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Mill Occupations and Soviets: The Mobilisation of Sugar Workers in Cuba 1917–1933

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Barry Carr
Barry Carr
Affiliation:
Reader in History atLa Trobe University.
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Abstract

In August, September and October 1933 Cuban sugar workers seized several dozen mills and estates and, in a number of cases, inaugurated soviets. This major worker uprising coincided with the collapse of the regime of Gerardo Machado and the early stages of the reformist administration of Grau San Martín. An examination of the roots of labour organisation among sugar workers and of the dynamic of the insurgency reveals the strengths and the limitations of the role played by the Cuban Communist Party. The collapse of the institutional and coercive structures of the state apparatus greatly facilitated the worker actions.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 1996 , pp. 129 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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