We Are Cuba!: How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World, Hardcover

The extraordinary, and largely unchronicled, account of the Cuban people's struggle for survival in a post-Soviet world

In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced the start of a crisis that decimated its economy. Helen Yaffe examines the astonishing developments that took place during and beyond this period. Drawing on archival research and interviews with Cuban leaders, thinkers, and activists, this book tells the remarkable story of how Cuba survived while the rest of the Soviet bloc crumbled.

Drawing on contemporary events Yaffe shows how Cuba has been gradually introducing select market reforms. The government claims that these are necessary to sustain its socialist system, but many others believe they herald a return to capitalism. Examining key domestic initiatives including the creation of one of the world's leading biotechnological industries, its energy revolution, and medical internationalism alongside recent economic reforms, she shows why the revolution will continue post-Castro. This is a fresh, definitive account of Cuba's socialist revolution and the challenges it faces on its sixtieth anniversary.

Helen Yaffe is a lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow. She is regularly asked to comment on Cuba and has appeared on Sky News, the BBC, Radio Four, and CTV.