エピソード

  • Cuba's 1959 Agrarian Reform: Land, Power, and the First Crack

    Cuba's 1959 Agrarian Reform: Land, Power, and the First Crack
    2026/06/08
    In this episode, we dive into Cuba's 1959 Agrarian Reform Law—the first major act of the revolutionary government and a seismic shift that redistributed land, broke the back of the latifundio system, and set the stage for the island's confrontation with the United States. We trace the law's origins in the 1940 Constitution, the role of the Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA) under Che Guevara, and the reaction from US companies like United Fruit. We also explore the lesser-known second agrarian reform of 1963 that eliminated the rural middle class. Along the way, we meet key figures like Antonio Núñez Jiménez, the geographer who mapped the land reforms, and examine how the law reshaped Cuban society and economy, leading to a wave of nationalizations and the eventual US embargo. This is a story of ambition, resistance, and the human cost of rapid change. #Cuba #AgrarianReform #CubanRevolution #INRA #CheGuevara #AntonioNúñezJiménez #UnitedFruit #Latifundio #LandReform #FidelCastro #OsvaldoDorticós #LeyDeReformaAgraria #1959 #1963 #History #FexingoHistory #Caribbean #Socialism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    8 分
  • Cuba's 1960s Cultural Congress: Intellectuals at the Crossroads

    Cuba's 1960s Cultural Congress: Intellectuals at the Crossroads
    2026/06/08
    In January 1968, Havana hosted the Cultural Congress of Havana, a landmark event that gathered hundreds of progressive intellectuals from around the world—including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and many Latin American writers—to debate the role of culture and the intellectual in the Third World and socialist societies. This episode explores the Congress's ambitious agenda, the tensions between artistic freedom and revolutionary commitment, and the shadow it cast over Cuba's own literary scene, including the later Padilla Affair. We discuss the key figures, the controversies over socialist realism and aesthetic experimentation, and how the Congress reflected Fidel Castro's vision of a new culture aligned with anti-imperialist struggle. The episode also examines the unresolved question: Can a revolutionary state truly embrace intellectual independence? #Cuba #CulturalCongressOfHavana #1968 #JeanPaulSartre #SimoneDeBeauvoir #RobertoFernandezRetamar #Caliban #SocialistRealism #ThirdWorld #AntiImperialism #IntellectualFreedom #CubanRevolution #LatinAmerica #FidelCastro #Alienation #CultureAndPolitics #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    8 分
  • Cuba's 1965 Che Guevara Letter to Fidel: The Break

    Cuba's 1965 Che Guevara Letter to Fidel: The Break
    2026/06/07
    In 1965, Che Guevara disappeared from public view, leaving behind a letter to Fidel Castro that announced his resignation from all official posts and his departure from Cuba. This episode explores the context of that decision — the strains of revolutionary governance, the failure of industrialisation, Che's growing disillusionment with Soviet-style socialism, and his desire to spread revolution abroad. We examine the letter itself, the secrecy surrounding his departure, and the fallout within the Cuban leadership. What drove the most iconic figure of the Cuban Revolution to walk away from power? And what does his exit tell us about the tensions inside revolutionary Cuba in the mid-1960s? #CheGuevara #FidelCastro #CubanRevolution #HistoryOfCuba #LetterFromChe #1965 #Cuba #LatinAmericanHistory #Socialism #Revolution #GuevaraFarewell #FexingoHistory #Podcast #ColdWar #CubanPolitics #Industrialisation #Guerrilla #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    8 分
  • Cuba's 1959 Purge of the Old Guard: Justice or Revenge?

    Cuba's 1959 Purge of the Old Guard: Justice or Revenge?
    2026/06/07
    In the first months after Fidel Castro's revolutionary victory, Cuba embarked on a sweeping purge of Batista-era officials, military officers, and police. Trials by revolutionary tribunals, often broadcast on live television, resulted in hundreds of executions and thousands of prison sentences. This episode of The History of Cuba examines the 'paredón' — the firing squad wall — and the controversial trials that polarized Cuban society and alarmed the United States. Lucas and Luna discuss the trial of Jesús Sosa Blanco, the role of Commander Humberto Sorí Marín as prosecutor, and the legal framework established by the Ley de Procedimiento Sumario. They explore the moral arguments for and against revolutionary justice, the international reaction, and how these early purges shaped the regime's legitimacy. The episode also touches on the flight of Batista supporters and the creation of the G-2 security apparatus under Ramiro Valdés. A nuanced look at a turning point that defined Cuba's revolutionary path. #CubanRevolution #RevolutionaryJustice #Paredón #FidelCastro #JesúsSosaBlanco #HumbertoSoríMarín #LeyDeProcedimientoSumario #G2 #RamiroValdés #Batista #1959 #ColdWar #USCubaRelations #WarCrimesTrials #LatinAmericanHistory #CaribbeanHistory #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    7 分
  • Cuba's 1957 Cienfuegos Naval Rebellion: The Mutiny That Almost Toppled Batista

    Cuba's 1957 Cienfuegos Naval Rebellion: The Mutiny That Almost Toppled Batista
    2026/06/06
    In September 1957, a small group of young Cuban naval officers launched a daring uprising at the Cienfuegos Naval Base, seizing the destroyer escort *El Presidente* and nearly sparking a nationwide revolt against Fulgencio Batista. This episode of The History of Cuba dives into the forgotten story of the Cienfuegos mutiny — a collision of bravado, betrayal, and brute force that exposed the regime's fragility just months after the Moncada attack. We follow the rebel officers from the cramped quarters of the naval academy to the smoke-filled decks of a captured warship, trace the secret ties between the mutineers and the Movimiento 26 de Julio, and reconstruct the brutal counterattack by Batista's air force and army that left the base in rubble. Lucas and Luna explore how this pivotal 48-hour battle — overshadowed by Che Guevara's later exploits in the Sierra Maestra — revealed both the desperation of the opposition and the ruthlessness of a dictatorship willing to bomb its own men. Featuring the names and places that defined the clash: the Palacio de Justicia, the commandante of the base, the coded messages that tipped off the regime. A story of courage, miscalculation, and the high price of resistance. #Cuba #History #FexingoHistory #Cienfuegos #NavalRebellion #Batista #1957 #Revolution #ElPresidente #Movimiento26deJulio #SierraMaestra #CaribbeanHistory #Mutiny #CubanHistory #CienfuegosNavalBase #Rebellion #CheGuevara #FidelCastro Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    6 分
  • Cuba's Forgotten War: The 1868-1878 Ten Years' War and Its Ghosts

    Cuba's Forgotten War: The 1868-1878 Ten Years' War and Its Ghosts
    2026/06/06
    This episode of The History of Cuba digs into the Ten Years' War (1868–1878), Cuba's first major independence struggle against Spain. We explore the Grito de Yara, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes' call to arms, the role of the mambí army, the rise of Antonio Maceo and Máximo Gómez, and the controversial Pact of Zanjón that ended the conflict. We also examine the war's legacy: how it set the stage for José Martí's later movement, the abolition of slavery, and the lingering grievances that fueled the Little War (Guerra Chiquita) and the 1895 War of Independence. Key figures include Céspedes, Maceo, Gómez, and Calixto García. We also touch on the machete as a defining weapon, the sugar industry's role, and the international implications—including US and Latin American solidarity efforts. #TenYearsWar #Cuba #CubanIndependence #GritodeYara #PactodeZanjón #AntonioMaceo #MáximoGómez #CarlosManueldeCéspedes #CalixtoGarcía #Mambí #GuerraChiquita #SpanishEmpire #Abolition #Sugar #Machete #19thCentury #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    8 分
  • Cuba's 1968 Revolutionary Offensive: The End of Private Enterprise

    Cuba's 1968 Revolutionary Offensive: The End of Private Enterprise
    2026/06/05
    In March 1968, Fidel Castro launched the Revolutionary Offensive, a sweeping nationalization that eliminated nearly all remaining private businesses in Cuba—from barbershops and bakeries to fruit stands and auto repair shops. This episode traces the ideological, economic, and human dimensions of that moment. We explore Che Guevara's vision of the 'New Man,' the failed 1960s sugar harvests, the growing influence of Soviet economic models, and the grassroots resistance that emerged in Havana's working-class neighborhoods. We also look at the parallel crackdown on micro-enterprises and the regime's use of 'socialist emulation' campaigns to fill the gap. Drawing on recently declassified Cuban archives and oral histories, Lucas and Luna discuss how the Offensive reshaped daily life, deepened dependency on the USSR, and set the stage for the later 'Special Period.' The episode ends on a reflective note: was the Revolutionary Offensive a leap toward equality or the moment Cuba lost its economic soul? #Cuba #RevolutionaryOffensive #FidelCastro #CheGuevara #NewMan #1968 #Nationalization #SocialistEmulation #SovietUnion #Havana #Barbershops #Bakeries #CubanEconomy #SpecialPeriod #OralHistory #History #FexingoHistory #Caribbean Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    6 分
  • Cuba's 1878 Small War: The Machete Charge That Refused to End

    Cuba's 1878 Small War: The Machete Charge That Refused to End
    2026/06/05
    After the Ten Years' War ended with the Pact of Zanjón in 1878, Antonio Maceo refused to accept a peace without independence or abolition. In the Baraguá Protest, he and a handful of mambí fighters launched a desperate guerrilla campaign known as the Guerra Chiquita, or Small War. This episode follows Maceo's lightning machete charges through Oriente province, the failed invasions of Matanzas and Havana, and the brutal Spanish counterinsurgency led by General Arsenio Martínez Campos. We explore how the war's limited resources and regional divisions doomed the rebellion, but how its spirit kept the independence ideal alive for José Martí's 1895 war. We also examine the role of Afro-Cuban fighters and the racial fears that shaped Spanish strategy. #Cuba #GuerraChiquita #AntonioMaceo #Baraguá #TenYearsWar #Mambí #PactOfZanjón #ArsenioMartínezCampos #Oriente #MacheteCharge #Independence #Abolition #AfroCuban #CaribbeanHistory #19thCentury #ColonialSpain #LatinAmericanHistory #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
    続きを読む 一部表示
    5 分