Cartoons on Castro: A look into Mexican Political Artist, Rius

by Stella Goodwin

A striking illustration with a message of anti-American imperialism, this cartoon combines a rough style with humorous undertones. Odd combinations of humour and politics like these were a common theme in the prolific cartoonist Rius’s (Eduardo del Rio) publications until his death in 2017.

Born in 1934 in Michoacán, Mexico, the advocate for socialism started his artistic ventures from a funeral home. As a former seminary student, he began drawing gag cartoons in the 1950s whilst working at the funeral home that later got the growing artist picked up to work for a variety of newspapers throughout Mexico. Unfortunately, he was regularly fired for his controversial humorous work, and it was not until the 1965 launch of his own comic book, Los Supermachos, that critiqued the Mexican way of life, its politics, and social hierarchy, that Rius had the opportunity to publish without any limitations. However, due to government pressure, Rius was fired by his publisher who took over the comic, passing the publication into the hands of other writers and illustrators that were government approved. It was during this period that the ‘For Beginners…’ comic series was launched; an introductory series of illustrative publications that advocated for the artist’s beliefs in socialism.

The first in the series titled ‘Cuba para principiantes’ (Cuba for Beginners), was published in 1966 and although initially not to wide-ranging success, it was the first of its kind that mixed artistic satire with a political account of the Cuban revolution that counteracted U.S. portrayal of events. A known critic of U.S. economic, political and cultural authority, Rius viewed its dominating anticommunism and interventionism approach, notably in Latin America, with much distaste, and repeatedly used the infamous Uncle Sam figure to present his criticism. Ruis’s artistry proposed a different visual perception on how the Cuban revolution acted as a break away from the influence of US capitalism as he favoured Castro’s rise to power.

It should be noted, however, that although Rius was a strong supporter of the Cuban Revolution, his disapproval of the government grew as allegations of repression and corruption became rife. In 1968, Ruis renounced his communist party membership following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. When asked to explain his change in mind, his views would be elaborated in his distinctly humorous and intellectual tone; ‘The only revenge we have as Mexicans is to laugh at the powerful’, a tone that rings clear in his illustrations.

The image here appears on the last page of this issue of ‘Cuba for Beginners’, providing a powerful departing image that depicts Fidel Castro standing with armoury draped from shoulder to shoulder in a fine line style. In his hand, a cup of tea, while a victorious boot is seen crushing the ‘Uncle Sam’ top hat. The hat, synonymous with American culture, is a satirical ode by Rius to a country’s revolution that gathered widespread global attention to challenge and contest one of the world’s biggest powers, as well as their interventionist political agenda. Perhaps ‘because we love life; we can fight to the death’ echoes these feelings and how the changes in Cuba, from the eyes of Rius, could have been the start of new progressive socialism in the region.