[TEASER] Cuba Ep. 6: The Political Thought of Fidel Castro w/ Renzo Llorente

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Renzo Llorente join us for a conversation on the political thought of Fidel Castro. Renzo Llorente is associate professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University-Madrid and the author of the books The Political Theory of Che Guevara and The Political Thought of Fidel Castro, which we'll be discussing in today's episode.

Our conversation begins with a brief introduction to Fidel Castro before diving into his political thought. Renzo gives us a sense of how Fidel was radicalized and how Marxism-Leninism and anti-imperialism became part of his ideological makeup. We explore his views on Latin America and his belief that Latin America should form a unified bloc similar to what the European Union is. We then discuss his views on religion before comparing and contrasting his overall ideological orientation with that driving the Soviet Union—exploring how Cuba both adopted and rejected aspects of the Soviet model of socialism (this exploration dovetails with Ep. 3 of this series, where we explore Che Guevara's contributions to building socialism in Cuba with Helen Yaffe).

Renzo then takes some time to explore the similarities and differences between Fidel Castro and Joseph Stalin—responding to claims from both the left and the right that Fidel was a "Stalinist" or that his leadership resembled Stalin's in the most negative ways of Stalin's leadership. We then explore what Fidel actually thought of Stalin and how he viewed the term "Stalinism."

We end with an exploration of Fidel's ecological approach to Marxism, his views on racial justice and gender oppression, and his approach to undoing the racism present that stained pre-revolutionary Cuba.

Further resources:

• The Political Thought of Fidel Castro, by Renzo Llorente
• The Political Theory of Che Guevara, by Renzo Llorente

Related episodes:

• Listen to our ongoing series on Cuba
• Listen to our ongoing series on the Alliance of Sahel States

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