Che Guevara And Oxhorn: Summary

The readings of week five by Ernesto Che Guevara and Philip Oxhorn discussed the social foundations in Cuba. In relation to what was learned in lecture and the series “Cuba Libre”, Cuba was a place that has struggled with its social foundation for many centuries. These authors describe the underdevelopment of the country and the formation of class. The uprising of socialism after the revolution led by Fidel Castro, shows how people in Cuba have been greatly affected. Both the socialist and capitalist views are important for the political structure of Cuba. I believe these excerpts explain the reasons for the shift in capitalism to socialism in the Americas as well as describe how this has affected the developing country.

Capitalism is an economic and political system where private business owners have power over trade and industry instead of the government. However, in Cuba this system did not help in bettering the developing country. This was partly due to the political corruption and unstable economy during that era. The series “Cuba Libre” tells about the hardships Cuba faced in its instability in economic and class infrastructure. This instability led to many revolts and coups that made the

Guevara describes how the revolutionary members became docile, trusting and obeying what Castro had dictated. This was due to how Castro carried himself as a leader. He was a man that was able to interpret the aspirations and desires of the people as well as promising them that the revolutionary endeavor would be fulfilled. This made people trust him without question. Castro had the ability to make the masses enthusiastic about the uprising and switching to a more socialist government. Guevara described this shift in government as a less self-centered way of benefiting a community, this is similar to what Oxhorn also described in his