Support the Brother People of Ethiopia

Abstract

Chapter 2 examines Cuban responses to Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935, focusing on Communists and people of African descent. Distinctions between the two groups as well as their overlap introduce the diversity of Cuban antifascism. The chapter analyses the impact of shifting Comintern policy, asserting that the Cuban Communist Party’s response to the Ethiopian invasion was a barometer of change. It explores antifascism in the African diaspora, Cuban participation in this transnational network, and attempts by Cubans of color to reconcile the diaspora with their Cuban nationalism in the context of antifascist struggle. It concludes with a look at how black Cubans made a gradual and troubled transition from supporting the Ethiopian cause to supporting the Spanish Republican cause.