Punching above its Weight: Cuba's use of sport for South–South co-operation

Abstract

While known for training world-class athletes to compete in prestigious international competitions, Cuba is also educating 983 coaches from vulnerable communities in 53 countries at its Escuela Internacional de Educación Física y Deporte (eiefd). These athletes are bound not necessarily for the Olympic podium, but for marginalised communities where they are expected to develop sport and recreation programmes. While Cuba has garnered hard currency by training athletes from other countries, the eiefd is funded entirely by the state under the auspices of South–South co-operation. Why would Cuba, a resource-poor country, commit to training foreign coaches? This paper argues that Cuba's sport internationalism is grounded in complex and historical notions of co-operation with other countries in the global South. Through a critical analysis of state policy, and the goals of current initiatives like the eiefd, it argues that, while nationalism and foreign remuneration are a factor, the commitment to sport and development may be tied to broader goals of counter-hegemonic development. For scholars interested in Sport for Development and Peace Cuba's use of sport is noteworthy as it is not necessarily a means to development as much as a result of international social development.

Notes

1 The term ‘South–South’ reflects the encompassing politics of the term ‘Global South’, which of course reveals the North–South divide between wealthy and poorer nations. There are particular cautions that should be considered in referring to Cuban internationalism as South–South co-operation, namely, that there are several programmes in sport, health and technical assistance that see Cuba partner with wealthier nations who would be considered part of the North. And this should be kept in mind considering that Cuba has collaborated with countries like Japan and South Korea for the training of elite performance athletes. However, Cuban institutions do employ the terms ‘South–South’ ‘solidarity’ and ‘cooperation’ in their own foreign policy of international assistance to poor countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Such co-operation programmes, like the eiefd and the Latin American School of Medicine (elam), which is its equivalent in health, are not only aimed at poor countries, but specifically at the vulnerable populations of those poor countries. While conscious that Cuban co-operation is more politically dynamic than a mere geographical divide of North and South, I employ the language of South–South cooperation as a means of identifying this unique policy strategy in the terms that Cuban stakeholders use, while remaining conscious of the messy political geography this language creates.

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7 M Janofsky, ‘Pan American Games: Cuba puts it all on the 1991 Games’, New York Times, 20 January 1991.

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10 Ibid, p 134.

11 T Carter, ‘New rules to the old game: Cuban sport and state legitimacy in the post-Soviet era’, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 15, 2008, p 196.

12 Ibid; and Pettavino & Pye, ‘Sport in Cuba’.

13 P Pettavino & G Pye, Sport in Cuba: The Diamond in the Rough, Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994; K Baird, ‘Cuban baseball: ideology, politics, and market forces’, Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 29(2), 2005, pp 164–183; and Carter, ‘New rules to the old game’.

14 Baird, ‘Cuban baseball’.

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16 P Grogg, ‘Cuba–Africa: un compromiso histórico’, available from Cubasolidaridad.org, accessed July 2010.

17 Baird, ‘Cuban baseball’, p 180.

18 A McKay, ‘Trade policy issues in a small African economy’, World Economy, 28(9), 2005, pp 1197–1209.

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20 Most Cuban physicians are paid between 900 and 1400 Cuban National Pesos (cnp) per month. The National Peso is currently pegged at 24 cnp to one Convertible Peso (cuc), which is valued around $1.08. While this can be interpreted as Cuban doctors making $1 a day, there are numerous subsidy and support mechanisms for goods on the cnp market that make them more affordable. Nevertheless, there are many goods and services in Cuba that can only be obtained with cuc, which can be difficult for Cubans who have limited access to foreign exchange.

21 J Polo Vázquez, ‘Mensaje del rector’, Escuela Internacional de Educación Fisica y Deporte de Cuba, 2008, at http://www.eiefd.co.cu/, accessed July 2010.

22 Ibid.

23 J Feinsilver, Healing the Masses: Cuban Health Politics at Home and Abroad, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993; and I Saney, ‘Homeland of humanity: internationalism within the Cuban Revolution’, Latin American Perspectives, 36(1), 2009, pp 111–123.

24 R Levermore, ‘Sport-in-international development: theoretical frameworks’, in R Levermore & A Beacom (eds), Sport and International Development, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

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26 M Saaveda, ‘Dilemas and opportunities in gender and sport-in-development’, in Levermore & Beacom, Sport and International Development.

27 Darnell, ‘Power, politics and “Sport for Development and Peace”’.

28 Levermore, ‘Sport-in-international development’.

29 Darnell, ‘Power, politics and “Sport for Development and Peace”’, p 70.

30 D Black, ‘The ambiguities of development: implications for “development through sport”’, Sport in Society, 13(1), 2010, pp 121–129.

31 Kidd, ‘A new social movement’; and Darnell, ‘Power, politics and “Sport for Development and Peace”’. Levermore & Beacom, Sport and International Development.

32 Kidd, ‘A new social movement’.

33 Ibid.

34 L Perez, ‘Between baseball and bullfighting: the quest for nationality in Cuba, 1868–1898’, Journal of American History, 81(2), 1994, pp 493–517.

35 R González Echevarría, The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

36 H Thomas, Cuba, or, the Pursuit of Freedom, New York: Da Capo Press, 1998.

37 J Martí, Obras Completas, Havana: Editorial Nacional de Cuba, 1963–1973.

38 Thomas, Cuba, or, the Pursuit of Freedom.

39 Ibid.

40 G Gems, The Athletic Crusade: Sport and American Cultural Imperialism, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2006.

41 Ibid.

42 Ibid.

43 Ibid.

44 M Jamail, Full Count: Inside Cuban Baseball, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University, 2000.

45 R Pointu & R Fidani, Cuba: Sport en Révolution, Paris: Editeurs Français Reunis, 1975.

46 Pettavino & Pye, ‘Sport in Cuba’.

47 Black, ‘The ambiguities of development’.

48 Ibid, p 24.

49 See unicef's ‘Sport for Development campaign’, at http://www.unicef.org/sports/index_ 23624.html, as well as the mission statement by Right to Play International: ‘To create a healthier and safer world through the power of sport and play’, at http://www.righttoplay.com/International/about-us/Pages/mission.aspx.

50 Pettavino & Pye, ‘Sport in Cuba’.

51 P Pettavino & G Pye, ‘Sport in Cuba: Castro's last stand’, in J Arbena & D LaFrance (eds), Sport in Latin America and the Caribbean, Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 2002.

52 United States Department of Labor, ‘Bureau of International Labor Affairs: Pakistan’, at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/sweat/pakistan.htm, 2010, accessed July 2010.

53 Child Labour Watch, ‘Reports’, at http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/, accessed July 2010.

54 Carter, ‘New rules to the old game’.

55 unicef, ‘Country statistics: Cuba’, at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cuba_statistics.html.

56 Feinsilver, Healing the Masses.

57 ‘Speak softly and carry a blank cheque: Brazil's foreign-aid programme’, The Economist, 12 July 2010.

58 R Huish & JM Kirk, ‘Cuban medical internationalism and the development of the Latin American School of Medicine’, Latin American Perspectives, 34(6), 2007, pp 77–92.

59 R Huish, ‘Going where no doctor gas gone before: the role of Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine in meeting the needs of some of the world's most vulnerable populations’, Public Health, 122(6), 2008, pp 552–557.

60 BE Sánchez Mesa, ‘Historia de la eiefd: antecedentes al surgimiento de la eiefd’, at http://www.eiefd.co.cu/_pages/historia.htm, 2009, accessed July 2010.

61 F Castro, quoted in ibid.

62 Sánchez Mesa, ‘Historia de la eiefd’.

63 Right to Play, ‘Mission, Vision and Values’, at http://www.righttoplay.com/International/about-us/Pages/mission.aspx, 2010, accessed July 2010.

64 unicef, ‘Sport for Development’, at http://www.unicef.org/sports/index_23625.html, 2010, accessed July 2010.

65 Polo Vázquez, ‘Mensaje del rector’.

66 ‘Firman Cuba y Paraguay acuerdo de cooperación deportiva’, Juventud Rebelde, 19 May 2010.

67 minrex, ‘Cooperación: entrenadores deportivos cubanos desarrollan exitoso trabajo en Suriname’, at http://www.cubaminrex.cu?Cooperacion/2010/0528_2.html, 28 May 2010, accessed July 2010.

68 B Camara, ‘Gambia gets Cuban coaches’, Gambia Sports (online edition), 10 March 2010, at http://www.gambiasports.gm/portal/mobile/news/1272/html, accessed July 2010.

69 R Fernandez Liranza, ‘Cuban boxing coach arriving’, Manila Bulletin, 29 July 2005, at http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-134594254.html, accessed July 2010.

70 ‘Venezuela's Chavez highlights contribution by Cuban coaches’, Prensa Latina, 1 August 2004, at http://www.cubasource.org/publications/chronicles/coc200408fa_e.asp, accessed July 2010.

71 Levermore, ‘Sport-in-international development’.