Have Women gained Access to Land in Cuba? Gender, Agrarian Reform and Re-Peasantisation, 1959-2018

Abstract

Cuba represents a paradigmatic case where the peasantry is not an anachronism. The Cuban peasantry played a key role in the past and returned to the political agenda after the Revolution with special emphasis under the government of Raúl Castro (2008-18). However, the role of peasant women has not been significantly explored with a long-term vision that links post-revolutionary achievements from a gender perspective with the agrarian reform process initiated in 1959 and continuing today. Through secondary sources and a historical review of Cuba’s agrarian reform process, this article attempts to answer –from a qualitative perspective– the following questions: What role have women played in the celebrated process of agrarian reform and re-peasantisation in the past and present, and what are the real opportunities for peasant or landless women through the new Decree-Laws from 2008 to 2018?