havana, analyzes the complex relationship between the centre, the state, and the evolution of sexual diversity rights in Cuba since 2008.
Paper long abstract:
Cuba, once understood to be a violently homophobic country, is now internationally lauded for its attention to sexual diversity rights. The principal driving force behind these changes has been the National Centre for Sexual Education (CENESEX), led by current president Raúl Castro's daughter, Mariela Castro. The centre's main aim has been the normalization of sexual diversity through sexual education and sexual health care. Indeed, the centre has been responsible for, among many others, celebrations for the International Day Against Homophobia since 2007, establishing a series of networks in support of sexual diversity rights, calling for the legalization of same-sex civil-unions, and publishing significant amounts of related research. Yet, although CENESEX has often been the focus of the international media, there has been no solid academic analysis of its evolution, nor has its complex (often viewed as competing) relationship with the state ever been addressed. This paper seeks to analyze the complex evolution of CENESEX and its relationship with the State. Has the normalization of sexual diversity really occurred under Raúl Castro's government or has the centre been working autonomously? And what does this mean for Cuba?
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the implications of the process of economic reforms for Cuban cultural life. Using a broad definition of 'culture', it will examine the impact of cuentapropismo and the reorganisation of the cultural economy, as well as the debates provoked by these reforms.
Paper long abstract:
This paper explore the many implications of the recent process of reforms under Raúl Castro's government on cultural life in Cuba. The Special Period left a lasting impression on Cuban culture: the economic crisis forced individual, community and state actors to downscale national cultural policies and look for local and community-based solutions (often utilising state infrastructure) to ensure that cultural practice continued; at the same time, the state was obliged to introduce limited market mechanisms in order to target new audiences, predominantly in the tourist sector, and cultural producers were encouraged to seek opportunities off the island. However, the Batalla de Ideas of the early 2000s once again put national cultural policy for national audiences at centre stage, with many new cultural initiatives emerging to 're-invigorate' particular sectors of the population.
The process of economic analysis and reform undertaken under Raúl Castro, however, has again transformed the place of Cuban culture in Cuban society, with producers encouraged to develop public/private solutions to their budgetary needs, and with cuentapropismo allowing, at least in principle, the emergence of new cultural producers and mediators. This paper will therefore examine the multiple and complex functions, value and forms of cultural life in contemporary Cuba,as well as the internal debates that recent reforms have provoked.
Paper short abstract:
Recent development of cyber cafes in Cuba, has given the government a chance to showcase shifts in information access policy to the international community. However, for the average Cuban, information access still has informal and formal barriers that need to be resolved to make access a reality.
Paper long abstract:
Cuba initiated a dramatic shift in information access policy by opening doors to 118 government sponsored cyber cafes, granting unprecedented Internet access to the people of Cuba. While a bold step for the country labelled by Reporters Without Borders as an "Internet enemy," the full impact of this change in policy and government attempt at building an information society has been severely under researched. Research of cyber cafes in traditionally closed information societies has demonstrated the delicate balancing act that occurs when governments attempt to build an information society while simultaneously repudiating democratic efforts. The situation in Cuba is unique, however, because unlike previous studies the government is the initiator, developer, promoter and operator of the cyber cafes, not private entrepreneurs. In order to better understand this balancing act, this paper seeks to: 1) comparatively analyse mass media messaging strategies which attempt to persuade citizens to adopt the policy shift and 2) seek contradictions in encouraging usage by developing an understanding of the average user experience. Through this analysis, a more nuanced view of government outreach attempts and public resistance or adoption of new technologies could be developed. This research is incredibly timely considering the duality of the Cuban government's attempt to encourage access to information while at the same time embedding the online interface with reminders of the government's watchful eye, thus affecting the cyber cafe environment, and further, imprisoning political dissidents who advocate for policy changes to allow unrestricted access to information on the island.
Paper short abstract:
Significant change in Cuban society has occurred under the Presidency of Raúl Castro and this paper examines whether this has been repeated with Cuban-Russian relations, a key relationship for the island.
Paper long abstract:
Under the Presidency of Raúl Castro fundamental change has occurred, and continues to occur, within Cuban society, with this being particularly pronounced in the field of economics. Despite not receiving the same attention as internal change the island's foreign policy has also continued to evolve. This also appears to be occurring with the island's relationship with the Russian Federation with the contemporary relationship being at its most robust since the end of Soviet-Cuban relations in December 1991. This is evidenced by Raúl Castro and Dimitry Medvedev both twice visiting Moscow and Havana, respectively, since February 2008.
This paper will examine Cuban-Russian relations in the second decade of the twenty-first century to ascertain the processes and pressures evident within this relationship and therefore the foundations of this rejuvenated alliance. This will allow the paper to conclude the agendas and interests at play within it to conclude whether the relationship has also undergone fundamental change similar to Cuban society.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will examine the effect of the Cuban 'economic updating' process on the country's relationship with the United States. It will argue that the changes have the hidden intention of putting pressure on the US government to change its embargo policy.
Paper long abstract:
The Cuban government's strategy is ostensibly aimed at resolving domestic difficulties, in particular the parlous state of local food production, the lack of productivity and the low living standards of large swathes of the population. However, it is also possible to perceive a subtext within the current social and political changes being made that coincidentally and possibly deliberately affects the political situation in the United States vis a vis the Cuban-American community and various aspects of its embargo policy. This paper examines a number of the polices adopted by the Cuban government that impact on significant sectors and interests in the United States and explains how they increase the pressure on the Federal Government to alter its hostile policy towards the island. While US policy remains firm in its aim to see what it calls a 'democratic transition' in Cuba, the Cuban government is equally determined to maintian its one party system. The question is whether the Cuban government can indirectly influence US politcs enough to effect a drift towards a removal of the embargo without it meaning either a loss of the single-party system or soveriegnty. By assessing Cuban policy in terms of its foreign policy intent, this paper will conclude that this is not only be possible but may even be inevitable.
Paper short abstract:
Cuba’s international commitments to health and education will be emboldened through South-South cooperation that aims to meet humanitarian objectives abroad, while furthering domestic strategic interests. Based on recent research, the paper gives evidence of Cuba’s dynamic international outreach.
Paper long abstract:
Alongside Cuba's unfolding domestic economic reforms, progressive changes are occurring with its long-standing international cooperation programs. Focusing on the areas of medical assistance and sport-for-development education, this paper explores the changing face of Cuban internationalism as a process that intersects foreign outreach with meeting domestic needs. The paper argues that Cuba's international commitments to health and education will not be compromised, but in fact emboldened based on evidence from research conducted in Southern Africa, Venezuela and Brazil. Cuban internationalism is positioned to see a deepening of capacity building and outreach to other countries in the global South in exchange for hard currency, preferred prices on select commodities, and direct remission payments. While humanitarian assistance still plays a vital role for Cuban internationalism, an emerging era of solidarity remuneration will greatly influence Cuba's capacity to engage in favourable bi-lateral relationships with Southern partners. As this paper argues, the experience demonstrates an important example of South-South solidarity that employs humanitarianism as means to assist partner nations while strategically furthering the donor nation's own economic, political and social capacity.
Paper short abstract:
This paper analyses US-Cuba relations during the Obama-Raúl Castro years and the steps that both countries took to reach an appeasement (even if with limited outcomes).
Paper long abstract:
President Obama, few weeks before he took office, was described as the most open-minded candidate toward Cuba, as he wanted to set out a dialogue with the Cuban regime of Raúl Castro. During his first term, some signs of appeasement materialized, but his first intention failed, as the US underestimted Cuban reforms, while other issues (such as the arrest of Alan Gross) generated a rising tensions between the two countries. In other words, Obama followed Clinton's stance over Cuba (using new tools of the people-to-people diplomacy), confirming the White House linkages with the (changing) Cuban-American community of South Florida. On the contrary, Carter's state-to-state diplomacy has being partly neglected. For these reasons, Raúl's reforms are not going to change US stance over the island and its regime and Obama's openings to Cuba wwere very limited and cosmetic.