Contesting the mechanisms of disinformation, Part II. Castro, Cuba, and the Empire: ‘you are not a liberator’

Abstract

Part II of ‘Contesting the mechanisms of disinformation’ inspects prevalent Western imperialistic notions regarding revolutionary Cuba, and Fidel Castro’s official contestation thereof: are Cubans denied basic rights that the ‘free world’ takes for granted? Is Cuba ruled by a totalitarian, Stalinist regime? Have the Cuban people surrendered their basic liberties, even though they might have achieved their equality? How is the concept of democracy perceived and practised on the island? In terms of freedom of speech, what are the deeper meanings and implications of Castro’s enduring cultural decree: within the revolution, everything, against the revolution, nothing? Since the capitalist system is based on a ‘philosophy of selfishness and brutal competition’, is it able to resolve the problems of today’s world? In this regard, the article brings ‘socialism’ back into the equation, contending that it has remained fundamentally relevant in a world typified by exceeding levels of deprivation, conflict and partition. Revolutionary Cuba, in effect, has come to embrace a distinctly humanistic socialist belief system, portrayed, for example, in its unremitting concrete expression of internationalism and universal solidarity. As the supreme (prior) leader of the revolution, Castro himself is particularly recognised for his abhorrence of human prejudice, marginalisation and discrimination – an ethical framework that is manifested in Cuba’s official position on race and racism. For obvious reasons, this distinguishing philosophy can be considered highly significant and appropriate to all spheres of South African society. In sum, the article sustains Fidel Castro’s counter argument that the current global economic order – imposed by capitalism-imperialism through both calculated, predatory means and veiled mechanisms of disinformation – is not only ‘cruel, unfair, inhuman and contrary to the inevitable course of history, but also “inherently racist”’.