Why Cubans Resent the U.S.

Abstract

The following article on the sources of Cuban resentment against the United States is by a man with unique qualifications to understand the views and feelings of our southern neighbors. Manuel Pedro Gonzalez was born in the Canary Islands and educated in Cuba, receiving a Doctorate of Philosophy and Letters from the University of Havana in 1922. From 1924 until his recent retirement, he was Professor of Spanish-American Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. Recently he has spent several months in Havana, and this article reflects not only his deep knowledge of Cuban history (he is the leading authority on the life and writings of Jose Marti) but also his first hand observations of conditions in Cuba under the revolutionary regime. To avoid misunderstanding, we add that we are not in complete agreement with everything Professor Gonzalez says. In particular we do not agree that the Cuban Revolution is a bourgeois revolution of the New Deal type. Our own interpretation will be elaborated in the special July-August issue devoted entirely to Cuba. —The Editors.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.