This book provides both a historical introduction and a comparative analysis of the five most important guerrilla movements in the Caribbean Basin between 1959 and the 1990s, including Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. The authors argue that the Cold War shaped and fueled the structure, tactics, and ideologies of the diverse movements taking place for the revolutionary cause, and address the particular impact that the Cuban Revolution had on the region. The first chapter of Caribbean Revolutions provides an introduction to the Cuban Revolution, the Cold War, and Marxist thought. Succeeding chapters analyze each case study individually and also provide discussions on the current political situation for all of the organizations covered in the book that remain active. With lists of suggested reading and extra resources in each chapter, this is written as an accessible course book for students of Latin American history and politics.
1. Cuban revolutionaries and the Caribbean Basin: an introduction; 2. Armed revolutionary struggle in Guatemala; 3. Armed revolutionary struggle in El Salvador; 4. The armed movement that took power: the Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua; 5. Armed revolutionary struggle in Colombia; 6. Armed organizations within the Puerto Rican revolutionary nationalist movement; 7. Armed revolutionary movements in comparative perspective.
