What do you think?
Rate this book
How the Workers’ Parliaments Saved the Cuban Revolution: Reviving Socialism after the Collapse of the Soviet Union
A first hand account of a society mobilized from below at a critical time in its history
How the Workers’ Parliaments Saved the Cuban Revolution brings us to the heart of one of the most precarious and transformational moments in Cuba’s evolution. As the Soviet Union fell to pieces in the 1990s, Cuba managed to evade the fate of its primary trading ally. How was this possible, especially as Cuba endured relentless attacks from the capitalist behemoth directly to its north? As the GDP plunged by over a third, and the Cuban people endured brutal food shortages— a time of crisis known as the “Special Period”— the country embarked upon a remarkable collective effort to cope with its dire circumstances and escaped the starvation, disease, death, and violence that often plague poor countries facing similar conditions. Not only did Cuba manage to evade collapse, it maintained its high life expectancy, low infant mortality, and universal access to health and education, preserving many of the gains of the revolution.
At the center of this collective effort were lifelong revolutionaries like Pedro Ross, construction worker, literacy educator, and labor activist. As head of Cuba’s labor federation throughout the “Special Period,” Ross developed a nationwide series of “Labor Parliaments” which turned the country into an immense school of economics and politics. Over a 45-day span in 1993, women’s rights activists, farmers' organizations, youth movements, and academic associations came together for tens of thousands of meetings, successfully restored the production cycle, and ultimately revolutionized nearly every aspect of life in Cuba. Singularly positioned to write this seminal account of those days, Ross has given us a rare, moving, on-the-ground account of a society mobilized from below, buttressing the Revolution when it was under maximum stress.
How the Workers’ Parliaments Saved the Cuban Revolution brings us to the heart of one of the most precarious and transformational moments in Cuba’s evolution. As the Soviet Union fell to pieces in the 1990s, Cuba managed to evade the fate of its primary trading ally. How was this possible, especially as Cuba endured relentless attacks from the capitalist behemoth directly to its north? As the GDP plunged by over a third, and the Cuban people endured brutal food shortages— a time of crisis known as the “Special Period”— the country embarked upon a remarkable collective effort to cope with its dire circumstances and escaped the starvation, disease, death, and violence that often plague poor countries facing similar conditions. Not only did Cuba manage to evade collapse, it maintained its high life expectancy, low infant mortality, and universal access to health and education, preserving many of the gains of the revolution.
At the center of this collective effort were lifelong revolutionaries like Pedro Ross, construction worker, literacy educator, and labor activist. As head of Cuba’s labor federation throughout the “Special Period,” Ross developed a nationwide series of “Labor Parliaments” which turned the country into an immense school of economics and politics. Over a 45-day span in 1993, women’s rights activists, farmers' organizations, youth movements, and academic associations came together for tens of thousands of meetings, successfully restored the production cycle, and ultimately revolutionized nearly every aspect of life in Cuba. Singularly positioned to write this seminal account of those days, Ross has given us a rare, moving, on-the-ground account of a society mobilized from below, buttressing the Revolution when it was under maximum stress.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 21, 2022
2 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 5, 2025
This is absolutely essential reading for anyone interested in the direction of the Cuban political economy in the 21st century. Divided into two chapters, Ross Leal summarizes the proceedings of what would come to be known as the Workers' Parliaments in the first and gives a succinct rundown of Cuban history dating back to the 10 Years' War in 1868. Ross Leal himself was one of the founding members of the PCC (Partido Comunista de Cuba) and has served in several different roles since the triumph of the revolution. In 1989, he was elected as the Secretary of the Workers' Centers, making this text an invaluable first-person account of party politics at the time.
July 23, 2024
Amazing overview of the pragmatic, democratic, and community approach that Cuba used to handle the fall of European Socialism and the massive impact that had on survival of the Revolution.
October 3, 2023
As a book on the Special Period it does it job correctly documenting economic alternatives and the debates present in Cuban society. Found it incredibly interesting that in a world full of neoliberal structural adjustment, cuban unions and social society were able to make sacrifices and enact popular austere policy in order too keep the advances done by the Cuban Revolution. Free education, healthcare and pensions were priorities and for stability there were decisions to remove price controls on things like water, alcohol and cigars. Part 2 of the book is an 80 pg history of 20th century Cuban politics. Its very one note primarily describing the process of reform during the SP and not actual civil society and reaction. Overall I think its a useful book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews