Cuban Oil Nationalism and the Politics of Revolution in the Greater Caribbean

Every Cuban government that held power after 1933 – the short-lived coalition of the Revolution of 1933, the governments dominated by Fulgencio Batista from 1934-44 and 1952-58, the "Partido Revolucionario Cubano 'Auténtico'" of 1944-1952, and Fidel Castro's revolutionary government after January 1959 – claimed the mantle of "revolutionary" legitimacy and national economic development. Each one, however, confronted the obstacle of the island's energy insecurity and dependence on oil imports. Cuban revolutionary politics, oil nationalism, and foreign relations were therefore inherently intertwined. This paper examines the contested politics of energy insecurity and economic nationalism in Cuba at both the national and international levels. It explores the interconnections between energy insecurity, economic nationalism, and the politics of revolution both inside Cuba and in Cuba's relations with its energy-rich neighbors in the Gulf/Caribbean basin. Contests over the definition and implementation of Cuban revolutionary nationalism, it argues, must be understood in light of conflicts over the national and regional political economy of oil, and in particular, challenges to U.S. hegemony over the flow of energy in the region.