Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro has forged a creative synthesis of Marxism-Leninism with an anti-neocolonial Latin American perspective, particularly the thinking of the late nineteenth century Cuban revolutionary José Marti. Adapting Marxism-Leninism to the neocolonial conditions of Cuba, Fidel’s understanding represents an important evolution in Marxism-Leninism.
Deutschmann, David and Deborah Shnookal. 2007. Fidel Castro Reader. Melbourne, Australia: Ocean Press.
An excellent collection of 20 major speeches by Fidel from 1953 to 2004, translated into English; includes a useful chronology.
Castro Ruz, Fidel. 1983. La crisis económica y social del mundo: sus repercusiones en los países desarrollados, sus perspectiva sombrías, y la necesidad de luchar si queremos sobrevivir: Informe a la VII Cumbre de los Países No Alineados. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
In a report prepared in conjunction with Cuba’s first presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, Fidel demonstrates an exceptional capacity to understand the dynamics of the capitalist world-economy and the challenges that the Third World nations confront.
__________. 1989. Fidel Castro y la Deuda Externa. La Habana: Editora Política.
A collection of speeches on the Third World debt, providing a penetrating analysis of the origin of the Third World debt in the problem of excess capital in the banks of the North. The speeches include a call to Third World nations to cooperate with one another in insisting on a just solution to the problem.
__________. 1990. Informe Central: I, II, y III Congreso Del Partido Comunista de Cuba. La Habana: Editora Política.
Fidel’s report to the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1974 took 18 hours to deliver. Much time was consumed by detailed descriptions of the social problems encountered by the revolution at time of its triumph in 1959 and the concrete steps that were taken to address the problems. A section on the lack of buses for school children in rural mountainous areas but the availability of luxury cars in Havana, and the creative steps that were taken to address the problem, shows Fidel at his best, speaking ironically and with a touch of humor, while educating the people. The speech as a whole reveals a man with a concern for the difficulties that the people confront, a mastery of the details that must be addressed, and a passionate commitment to defend those whom history had cast aside. It seems to me impossible to deliver such a speech, if sincerity had been lacking. The reading of the speech more than 20 years after its delivery was an important component of my arriving to the conclusion that, in Fidel, we have a man of exceptional qualities: an unusual capacity to understand national and global issues and to mobilize people for collective action combined with a commitment to social justice.
__________. 1996. Por un Mundo de Paz, Justicia y Dignidad: discursos en conferencias cumbre, 1991-1996. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
__________. 2000. Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today. Edited by David Deutschmann. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
A collection of address in various international forums during the 1990s.
__________. 2011. El Partido, Una Revolución en la Revolución: Selección Temática, 1961-2005. La Habana: Editora Política.
Excerpts from speeches in various contexts from 1961 to 2005 that focus on the theme of the role of a vanguard party in the revolutionary process.
Guerra López, Delores, Orlando Abel Martínez Fernández, Yolanda González Plasencia, Eds. 2012. Fidel Castro: Unidad e Independencia de América (selección temática 1959-2010). La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba.
Excerpts from speeches in various contexts from 1959 to 2010 that focus on the theme of Latin American unity as indispensable for genuine independence.
Interviews with Fidel Castro
Three interviews with Fidel, all translated into English, provide an excellent introduction to the Cuban revolution and the thinking and values of its historic charismatic leader.
Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado. 1985. Fidel y la Religión: Conversaciones con Frei Betto. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Fidel and Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto on Marxism and Liberation Theology. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
__________. 1988. Un Encuentro con Fidel: Entrevista realizada por Gianni Miná. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Mina, Gianni. 1991. An Encounter With Fidel. Translated by Mary Todd. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
__________. 2006. Cien Horas con Fidel: Conversaciones con Ignacio Ramonet. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Ramonet, Ignacio. 2009. Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography. Scribner.
Fidel Castro has forged a creative synthesis of Marxism-Leninism with an anti-neocolonial Latin American perspective, particularly the thinking of the late nineteenth century Cuban revolutionary José Marti. Adapting Marxism-Leninism to the neocolonial conditions of Cuba, Fidel’s understanding represents an important evolution in Marxism-Leninism.
Deutschmann, David and Deborah Shnookal. 2007. Fidel Castro Reader. Melbourne, Australia: Ocean Press.
An excellent collection of 20 major speeches by Fidel from 1953 to 2004, translated into English; includes a useful chronology.
Castro Ruz, Fidel. 1983. La crisis económica y social del mundo: sus repercusiones en los países desarrollados, sus perspectiva sombrías, y la necesidad de luchar si queremos sobrevivir: Informe a la VII Cumbre de los Países No Alineados. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
In a report prepared in conjunction with Cuba’s first presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement, Fidel demonstrates an exceptional capacity to understand the dynamics of the capitalist world-economy and the challenges that the Third World nations confront.
__________. 1989. Fidel Castro y la Deuda Externa. La Habana: Editora Política.
A collection of speeches on the Third World debt, providing a penetrating analysis of the origin of the Third World debt in the problem of excess capital in the banks of the North. The speeches include a call to Third World nations to cooperate with one another in insisting on a just solution to the problem.
__________. 1990. Informe Central: I, II, y III Congreso Del Partido Comunista de Cuba. La Habana: Editora Política.
Fidel’s report to the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1974 took 18 hours to deliver. Much time was consumed by detailed descriptions of the social problems encountered by the revolution at time of its triumph in 1959 and the concrete steps that were taken to address the problems. A section on the lack of buses for school children in rural mountainous areas but the availability of luxury cars in Havana, and the creative steps that were taken to address the problem, shows Fidel at his best, speaking ironically and with a touch of humor, while educating the people. The speech as a whole reveals a man with a concern for the difficulties that the people confront, a mastery of the details that must be addressed, and a passionate commitment to defend those whom history had cast aside. It seems to me impossible to deliver such a speech, if sincerity had been lacking. The reading of the speech more than 20 years after its delivery was an important component of my arriving to the conclusion that, in Fidel, we have a man of exceptional qualities: an unusual capacity to understand national and global issues and to mobilize people for collective action combined with a commitment to social justice.
__________. 1996. Por un Mundo de Paz, Justicia y Dignidad: discursos en conferencias cumbre, 1991-1996. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
__________. 2000. Capitalism in Crisis: Globalization and World Politics Today. Edited by David Deutschmann. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
A collection of address in various international forums during the 1990s.
__________. 2011. El Partido, Una Revolución en la Revolución: Selección Temática, 1961-2005. La Habana: Editora Política.
Excerpts from speeches in various contexts from 1961 to 2005 that focus on the theme of the role of a vanguard party in the revolutionary process.
Guerra López, Delores, Orlando Abel Martínez Fernández, Yolanda González Plasencia, Eds. 2012. Fidel Castro: Unidad e Independencia de América (selección temática 1959-2010). La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado de la República de Cuba.
Excerpts from speeches in various contexts from 1959 to 2010 that focus on the theme of Latin American unity as indispensable for genuine independence.
Interviews with Fidel Castro
Three interviews with Fidel, all translated into English, provide an excellent introduction to the Cuban revolution and the thinking and values of its historic charismatic leader.
Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado. 1985. Fidel y la Religión: Conversaciones con Frei Betto. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Fidel and Religion: Conversations with Frei Betto on Marxism and Liberation Theology. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
__________. 1988. Un Encuentro con Fidel: Entrevista realizada por Gianni Miná. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Mina, Gianni. 1991. An Encounter With Fidel. Translated by Mary Todd. Melbourne: Ocean Press.
__________. 2006. Cien Horas con Fidel: Conversaciones con Ignacio Ramonet. La Habana: Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado.
English translation: Ramonet, Ignacio. 2009. Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography. Scribner.