Angelo Baracca

A Comprehensive Study of the Development of Physics in Cuba from 1959

The present paper aims to reconstruct the main stages of the above-mentioned process from the Cuban Revolution (1959) to the present time. A general premise is necessary on the documentary sources used and the method adopted in this research. The written documents available on the development of physics in Cuba related to the early two decades are quite scarce, so that the reconstruction presented here is based mainly on oral history research. Most of the information presented in this study is sourced from interviews with Cuban colleagues who played leading roles in the events described here. This approach obviously implies drawbacks since the information obtained relies on the personal memories and views of the interviewees, and in some cases uncertain or controversial aspects arise. Despite this drawback, every effort has been made to verify the information.

The origins of the research on the foundations of quantum mechanics (and other critical activities) in Italy during the 1970s

We present a reconstruction of the studies on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (FQM) carried out in Italy at the turn of the 1960s. Actually, they preceded the revival of the interest of the American physicists towards the FQM around mid-1970s, recently reconstructed by David Kaiser in a book of 2011. An element common to both cases is the role played by the young generation, even though the respective motivations were quite different. In the US they reacted to research cuts after the war in Vietnam, and were inspired by the New Age mood. In Italy the dissatisfaction of the young generations was rooted in the student protests of 1968 and the subsequent labour and social fights, which challenged the role of scientists. The young generations of physicists searched for new scientific approaches and challenged their own scientific knowledge and role. The criticism to the FQM and the perspectives of submitting them to experimental tests were perceived as an innovative research field and this attitude was directly linked to the search for an innovative and radical approach in the history of science. All these initiatives gave rise to booming activity throughout the 1970s, contributing to influence the scientific attitude and the teaching approach.

The Teaching of Physics in Cuba from Colonial Times to 1959

The present paper will concentrate on the study of the first one and a half centuries of the teaching of physics in Cuba, starting from the early interest or activities in this. To provide the appropriate context, we will begin by going back in time to the early local signs of a modern scientific sensitivity, scornful of scholastic teaching and fond of experimental approaches, under the belated but stimulating influence of the European Enlightenment. We will go over individual cases during the initial phase of the country’s academic physics in some detail, firstly during the initial period of colonial rule, and then from the beginning of the twentieth century to the triumph of the 1959 Revolution earlier that year. We thus hope to make the fundamental aspects of our subject reasonably consistent and abiding, even though further historical research may eventually throw new light on relevant details, personalities and events.

Comparative Considerations and Conclusions

The noteworthy success of a small embargoed island in scientific development, and in particular in a typically US-dominated and capital-intensive sector like biotechnology, has attracted considerable interest and discussion among the analysts and specialists, since it shows features that are unique in the panorama of developing countries. Cuba’s achievements in science and technology seem an exception with respect to what usually happens in other underdeveloped countries, excluded probably the biggest and richest ones. Even more exceptional is the development of biotechnology in Cuba. Some concepts are summarized, inspired form the most competent specialists in the field.

Meeting Subalternity, A Constant Challenge in Cuban History

The need to overcome the condition of subalternity—first from the colonial dominance of Spain, and then from the economic and political hegemony of the United States—in order to gain true independence, underlay the thought and practice of Cuban freedom-fighters throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Exponents such as Felix Varela, Jose Marti, Enrique Jose Varona, Manuel Gran and Ernesto Guevara were aware that the spread of culture and the development of modern scientific education and research were essential, not only in order to gain political independence but also for the crucial challenge that would follow, i.e., cutting loose from the condition of subalternity. This challenge was closely interwoven with the shaping of a particular national and cultural identity, commonly called cubania (Cubanity), a blend of Spanish and African cultural influences. Under US rule and the bloody dictatorships that characterized the 1930s and 1950s, Cuba underwent a profound social and cultural ferment that was to prepare the country for the great upheaval triggered by the handful of young guerrillas who adventurously disembarked from the boat Granma on 2 December 1956.

Subalternity vs. Hegemony, Cuba's Outstanding Achievements in Science and Biotechnology, 1959-2014

The current thaw between the United States and Cuba is a major focus of worldwide attention and discussion. Among all the aspects of this interest towards Cuba, there is one that will presumably receive scant attention, but that has for many years been a topic of great interest within specialized scientific milieus: i.e., the fact that this small island, despite scarce resources and the disadvantages arising from the longest embargo in modern history, has almost incredibly reached an exceptional scientific level, in particular in the field of biotechnology, a typically capital-intensive and American-controlled field. Indeed, the goal of developing an advanced scientific and educational system was a specific priority of the revolutionary government from the outset in 1959. The declared aim of this program was to overcome the condition of subalternity that usually dooms developing countries to perpetual dependence. This ambitious project has been achieved through a highly original approach, an open-minded attitude that has put the needs of the population and of the nation before every other consideration.

Introduction. Cuba’s Exceptional Scientific Development

The current thaw between the United States and Cuba is a major focus of worldwide attention and discussion. Among all the aspects of this interest towards Cuba, there is one that will presumably receive scant attention, but that has for many years been a topic of great interest within specialized scientific milieus: i.e., the fact that this small island, despite scarce resources and the disadvantages arising from the longest embargo in modern history, has almost incredibly reached an exceptional scientific level, in particular in the field of biotechnology, a typically capital-intensive and American-controlled field. Indeed, the goal of developing an advanced scientific and educational system was a specific priority of the revolutionary government from the outset in 1959. The declared aim of this program was to overcome the condition of subalternity that usually dooms developing countries to perpetual dependence. This ambitious project has been achieved through a highly original approach, an open-minded attitude that has put the needs of the population and of the nation before every other consideration.

Addressing the Challenge of Scientific Development: The First Steep Steps of a Long Path

Notwithstanding the extremely difficult overall situation and the US blockade and aggression, from the very outset of the victory of the revolution the youthful Cuban leadership showed amazing lucidity and tenacity in their resolutely determination to develop the education, science and health spheres. Their conscious though admittedly ambitious goal was to prepare “a future of men of science” for Cuba. This effort started with a widespread literacy campaign, including the universal right to free education at all levels and a university reform conceived so as to foster scientific research. Seeking and welcoming every source of support and collaboration, from both Soviet and western scientists and institutions, and resorting to their typical inventiveness, from the early 1960s on the Cubans succeeded in laying the foundations for advanced scientific development. In determining the path of this development, every effort of the Cuban leadership and scientific community was driven by the primary purpose of meeting the basic economic and social needs of the country, freeing it from the chains of underdevelopment. The outcomes of these choices were to emerge with surprising swiftness, not only in fields of immediate impact, such as medicine and health, but also with long-term strategic foresight regarding what would be required for future development.

The Decisive Leap in the 1980s: The Attainment of Cuba’s Scientific Autonomy

Further developments in the 1980s led the Cuban scientific system to its maturity, allowing it to achieve striking results in various fields and to demonstrate its substantial autonomy. The physics sector was profoundly reorganized. Nuclear physics and technology acquired pre-eminence thanks to the decision to build a nuclear power plant provided by the Soviet Union. Other sectors were also reorganized, and surprising results were reached in the completely new field of superconductivity. But the most enduring results were achieved with the development of a self-reliant field of biotechnology, just as it was emerging worldwide, and without any aid whatsoever from the Soviet Union. As always, this initiative, strongly supported by Fidel Castro, was prompted by the emergent demands of the health system after the typical third world diseases had been practically eradicated. Interferon technology was learned and quickly reproduced and mastered in the early 1980s through contacts with American and Finnish specialists. Soon after, recombinant DNA technologies were independently developed. In the late 1980s a large industrial scientific complex was built which soon started producing and commercializing Cuban-made medicines and vaccines.

Reaching a Critical Mass and Laying the Foundations of an Advanced Scientific System

Despite the initially unfavourable situation of subalternity and threats coming from outside, by freely resorting to a wide range of sources of support, in the surprisingly short time of less than 15 years a critical mass of scientists with a solid basic preparation was reached and the foundations were laid for an advanced, organic scientific system. Around the mid-1960s a lively discussion developed involving scientific, intellectual and student milieus as well as foreign specialists, about what directions and choices to take in order to promote scientific growth that would meet the country’s basic social and economic needs and promote human progress. While collaboration with the Soviet Union was strengthened, decisive contributions also came from western scientists, for instance in the summer schools held from 1968 to 1973. Particularly relevant was the contribution of western, mainly Italian, biologists in training a school of Cuban geneticists and specialists in other fields of modern biology in which, because of its ideological hostility, Soviet science had remained far behind.