Crisis in the Caribbean: Haiti and Cuba in Focus

S&D has paid close  attention to the Cuban revolution and more generally to the Caribbean, including to developments in Haiti. Generally, scholarly and policy insights into the revolutions have strenghthened the partisan anti-imperialist and emancipatory interests of our authors. Recently our co-sponsored project, Shelter & Solidarity hosted an important conversation about Haiti and Cuba featuring Vijay Prashad, Ezili Danto, and Moises St. Louis. Prashad framed recent events in Cuba in light of the destructive and long-standing US blockade, one intensified during the Trump administration, and the challenges of Cuba's historic underdevelopment. He cautioned against romanticizing the revolution given the developmental challenges created by global capitalism and Cuba's necessary adaptations to it, including its investment in the tourist economy. Ezili Danto and Moises St. James, the former analyzing current events through the lens of real-politik and the latter taking a long historical view, surface the difficulties facing Haiti. They call our attention to both external domination and the domestic rulilng class. The recent assassination of the president is framed in light of both his relationship with imperial powers and his furtive attempts to prolong his stay in office by engaging with Turkey and Russia.