Anarchism in Cuba Revisited: History of a Libertarian Striving

by Carlos M. Estefanía, Translated by Paul Sharkey

Foreword

Cuba has often been depicted as a theatre of ongoing revolutions and battles for freedom in which those martyred for social justice always align with the State authorities. Nothing could be further from the truth. From the mid-19th century up until the present, there has been a different left on the island, a libertarian left, an anarchist left that has always championed worker emancipation, self-management and freedom against any centralized authority.

This book delves into that forgotten history, following the trail of the workers, trade unionists and thinkers who, operating under the radar or from exile, sustained an ideal that refused to defer to colonial dictatorships or to authoritarian governments or to centralized political parties. From Saturnino Martínez, Enrique Roig San Martín and Enrique Creci through to the activists that opposed Castroism from the press, through strikes and resistance, Cuban anarchism has shown that the striving for social justice cannot be reduced to official speechifying nor to the big names feted by propaganda.

In the pages below, the reader will find a critical, documented and impassioned narrative. There is more involved here than politics or ideology: it touches upon life stories, sacrifices and schemes for freedom that were repressed, ignored or driven out of the country, but which never were expunged from Cuban imagination. This book, then, is a story of resistance and remembrance as well as a call to rethink what it really means to be of the left in an island where authority has been muddled up with social justice.

CONTENTS

Chapter I: The wakening of Proletarian Consciousness (1865-1878)

Chapter II: The Growth of Anarchism (1880-1892)

Chapter III: “Anarcho-separatism” and the War of ‘95

Chapter IV: The Republic and Disenchantment (1902-1925)

Chapter V: Repression, treachery and Eclipse: From the Machado Era to the Downfall of Batista (1925-1958)

Chapter VI: Revolution versus Freedom: Anarchism versus Marxism-Leninism in Cuba

Chapter VII: Cuban Anarchism in Exile: Remembrance, Struggle and Survival

Chapter VIII: Between Autonomy and the Trans-National Outlook: Trade Unionism and Labour Memory in Cuba

Chapter IX: The Fourth Generation: Libertarian Renaissance in 21st Century Cuba

Chapter X: Culture, Resistance and Freedom: Libertarian Praxis in Contemporary Cuban Art

Epilogue: Remembering and a Freedom Not Begged For

Backpage Blurb:

This book has been prompted by historiographical necessity: a reconstruction of the narrative of anarchism in Cuba, a phenomenon that has been systematically silenced. On the one hand, colonial and republican historiography looked upon it as a subversive minority: on the other, the official historiography of the 1959 revolution has downplayed any expression of socialism that does not fit in with the State’s Marxism-Leninism.

These pages offer and analysis of how Cuban workers, from the workshops of Havana to the communities in Tampa and Key West, devised a current known as anarcho-separatism, which married defence of national independence to a consistent critique of centralized authority in all its guises. The book includes a detailed examination of strikes, newspapers, organizations and key figures, as well as of the strategies of resistance and exile that marked the trajectory of the libertarian movement.

The writings of Frank Fernández, whose book El Anarquismo en Cuba and earlier publications documenting the history of Cuban libertarian socialism from the latter half of the 19 th century and the fall of the Castroite dictatorship are incorporated. His endeavours, remarked upon in this book, includes testimonials from militants, analysis of domestic repression and an acknowledgment of international contributions made by the exiles. The author’s dealings with Fernández, dating back to after the publication of articles about Cuban anarchism in the Cuba Nuestra review, afforded access to historical collections such as Guángara Libertaria, an essential source in the reconstruction of the movement.

Similarly, the book tackles the rebirth of anarchism in contemporary Cuba, from the emergence of the “Critical Observatory Network” through to the consolidation of a fourth generation of activists in the Alfredo López Libertarian Workshop (TLAL) and the ABRA Social Centre. It documents libertarian ecological initiatives, activism about sexual and reproductive rights, independent publishing activity and strategies for self-organization in a context of State control. This analysis affords an understanding of how libertarian currents adapt to actual circumstances, maintain a continuity with their history and devising new forms of social praxis.

All in all, the book offers a rounded picture of Cuban anarchism, from its origins through to its contemporary expressions and it constitutes a tool for researchers, historians and readers interested in social and political processes in Cuba, as well as the development of libertarian currents in authoritarian settings.

Retomando el Anarquismo en Cuba was published 28/06/2026

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Text copyright Carlos Manuel Estefanía; Translation copyright Paul Sharkey. This book is published under a CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons licence.