Opposition to Fidel Castro
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The Opposition to Fidel Castro's Cuban government is largely unofficial and illegal within Cuba. No political parties are able to campaign on island, and elections in Cuba take place within the framework of a socialist republic, where representatives are elected by referendum on an individual basis.
Groups in the United States and elsewhere have pursued various means, both peaceful and non-peaceful, to challenge the Cuban government since the Cuban revolution of 1959. The most concentrated locus of opposition is amongst the Cuban-American exile community in the United States, particuarily in Miami, Florida where historical ties to Cuba are strongest.
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[edit] Opposition groups and parties in Cuba
There are a number of opposition parties and groups that campaign for political change in Cuba. Though amendments to the Cuban Constitution of 1992 decriminalized the right to form political parties other than the Communist Party of Cuba, these parties are not permitted to engage in public political activities on the island. No party, including the Communist Party of Cuba, is permitted to campaign on behalf of candidates. Many of these parties participate in activities outside Cuba, gaining funding and support from international groups sympathetic to their ideology.
The largest of these parties is the Christian Democratic Party of Cuba, whose president is Marcelino Miyares Sotolongo. Other main parties include the Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party of Cuba and the Democratic Solidarity Party of Cuba. Whilst these parties campaign for pluralist democracy in Cuba, many are also critical of the United States embargo against Cuba.
Other groups which attempt to force change through the political process include the "Proyecto Varela", led by Oswaldo Payá. The organization reported having collected more than 10,000 signatures for a referendum requesting freedom of the press, freedom to form political parties, and freedom to create private business. According to Amnesty International their methods were non-violent, and their philosophy was democratic.<ref>Cuba - Massive crackdown on dissent. Amnesty International (August 28 2003). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.</ref> The government responded with its own petition drive to make the socialist system "untouchable", for which the government claimed a 99% voter approval.<ref>Cuba backs permanent socialism. BBC News (2002). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.</ref>
[edit] Oppositional Political Parties within Cuba
[edit] Groups within Cuba
- Lawton Foundation- An organization to promote the "study, defense and denunciation of human rights inside Cuba". The group was formed by Oscar Elías Biscet.
- Proyecto Varela - A project initiated by Cuban based dissidents in 1998 whose main objective was to circulate a citizens' proposal of law advocating for liberal democratic political reforms within Cuba.
- Ladies in White
- Christian Liberation Movement
[edit] Opposition outside of Cuba
There is a large exiled Cuban-American population residing in the United States, especially in and around Miami, FL. Those who oppose Castro are represented in part by the Cuban-American lobby, which campaigns for the U.S. government to maintain the U.S. embargo against Cuba and to press the Cuban government for political change. Other Cuban-American groups, many of them also opposed to Castro, advocate different policies, opposing the embargo and favoring more cultural and economic engagement. The Cuban government alleges Miami-based exiles of organizing over 700 armed incursions against Cuba over the past 40 years such as Alpha 66's 1994 and 1995 machine-gun attacks on the Guitart Cayo Coco Hotel. Many attempts have been made to extradite the alleged perpetrators of that incident for trial, but none have been successful.
On September 8, 2006, it was revealed that at least ten South Florida journalists received regular payments from the U.S. government for programs on Radio Martí and TV Martí, two broadcasters aimed at undermining the Cuban government. The payments totaled thousands of dollars over several years. Those who were paid the most were veteran reporters and a freelance contributor for El Nuevo Herald, the Spanish-language newspaper published by the corporate parent of The Miami Herald. The Cuban government has long contended that some South Florida Spanish-language journalists were on the federal payroll.<ref>10 Miami journalists take U.S. pay Miami Herald September 8 2006</ref>
In November 2006, U.S. Congressional auditors accused the development agency USAID of failing properly to administer its program to promote democracy in Cuba. They said that USAID had channelled tens of millions of dollars through exile groups in Miami, which were sometimes wasteful or kept questionable accounts. The report said the organisations had sent items such as chocolate and cashmere jerseys to Cuba. Their report concludes that 30% of the exile groups who received USAID grants showed questionable expenditures. <ref>Cuba aid money 'wasted' by exiles, BBC News, 16 November 2006. Accessed online 18 November 2006.</ref>
[edit] Incidents of violence
Groups opposing the Cuban government have been linked with numerous acts of violence outside Cuba, many of which occurred in South Florida. Acts have also occurred in other U.S. regions and at least sixteen other countries.<ref name="mullin"> The Burden of a Violent History Miami New Times. Apr 20, 2000.</ref> A series of bombings in Miami in the mid 1970s led to hearings before a U.S. Subcommittee to investigate internal security.<ref> Terroristic Activity : Terrorism in the Miami Area Miami Public pages. </ref> Notable cases of violence targeting individuals include that of Luciano Nieves, who was murdered after advocating peaceful coexistence with Cuba, and WQBA-AM news director Emilio Milian who survived a car bomb but lost his legs after he publicly condemned Cuban exile violence.<ref name="mullin"/>
Bomb attacks continued into the 1990s, targets have included the Mexican Consulate in Miami, the Venezuelan Consulate, an American Airways Charter company which arranges flights to Cuba, and the Miami Cuban Museum of Art and Culture which was targeted after an auction of paintings by Cuban artists. In 1992 Human Rights Watch released a report stating that hard-line Miami exiles have created an environment in which "moderation can be a dangerous position."<ref name="mullin"/> The report also found significant responsibility by the U.S. government at all levels.<ref> Cuba Human rights watch report</ref>
[edit] Terrorist Groups
All groups recognised by the CIA's International terrorism report <ref>International terrorism report from the United States Central Intelligence Agency [1] </ref> as conducting paramilitary or terrorist acts against Cuba in order to forge political change.
- Abdala
- Alpha 66 - A paramilitary group formed in 1961. Have attempted several unauthorized military campaigns against Cuba and engaged in terrorist activities on international targets in order to raise the profile of their oppositional cause. [2].
- Anti-Castro Commando
- Anti-Communist Commandos
- Brigade 2506
- Condor
- Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations (CORU - includes Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles)
- Cuba Action
- Cuba Action Commandos
- Cuban Anti-Communist League
- Cuban C-4
- Movement Cuban Liberation Front
- Cuban National Liberation Front (FLNC)
- Cuban Power (el Poder Cubano)
- Cuban Power
- Cuban Representation in Exile
- Cuban Revolutionary Directorate
- Cuban Revolutionary Organization
- Cuban Youth Group International
- Secret Revolutionary United Cells
- JCN (expansion unknown)
- Latin American Anti-Communist Army
- Movement of Cuban Justice Movement of the Seventh (M-7)
- National Integration Front (FIN; Cuban Nationalist Front)
- Omega 7
- Pedro Luis Boitel
- Command Pedro Ruiz Botero
- Commandos Pragmatistas
- Scorpion (el Alacran)
- Second Front of Escambray
- Secret Anti-Castro Cuban Army
- Secret Cuban Government
- Secret Hand Organization
- Secret Organization Zero
- Young Cubans
- Youths of the Star
[edit] Other groups
- Brothers to the Rescue - A group of Cuban-American activists whose primary objective is to aid Cuban refugees and immigration seekers. The group have also attempted to distribute oppositional literature in Cuba via airdrops.
- Cuban American National Foundation - Lobbying group for Cuban-Americans in the United States. Also co-ordinates many of the oppositional strategies undertaken by smaller Cuban-American groups and individuals.[3].
- International Committee for Democracy in Cuba Group headed by former Czech president Vaclav Havel aimed to coordinate the approach of European and western hemisphere countries towards Castro’s government. [4]
- Cuban Libertarian Movement - a loose network of collectives and individuals comprising the Cuban anarchist movement, which is anti-capitalist, anti-Castro, and seeks change along libertarian socialist/libertarian communist or similar lines.
[edit] Historical events
- War Against the Bandits (1959 - 1965) - Since 1959, a few groups of Cubans that had fought side by side with Castro, began to take arms against the government, particularly in the Escambray Mountains region of Cuba. The Cuban government labeled them as bandits. By July 26, 1965 Fidel Castro claimed to have abolished "all the Bandits in Cuba".
- Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 17, 1961) - The Brigade 2506, a military force of about 1,300 Cuban expatriates, with support of the US government, invaded the Giron beaches ("Ataque a La Playa Girón"). This is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion. This attempt to depose the Revolutionary Government ended in failure. After the Brigade had already engaged in battle, John F. Kennedy cancelled the order for air support, and despite fighting against superior numbers for three days, they surrendered only after their ammo was spent. Thousands of prisoners were taken by the Cuban government.
- The Cuban Project (1961 - 1962) - US President John F. Kennedy initiated a CIA operation on November 30, 1961 to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime" aiming "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". The covert plan was intended to fuel anti-Castro sentiments provoking an overthrow of the government or assassination attempts on Castro. The Cuban Project played a significant role in the events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The operation was suspended on October 30, 1962, but three six-man sabotage teams had already been deployed to Cuba, and on November 8, 1962, one six-man CIA team blew up a Cuban industrial facility without permission.
- Ibero-American Summit Dissidents (1999) - About a dozen opposition groups claiming peaceful opposition to Castro's one-party state urged Ibero-American leaders to back their cause. 40 dissidents planning the gathering were arrested in Havana before the Ibero-American Summit. [5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
[edit] General links
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange - Monitoring freedom of expression in Cuba.
- Human Rights Watch - Report from Human Rights Watch about Cuba.
- Letter from Cuba (Independent Press from Inside and Outside Cuba) Web site in Spanish and English with articles by Cubans inside of Cuba and outside. From San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- PDF document from the Carter Center - President Jimmy Carter announcing publicly in the Aula Magna the resting place of Félix Varela in University of Havana to the Cuban people about the existence of Proyecto Varela transmitted by the government's own TV station.
- Vitral Magazine - Vitral Magazine published in English and Spanish from Cuba by Cubans independent of Castro's government; published by the Service of the Civic and Religious Education Center of Pinar del Río.
- The Cuban Revolution - A Critical Perspective by Sam Dolgoff Covers Cuba's long history of anarchist movements and the nature of the current Cuban system as seen from the radical left.
- Cuban Anarchism - The History of A Movement by Frank Fernandez Frank Fernandez's 2001 book on anarchism in Cuba. He writes extensively on many trends and schools of thought related to Cuba and its history, from colonial times to the present.
[edit] Opposition Groups
- Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) - Official Web Site for the CANF.
- Proyecto Varela - Official Web Site for Proyecto Varela.
- Movimiento Libertario Cubano - Official Web Site of the MLC (Cuban anarchist movement)
[edit] Escambray war
- The forgotten war - Fighting Against Castro in Cuba.
[edit] Bay of Pigs invasion
- ParaScope: The Bay of Pigs Invasion
- History of Cuba - Bay of Pigs Invasion.
- Brigada 2506 - Bay of Pigs Invasion; includes pictures of the fallen.de:Kubanische Opposition
