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The First and Second Declarations of Havana
Nowhere are the questions of revolutionary strategy that today confront men and women on the front lines of struggles in the Americas addressed with greater truthfulness and clarity than in the First and Second Declarations of Havana, adopted by million-strong assemblies of the Cuban people in 1960 and 1962. These declarations which were circulated widely in the Americas at the time stand today as they did more than four decades ago as manifestos of revolutionary struggle by working people the world over. Includes new preface by Mary-Alice Waters, special 12-page photo section, glossary, chronology, index.
112 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
81 people want to read
About the author
Fidel Castro
578 books286 followersCuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959, established a Communist state, served as prime minister until 1976 and then as president of the government and first secretary of the party, in declining health passed control de facto in 2006 to Raúl Castro, his younger brother, and officially retired in 2008.
Fidel Castro led a revolutionary movement that overthrew corrupt authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar on New Year's Day, 1 January 1959.
Raúl Castro assisted Fidel Castro, his brother, in overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959.
United States in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro trained a force of 1,500 guerrilla troops, who landed at Bay of Pigs, the site, in an ill-fated invasion on 17 April 1961.
Castro, the illegitimate son of a wealthy farmer, adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics and meanwhile studied law at the University of Havana. He participated in rebellions against right wing in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, afterward failed in an attack on the barracks of Moncada, planned against the military junta, which the United States of America backed, and served imprisonment for a year in 1953. On release, he went to Mexico, formed the movement of 26 July as a group with Ernesto Guevara, his friend and doctor.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, a politician, also served as the commander in chief of the armed forces. This politically Marxist-Leninist administered the socialist republic. People nationalized industry and businesses and implemented socialist reforms in all parts of society. Castro returned, ousted rivals in 1959, and brought his own assumption of military and political power.
Credentials of Castro and cordial relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics alarmed the Administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who unsuccessfully attempted economic blockade, assassination, and even the invasion at Bay of Pigs of 1961 to remove him. In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of his administration under rule of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The press and suppression of internal dissent accompanied socialist reforms that introduced central economic planning and expanded care and education.
Castro countered these threats, formed an economic and military alliance with the Soviets, allowed them to place nuclear weapons on the island, and thus sparked sparking the missile crisis in 1962.
Internationally, Castro also served as general of the nonaligned movement from 1979 to 1983.
Abroad, Castro supported foreign groups in the expectation of toppling world capitalism, sent troops to fight in the wars of Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angola.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, Castro went into economic "special period" and afterward forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide, namely with Venezuela of Hugo Chávez, and joined the Bolivarian alliance in 2006.
Due to failing, Castro in 2006 transferred his responsibilities to his vice, who assumed in 2008.
Supporters lauded Castro, a controversial and divisive world figure, as a champion of socialism, humanitarianism, and environmentalism against imperialism; critics viewed him as a dictator, who oversaw multiple rights abuses, an exodus of more than a million persons, and the impoverishment of the economy of the country. Through actions and writings, he significantly influenced the politics of various individuals and groups across the world.
Fidel Castro led a revolutionary movement that overthrew corrupt authoritarian regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar on New Year's Day, 1 January 1959.
Raúl Castro assisted Fidel Castro, his brother, in overthrowing the regime of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar in 1959.
United States in an attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro trained a force of 1,500 guerrilla troops, who landed at Bay of Pigs, the site, in an ill-fated invasion on 17 April 1961.
Castro, the illegitimate son of a wealthy farmer, adopted leftist anti-imperialist politics and meanwhile studied law at the University of Havana. He participated in rebellions against right wing in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, afterward failed in an attack on the barracks of Moncada, planned against the military junta, which the United States of America backed, and served imprisonment for a year in 1953. On release, he went to Mexico, formed the movement of 26 July as a group with Ernesto Guevara, his friend and doctor.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, a politician, also served as the commander in chief of the armed forces. This politically Marxist-Leninist administered the socialist republic. People nationalized industry and businesses and implemented socialist reforms in all parts of society. Castro returned, ousted rivals in 1959, and brought his own assumption of military and political power.
Credentials of Castro and cordial relations with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics alarmed the Administrations of Dwight David Eisenhower and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who unsuccessfully attempted economic blockade, assassination, and even the invasion at Bay of Pigs of 1961 to remove him. In 1961, Castro proclaimed the socialist nature of his administration under rule of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. The press and suppression of internal dissent accompanied socialist reforms that introduced central economic planning and expanded care and education.
Castro countered these threats, formed an economic and military alliance with the Soviets, allowed them to place nuclear weapons on the island, and thus sparked sparking the missile crisis in 1962.
Internationally, Castro also served as general of the nonaligned movement from 1979 to 1983.
Abroad, Castro supported foreign groups in the expectation of toppling world capitalism, sent troops to fight in the wars of Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angola.
Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1991, Castro went into economic "special period" and afterward forged alliances in the Latin American pink tide, namely with Venezuela of Hugo Chávez, and joined the Bolivarian alliance in 2006.
Due to failing, Castro in 2006 transferred his responsibilities to his vice, who assumed in 2008.
Supporters lauded Castro, a controversial and divisive world figure, as a champion of socialism, humanitarianism, and environmentalism against imperialism; critics viewed him as a dictator, who oversaw multiple rights abuses, an exodus of more than a million persons, and the impoverishment of the economy of the country. Through actions and writings, he significantly influenced the politics of various individuals and groups across the world.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 16, 2024
good intro, incredible documents, and a great option for your first political book in spanish (it's short). make sure to listen to the audio recording of fidel delivering the segunda declaracion as well)
January 26, 2021
Καταπληκτικό! Τα θέματα που διαπραγματεύονται στην Πρώτη και Δεύτερη διακήρυξη της Αβάνας είναι ακόμα και σήμερα επίκαιρα. Τρομερό το παράδειγμα της Κούβας.
Viva la revolución
Viva la revolución
November 4, 2025
From the very beginning the Cuban Revolution was internationalist! They hoped to encourage and assist revolutions throughout Latin America, where they had the most influence.
(As anyone who has read a bit of Trotsky and Russian history knows, "world revolution" was associated with Lenin and Trotsky; "socialism in one country" was the slogan of Stalin. The Communist International became simply an instrument of Soviet foreign policy, until Stalin dissolved it as a war-time favor to Roosevelt. The "Communists" were not trying to take over the world by fomenting revolution everywhere. They were trying to have "peaceful existence" with US and other imperialism, thinking that "buffer zones" would protect them in the age of missiles. They were trying to prevent socialist revolutions but were not always successful at doing so. There's a lot of history to read before you will fully understand this. Don't take my word, or anyone else's for it).
These are two manifestos of revolutionary struggle on a continental scale. Both were written by the central leadership of the revolution, which still consisted of three groups, in the process of unification. They were then read by Fidel Castro to enormous crowds voicing approval. The first was September of 1960; the second in February of 1962. These were printed in many languages and spread across Lattin America and beyond. These posed a direct challenge to the viewpoint of the pro-Moscow Stalinist parties in Latin America and around the world. The preface by Mary-Alice Waters gives the international context, which is key for the documents, including what was happening in the Black struggle in the US at the time. A chronology elaborates on this, covering events from 1952 to 1967.
I also recommend: To Speak the Truth: Why Washington's 'cold War' Against Cuba Doesn't End, Dynamics of the Cuban Revolution: A Marxist Appreciation. ...
(As anyone who has read a bit of Trotsky and Russian history knows, "world revolution" was associated with Lenin and Trotsky; "socialism in one country" was the slogan of Stalin. The Communist International became simply an instrument of Soviet foreign policy, until Stalin dissolved it as a war-time favor to Roosevelt. The "Communists" were not trying to take over the world by fomenting revolution everywhere. They were trying to have "peaceful existence" with US and other imperialism, thinking that "buffer zones" would protect them in the age of missiles. They were trying to prevent socialist revolutions but were not always successful at doing so. There's a lot of history to read before you will fully understand this. Don't take my word, or anyone else's for it).
These are two manifestos of revolutionary struggle on a continental scale. Both were written by the central leadership of the revolution, which still consisted of three groups, in the process of unification. They were then read by Fidel Castro to enormous crowds voicing approval. The first was September of 1960; the second in February of 1962. These were printed in many languages and spread across Lattin America and beyond. These posed a direct challenge to the viewpoint of the pro-Moscow Stalinist parties in Latin America and around the world. The preface by Mary-Alice Waters gives the international context, which is key for the documents, including what was happening in the Black struggle in the US at the time. A chronology elaborates on this, covering events from 1952 to 1967.
I also recommend: To Speak the Truth: Why Washington's 'cold War' Against Cuba Doesn't End, Dynamics of the Cuban Revolution: A Marxist Appreciation. ...
August 23, 2015
FIVE STARS! Should be required reading for all High School classrooms: see what the 60's were really like. The vast oversimplifications presented in US history does not hold a ligh to the actual text of those we attacked.
September 4, 2015
I read this in English. I hope that it will find its way to an Arabic audience, especially after Egypt of Jan 25.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews