285 - Cuban Schemes & Sugar Dreams

In this episode, Cam and Ray pick up the story of post-independence Cuba as it slides from colonialism into an economic and racial stranglehold orchestrated by the United States. They trace the rise and fall of early Cuban presidents like José Miguel Gómez and Mario García Menocal, highlighting the rampant corruption, U.S.-controlled infrastructure, and systematic exclusion of Black Cubans from political and economic power. From the installation of U.S. companies like ITT and United Fruit to the brutal repression of the Independent Colored Party in 1912, the episode paints a damning portrait of Cuba as a pseudo-independent client state. Cam and Ray also reflect on the romanticised myths of American benevolence, challenge common perceptions of anarchism, and tie it all into modern parallels of power, race, and empire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices