Revolutions in Cuba and Venezuela: One Hope, Two Realities

Comparing two
consequential movements that shed light on the nature of revolution

Revolutions in Cuba and Venezuela compares the sociopolitical processes behind two major revolutions--Cuba
in 1959, when Fidel Castro came to power, and Venezuela in 1999, when Hugo
Ch嫛ez won the presidential election. With special attention to the
Cuba-Venezuela alliance, particularly in regards to foreign policy and the
trade of doctors for oil, Silvia Pedraza and
Carlos Romero show that the geopolitical theater where these events played out
determined the dynamics and reach of the revolutions.

Updating and enriching the current
understanding of the Cuban and Venezuelan revolutions, this study is unique in
its focus on the massive exodus they generated. Pedraza and Romero argue that
this factor is crucial for comprehending a revolution's capacity to succeed or
fail. By externalizing dissent, refugees helped to consolidate the revolutions,
but as the diasporas became significant political actors and the lifelines of
each economy, they eventually served to undermine the social movements.

Using comparative historical analysis and data
collected through fieldwork in Cuba and Venezuela as well as from immigrant
communities in the U.S., Pedraza and Romero discuss issues of
politics, economics, migrations, authoritarianism, human rights, and democracy
in two nations that hoped to make a better world through their revolutionary
journeys.

Publication of this work made
possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant
from the National Endowment for the Humanities.