Cuba's Forgotten Decade: How the 1970s Shaped the Revolution (Lexington Studies on Cuba)

Cuba in the 1970s was a very different place to the Cuba of the 1960s. Gone was the open and polemical debates that raged across all spheres of life, the erratic forming of social institutions which arose empirically. Gone too, argued many, was the idealism. By the 1970s the need for a fundamental reassessment of the path to independence had become urgent. The revolutionary government felt increasingly isolated as previously natural allies—geographically or politically—seemed to move ever further away, compounded by the atomizing nature of the Cold War. Thus began a new phase of the Revolution which sought to find new answers to old problems, and which also included some pragmatic solutions to perennial issues to allow for longer-term planning. One of these solutions included a closer and deeper alliance with the Soviet Union and the Socialist Bloc, particularly in the fields of economy, education, and the military. Cuba joined the Council for Mutual Economic Aid (COMECON) as a full member in 1972 and trade with the organization swiftly came to account for the majority of Cuba’s foreign commerce. This shift in economic collaboration seemed to imply a change in policy and therefore a prioritization of a particular strand of socialism. Cuba's Forgotten Decade Provides A Comprehensive Assessment Of The 1970s That Challenges Prevailing Interpretations Of The Decade As Simply A Period Of Sovietization Characterized By Widespread Bureaucratization, Institutionalization, And Adherence To Soviet Orthodoxy. Drawing From Multidisciplinary Perspectives And Exploring A Range Of Areas--including Politics, International Relations, Culture, Education, And Healthcare--the Contributing Authors Demonstrate That The 1970s Were A Time Of Intense Transformation That Provided Pivotal To The Development Of The Revolution. Indeed, Many Of The Ideas, Approaches, Policies, And Legislation Developed And Tested During This Decade Maintain A Very Visible Legacy In Contemporary Cuba. In Highlighting The Complexity Of The 1970s, This Volume Contributes To A Greater Understanding Of The Cuban Revolution And How The Country Has Faced The Challenges Of The Twenty-first Century--back Cover. Raul's Decade?, Or, The First Swing Of The Pendulum? / Antoni Kapcia -- Havana And Moscow In The 1970s : 'sovietization' In An Era Of Détente / Mervyn Bain -- David Rising : Cuba And Its Northern Goliath In The 1970s / H. Michael Erisman -- Canada-cuba Relations In The 1970s / John M. Kirk -- Militarized By Moscow? : Re-examining Soviet Influence On Cuba In The 1970s / Anna Clayfield -- No Secret Cure : Why The 1970s Hold The Mystery To Cuba's Health Paradox / Robert Huish -- Sexual Education In The 1970s : A Health-based Approach / Emily J. Kirk -- Cuban Women And The State : Women's Lives In The 1970s And The New Reproductive Bargain / Hope Bastian Martínez -- The 'three Ps' (perfecting, Professionalization, And Pragmatism) And Their Limitations For Understanding Cuban Education In The 1970s / Rosi Smith -- Is Class Race, And Race Class? : Blacks, The Cuban Revolution, And The 1970s / Isaac Saney -- Black Skin, Red Masks? : Decolonization And Literature In 1970s Cuba / Par Kumaraswami -- Utopian Cultural Construction: Cuban Cultural Organization In The 1970s / Isabel Story -- Cinema And Culture In The 1970s : The Art Of Autonomy / Guy Baron -- ¿seremos (otra Vez) Como El Ché? : Angola As An 'alternative Narrative' To Cuba In The 1970s / Raquel Ribeiro -- Within The Revolution, Everyone : Cuba, Youth, And Interrogating The 1970s Paradigm / Anne Luke. Edited By Emily J. Kirk, Anna Clayfield, And Isabel Story. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The 1970s have largely been overlooked in scholarly studies of the Cuban Revolution, or, at the very least, dismissed simply as a period of "Sovietization" characterized by widespread bureaucratization, institutionalization, and adherence to Soviet orthodoxy. Consequently, scant research exists that examines the major changes that took place across the decade and their role in determining the course of the Revolution. This book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive assessment of the 1970s which challenges prevailing interpretations. Drawing from multidisciplinary perspectives and exploring a range of areas--including politics, international relations, culture, education, and healthcare--its contributing authors demonstrate that the decade was a time of intense transformation which proved pivotal to the development of the Revolution. Indeed, many of the ideas, approaches, policies, and legislation developed and tested during the 1970s maintain a very visible legacy in contemporary Cuba. In highlighting the complexity of the 1970s, this volume ultimately aims to contribute to a greater understanding of the Cuban Revolution and how it chooses to face the challenges of the twenty-first century. "Cuba's Forgotten Decade provides a comprehensive assessment of the 1970s that challenges prevailing interpretations of the decade as simply a period of "Sovietization" characterized by widespread bureaucratization, institutionalization, and adherence to Soviet orthodoxy. Drawing from multidisciplinary perspectives and exploring a range of areas - including politics, international relations, culture, education, and healthcare - the contributing authors demonstrate that the 1970s were a time of intense transformation that proved pivotal to the development of the Revolution. Indeed, many of the ideas, approaches, policies, and legislation developed and tested during this decade maintain a very visible legacy in contemporary Cuba. In highlighting the complexity of the 1970s, this volume contributes to a greater understanding of the Cuban Revolution and how the country has faced the challenges of the twenty-first century"--Back cover "Cuba's Forgotten Decade provides a comprehensive assessment of the 1970s in Cuba that challenges the prevailing interpretation of the revolution as simply a period of "Sovietization." Drawing from multidisciplinary perspectives, this book demonstrates that the decade was a time of intense transformation that proved pivotal to the development of the revolution"-- Provided by publisher