The Havana Plan Piloto was a 1955–1958 urban proposal by Town Planning Associates, which included Paul Lester Wiener, Paul Schulz, the Catalan architect Josep Lluis Sert, and Seely Stevenson of Value & Knecht, Consulting Engineers, seeking to combine "architecture, planning, and law".Wiener, Paul Lester, and Constantine Michaelides. Plan Piloto De La Habana: Directivas Generales, diseños Preliminares, Soluciones Tipo. Wittenborn Art Books, 1959. The Charter got its name from the location of the fourth CIAM conference in 1933, which, due to the deteriorating political situation in Russia, took place on the "in SS Patris II" bound for Athens from Marseille. This conference is documented in a film commissioned by Sigfried Giedion and made by his friend László Moholy-Nagy. The Charter had a significant impact on urban planning after World War II and, through Josep Lluis Sert and Paul Lester Wiener, on the proposed modernization of Havana and in an effort to erase all vestiges of the 16th-century city. The plan was abandoned and was not made.
Background
The 20th century began with Cuba under occupation by the United States (1898–1902),Cantón Navarro, José. History of Cuba, p. 81. which officially ended when Tomás Estrada Palma, first president of Cuba, took office on 20 May 1902.
During the Republican Period, from 1902 to 1959, Havana saw a new era of development. Cuba recovered from the devastation of war to become a prosperous country: "Cuba ranked fifth in the hemisphere in per capita income, third in life expectancy, second in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, first in the number of television sets per inhabitant. The literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth-highest in Latin America. Cuba ranked 11th in the world in the number of doctors per capita. Many private clinics and hospitals provided services for the poor. Cuba's income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American societies. A thriving middle class held the promise of prosperity and social mobility." Apartment buildings to accommodate the new middle class, and mansions for the well to do were built at a fast pace.
Numerous luxury hotels, casinos, and nightclubs were constructed during the 1930s to serve Havana's burgeoning tourist industry, which greatly benefited by the U.S. prohibition on alcohol from 1920 to 1933. In the 1930s, organized crime characters were not unaware of Havana's nightclub and casino life, and they made their inroads in the city. Santo Trafficante Jr. took the roulette wheel at the Sans Souci Cabaret, Meyer Lansky directed the Hotel Habana Riviera, with Lucky Luciano at the Hotel Nacional Casino. At the time, Havana became an exotic capital with numerous activities ranging from private clubs, marinas, Grand Prix car racing, musical shows, and parks and promenades. It was also the favorite destination of sex tourism and gambling.
Republic of Cuba For more information: Republic of Cuba (1902–1959)
The Republic of Cuba at the turn of the 20th century was largely characterized by a deeply ingrained tradition of corruption where political participation resulted in opportunities for elites to engage in increased chances for wealth accumulation. Cuba's first presidential period under Tomás Estrada Palma from 1902 to 1906 was considered to uphold the highest standards of administrative integrity in the history of the Republic of Cuba. Initially he was the President of the Cuban Republic in Arms during the Ten Years' War and again between 20 May 1902, and 28 September 1906. His collateral career as a New York City Area Educator and writer enabled Estrada Palma to create Pro-Cuban literature aimed at gaining sympathy, assistance, and publicity. He was eventually successful in garnering the attention of influential Americans. Estrada Palma was an early and persistent voice calling for the United States to intervene in Cuba on humanitarian grounds. He was the first President of Cuba. During his presidency, his major accomplishments include improving Cuba's infrastructure, communication, and public health. He is remembered in Cuba however for allowing the Platt Amendment to be enacted, which ensured American political and economic dominance over Cuba.
The Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment was introduced to the U.S. Congress by Senator Orville H. Platt on 25 February 1901. It passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 43 to 20, and although it was initially rejected by the Cuban assembly, the amendment was eventually accepted by a vote of 16 to 11 with four abstentions it was thus integrated into the 1901 Cuban Constitution.1901 Platt Amendment commentary at the US Archives online It defined the terms by which the United States would cease its occupation of Cuba. The amendment, placed into an army appropriations bill that was designed to return control of Cuba to the Cubans. It had eight conditions to which the Cuban Government needed to adhere to before full sovereignty would be transferred. The main conditions of the amendment prohibited Cuba from signing any treaty allowing foreign powers to use the island for military purposes. The United States also maintained the right to interfere with Cuban independence in order to maintain a certain level of protection of life, though the extent of this intrusion was not defined. Most significant, the amendment forced the Cuban Government to sign a treaty officially binding the amendment into law.
The reasoning of United States policies behind the amendment was based on the significant commercial interests held on the island. Spain had previously been unable to preserve U.S. interests and maintain law and order. At the end of the military occupation, the amendment served as the primary method of ensuring a permanent United States presence. Due to the previously enacted Teller Amendment, The United States was forced to grant Cuba its independence after Spanish rule ended. Since the Platt Amendment was successfully incorporated into the constitution of Cuba, the influence was maintained without direct U.S. involvement in the country."The United States, Cuba, and the Platt Amendment, 1901" . Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
Not only did the Platt Amendment outlined the role of the United States in Cuba and the Caribbean, limiting Cuba's right to make treaties with other nations and restricting Cuba in the conduct of foreign policy and commercial relations. but it also established that Cuba's boundaries would not include the Isle of Pines (Isla de la Juventud) until its title could be established in a future treaty and that Cuba must sell or lease lands to the United States necessary for coaling or the development of naval stations.
Most of the Platt Amendment provisions were repealed in 1934 when the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations of 1934 between the United States and Cuba was negotiated as a part of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor policy" toward Latin America. José Manuel Cortina and other members of the Cuban Constitutional Convention of 1940 eliminated the Platt Amendment from the new Cuban constitution.
The long-term lease of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base continues. The Cuban government since 1959 has strongly denounced the treaty as a violation of Article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which declares a treaty void if procured by the threat or use of force. However, Article 4 of the Vienna Convention states that its provisions shall not be applied retroactively.
Aftermath
Following acceptance of the amendment, the United States ratified a tariff that gave Cuban sugar preference in the U.S. market and protection to select U.S. products in the Cuban market.Keen, Benjamin and Haynes, Keith, A History of Latin America: Volume 2: Independence to the Present (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), pp. 379-380. The huge American investment into sugar led to land being concentrated into the hands of the largest sugar mills, however, with estimates that 20% of all Cuban land was owned by these mills. This led to further impoverishment of the rural masses. Workers on the mill were in constant fear of eviction, with cheap imported labour from other parts of the Caribbean keeping wages very low and the prices for independent cane pushed down to a minimum. In addition, the mills monopolised the railroads and ran them for private benefit. The lack of consumer purchasing power and the limited market available for manufactured goods meant that little industrialisation would occur in the decade after the 1903 Treaty of Relations. Overall, over $200 million was spent by American companies on Cuban sugar between 1903 and 1913. Tomás Estrada Palma, who had once favored outright annexation of Cuba by the United States, became president of Cuba on 20 May 1902. He was re-elected in 1905 despite accusations of fraud from his liberal opponents, but was forced to resign along with the rest of the executive when opposition against his rule turned violent. The U.S. invoked the Platt Amendment to begin the Second Occupation of Cuba and install a Provisional Government.
Political instability and frequent American occupation through the early 1900s meant that legitimate constitutional rule was increasingly difficult to come about. Though Cuban citizens enjoyed an improved standard of living in this period, Article 40 of the 1901 Cuban Constitution and Article III of the Platt Amendment meant that constitutional rights could be suspended under emergency provisions. Therefore, the Platt Amendment contributed to an erosion of the individual rights of the Cuban people, and it was not long before the Cuban public were calling for a replacement to the 1901 Constitution.
The Platt Amendment was a major blow to hopes of social advancement for Afro-Cubans, who hoped that their participation in the Spanish-American War would mean equality with the white planters and commercial elites of Cuba. Nearly 40% of the Cuban fighting force against Spain were made up of people of colour, and Afro-Cubans had spent generations fighting for their country's independence. As well as becoming disenfranchised through voting acts, Afro-Cubans were also blocked from many state institutions as they now required educational or property qualifications to be gained.
Tensions between Afro-Cubans and U.S. military officials were rife, with hostile language and sometimes gunfire being exchanged between the two groups. Frustrated middle class blacks would launch the Independent Party of Colour (PIC) in 1908, but this was barred by the Cuban Congress soon along with all other parties of colour, accused of inciting race war. The PIC's call for limited armed protests would eventually spark the Negro Rebellion of 1912 which killed between 3,000 and 6,000 and led to the PIC dissolving afterwards. Many African-Americans also joined Afro-Cubans in solidarity, hoping that fighting for America would lead to more opportunities back home, but they too were left disappointed.
Women also suffered as a result of the Platt Amendment's conditions. As with Afro-Cubans, women played important roles in the Cuban independence movement and were characterised as 'mambisas', or courageous warrior mothers symbolising the struggle for social justice. However, they were also denied voting rights and female suffrage would not be obtained until 1940. Any attempts by women to discuss gender equality with the Cuban government saw them labelled as nationalists or flat out ignored.
Most of the Platt Amendment provisions were repealed in 1934 when the Cuban-American Treaty of Relations of 1934 between the United States and Cuba was negotiated as a part of U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor policy" toward Latin America. José Manuel Cortina and other members of the Cuban Constitutional Convention of 1940 eliminated the Platt Amendment from the new Cuban constitution.