The Cuban Revolution in the Chinese Community of Havana, 1959–1968

Chapter 7 Political Crisis and Institutional Change: The Cuban Revolution in the Chinese Community of Havana, 1959–1968

The overthrow of the government by rebel groups in January 1959 generated an alliance of disparate individuals. Having suffered through the bloody experi- ence of the Batista military regime, conservative and progressive organizations joined together under the banner of communist revolution. These included institutions such as the Association of Chinese Retailers, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Merchants and Industrialists of Zanja Street, the Guild Association of Silk and Metal Ware Stores, and the Association of Merchants and Industrialists of Monte Street.1 Nevertheless, sharp social differentiation still existed at both the regional and national levels, and some conflicts were played out within the Chinese community organizations. In 1959, the pro-communist National Alliance to Protect Chinese Democracy was renamed the Chinese New Democracy Alliance of Cuba (Alianza Nueva Democracía China en Cuba). It had a similar membership but also incorporated some new participants. In a February 1960 meeting, this group approved the founding of the People’s Chinese Militia, the so-called José Wong Brigade, named in tribute to the fruit merchant and com- munist militant assassinated by the Machadista police in 1930.2 Later that same year, on 10 October 1960, members of Havana’s Chinese com- munity gathered in the Casino Chung Wah to commemorate the anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s 1911 revolution in China. It soon became the scene for a new cycle of political and class conflict within the Chinese community. Those in attendance argued over the First Declaration of Havana, in which Fidel Castro criticized American imperialism throughout Latin America, proclaimed “a policy of friendship with all the peoples of the world” and declared Cuba’s

1 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 1341 No. 27 600. See the column “Vida de la Colonia China” in Excélsior for various dates in March 1950. 2 See Chapter 4. See also Jose Baltar Rodríguez, Los Chinos de Cuba: Apuntes Etnográficos, Colección La Fuente Viva, 4 (Havana: Fundación Fernando Ortiz, 1997).

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi ��.��63/9789004339149_009 Political Crisis and Institutional Change 161 plan for establishing diplomatic relations with socialist countries.3 According to the minutes of that meeting:

A conflict [arose] between the members regarding the performance of the board of directors (of the casino) . . . Certain elements . . . had rejected the decision of the General Assembly of the People of Cuba to establish relationships with the People’s Republic of China, insisted on maintaining the division in the heart of the Chinese colony residing in Cuba, formulated attacks against the [Cuban] revolutionary government, and insisted on publicly displaying a photograph of Chiang Kai-shek. By so doing, these individuals were guilty of criminal activity, splitting the Chinese community and provoking incidences among its members.4

At that same gathering, casino members unanimously elected Manuel Luis and Enrique León (Image 7.1) to the positions of president and secretary.5 Manuel Luis was one of the founders of the Alliance for the Defense of Chinese Culture. By selecting him as president of the casino, the Chinese community made the first step in transferring the dominant institutions of the Chinese community in Cuba into the hands of communist-affiliated men.6 That same day, 10 October 1960, the José Wong Brigade entered the facilities of the Kuo Min Tang and its newspaper Man Sen Yat Po and commandeered both organizations. Three days later, the commissioner of the Revolutionary Provincial Government of Havana ordered the dismissal of all Casino Chung Wah governing bodies.7 The provincial government appointed Oscar Alberto Zanetti y Vilá to “intervene in the name of the Revolutionary Government, with the goal of reorganizing [the Casino Chung Wah], incorporating it into the revolutionary process, and organizing guidelines for the administration of the institution . . .”8 The provincial government designated a new board of directors for the Casino Chung Wah shortly after the introduction of Vilá. The directors included Manuel Luis, Enrique León, Roberto Wong Lee, Antonio Woo, Luis Li, Cesilio Pong, and Francisco Lam. Luis, Li, and Lam, all three

3 Fidel Castro, Declaration of Havana (26th of July Movement in the United States, 1960). Pamphlet. Available online at the Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/ DeclarationOfHavana (last accessed 17 December 2015). 4 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 50 No. 18 375. 5 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 50 No. 18 375. 6 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 355 No. 10 672. 7 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 50 No. 18 375. 8 ANC, Registro de Asociaciones, Leg. 50 No. 18 375.