José Martí: Apostle of Cuban Independence
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by Jerry A. Sierra
MARTÍ LIVES
Today we wonder where Martí would stand on the current version of the Cuban solidarity issue. Would he side with Castro and the Revolution or would he oppose them? Ironically, both sides seem convinced that Martí would be in their camp.
On the one hand, it's very likely that Martí would be as appalled by the lack of personal freedom in modern Cuba as he would by the apparent political repression. Martí, himself, spent time in prison for expressing contempt for Spanish cruelty, and he was forced into exile, separated from his son, for expressing his political views. The sharing of ideas, openly and without negative consequence, was part of his vision for a free and independent Cuba. It's likely that there are many other ideological discrepancies between his hopes for the Cuban people and the reality of the Castro regime.
On the other hand, however, is a deep-seated mistrust of Americans, especially their government, and the way they view their Cuban neighbors. Martí's worst fears materialized in the years during and after the Spanish-Cuban-American war. He never knew that during the war, shortly after his death, U.S. President William McKinley was initiating secret negotiations in a third attempt to purchase Cuba, a sale that would end the war.
From what might have been Martí's point of view, the dignity of what should have been a Cuban victory was stolen by U.S. intervention and occupation, and the Platt Amendment attempted to kill whatever remained of the Cuban spirit and choke the very thought of independence. The proceeding six decades would only confirm Martí's worst nightmares.
In Stephen Williams' beautiful book, Cuba: The Land, The History, The People, The Culture, the author states that "…Martí desired more than just independence from Spain; he wanted a country based on social justice and fair economic practices. Martí feared the idea of manifest destiny that was gaining such credence at this time because he didn't want the United Sates to dominate Cuba."
The island of Puerto Rico became exactly what Martí wished to avoid, a protectorate body with little, if any, autonomous identity. He felt that for the islands of the Antilles to be free, all of them would have to retain their individual identities and governments.
While Martí was clearly not a socialist, Foner points out, "He honored Karl Marx for 'the way he put himself at the side of the weak ones.'" Some of his closest allies, however, such as Carlos Baliño and Diego Vicente Tejera, were active socialists and signing founders of The Cuban Revolutionary Party.
"Exclusive wealth is unfair," Martí wrote in his book on Guatemala. "Let it belong to the many, not to the recent arrivals, the new hands without a purpose, but to the men who honestly and industriously deserve it. A nation having many small landowners is rich. A nation having a few wealthy men is not rich, only the one where each of its inhabitants shares a little of the common wealth. In political economy and in good government, distribution is the key to prosperity."
Based on the many writings Martí left behind in his short life, its possible to assume that Martí would accept the Castro compromise over continued U.S. "influence." He would agree with many of the changes implemented by the Revolution, such as universal education and health care (which are based on his ideals).
In Nuestra América (Our America) he warned Cubans not to copy foreign political systems, especially those borne of a completely different experience in the U.S. And in his very last letter, which was never finished, the Apostle of Cuban Independence describes what he sees as the revolution's responsibility:
"It is my duty-inasmuch as I realize it and have the spirit to fulfill it-to prevent, by the independence of Cuba, the United States from spreading over the West Indies and falling, with that added weight, upon other lands of Our America. All I have done up to now, and shall do hereafter, is to that end… I have lived inside the monster and know its entrails-and my weapon is only the slingshot of David."
As early as 1889, Martí was aware of the threat from the North. "What is apparent," he wrote, "is that the nature of the North American government is gradually changing its fundamental reality. Under the traditional labels of Republican and Democrat, with no innovation other than the contingent circumstances of place and character, the republic is becoming plutocratic and imperialistic."
One thing does seem certain; Martí would suggest unity among Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straights. Just as he solved the many differences among the revolutionary leaders in the years prior to Cuba's war of independence, Martí would suggest that all Cubans look deep into their hearts for a solution that would benefit every Cuban, not just the white landowners and mega-millionaires.
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