The Right to Live in Health: Medical Politics in Postindependence Havana

Envisioning Cuba

by Rodriguez

Daniel A. Rodriguez's history of a newly independent Cuba shaking off the U.S. occupation focuses on the intersection of public health and politics in Havana. While medical policies were often used to further American colonial power, in Cuba, Rodriguez argues, they evolved into important expressions of anticolonial nationalism as Cuba struggled to establish itself as a modern state. A younger generation of Cuban medical reformers, including physicians, patients, and officials, imagined disease as a kind of remnant of colonial rule. These new medical nationalists, as Rodriguez calls them, looked to medical science to guide Cuba toward what they envisioned as a healthy and independent future.

Rodriguez describes how medicine and new public health projects infused republican Cuba's statecraft, powerfully shaping the lives of Havana's residents. He underscores how various stakeholders, including women and people of color, demanded robust government investment in quality medical care for all Cubans, a central national value that continues today. On a broader level, Rodriguez proposes that Latin America, at least as much as the United States and Europe, was an engine for the articulation of citizens' rights, including the right to health care, in the twentieth century.

Genres: History

288 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2020

Reviews

[AirSign · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book. I loved the author's empathetic eye and concern for ordinary people. Thank you!

[Alan Rohwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A serious read. Four stars because it's not for everyone.
It gives a detailed account of the public health system in Cuba from the independence from Spain (1898) up until the new constitution in 1940. The conclusion section brings the narrative up to more recent times, including the post 1959-revolution.
I think the main point is that Cuba was a pioneer in considering public health as a societal and governmental sanctioned right. The trials and barriers to implementing that ideal is dealt with detail. It is my understanding that there are a number of events documented in this book that had not been treated in previous academic studies. The author is to be commended for having done the scholarly work to uncover & document them.
I would recommend this book to people with a serious interest in the history of public help and particularly for those with an interest in Cuban history.