Cuba and the Politics of Passion
- List Price: $37.50
- Binding: Hardcover
- Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr
- Publish date: 12/01/2000
Damian Fernandez characterizes the politics of passion as the pursuit of a moral absolute for the nation as a whole. While such a pursuit rallied the Cuban people around charismatic leaders such as Fidel Castro, Fernandez finds that it also set the stage for disaffection and disconnection when the grand goal never fully materialized. At the same time, he reveals how the politics of affection -- taking care of family and friends outside the formal structures of government -- has paradoxically both undermined state regimes and helped them remain in power by creating an informal survival network that provides what the state cannot or will not.