 |
| Takayoshi Fukuyo |
The iconic figure of Che Guevara, only twenty-eight
when he joined Fidel Castro to lead the Cuban Revolution against President
Batista, is famous worldwide, yet, as guest speaker Ryuhei Kobayashi
pointed out, few know more than the bare bones of the revolutionary's
story. Providing a commentary to a video mixing documentary footage
with contemporary testimonies, in addition Kobayashi's lecture touched
on the repression and violence of the Batista regime, the current
liberalisation of the economy and thoughts on what may happen after
Castro's death. Fifty years on from the Revolution, with the US embargo
on Cuba extending even to foreign investment, foreign aid is drying
up since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, pressure is increasing to
adopt capitalist policies in order to save the country's crippled
economy. In a further lecture concerning the Cuban development model,
Guest speaker Takayoshi Fukuyo and staff member Futoshi Sato presented
a balanced view of Cuba's achievements, including organic farming
cooperatives, preventative medicine and renewable energy. Sanctions
preventing access to medical, industrial and agricultural resources
resulted in Cuba developing various sustainable projects, which have
become a source of hope for developing countries and organisations
opposed to globalisation. |
