Raul Castro, Sitaram Yechury face a Trotskyan moment

Abstract

Communists like Raul Castro and Sitaram Yechury face a Trotskyan moment today. COYOACÁN, An erstwhile suburban village of Mexico City, is not blessed with landmark monuments, heavenly parks or opera theatres. Over the past five decades, Coyoacán has been swallowed by the vast sprawl of Mexico City. Yet, the place retains the vestiges of its original rustic charm, with its elegant ‘old type classy houses’ that are interspersed with petty shops selling Aztec wood engravings and handwoven Chiapas shawls. To top all this are a few remnants from the recent past in this part of the world. On a sultry afternoon this May, I take a taxi from downtown Mexico City and head for Coyoacán. After a painful zig-zag drive for 45 minutes, the car slows down in front of a red building along a street called Vienna. As I make my way towards its entrance, I notice a painting exhibition in the front hall. For a moment, I am confused. Was this the residence of Frida Kahlo, the avant garde painting legend of Mexico? Kahlo, whose art was described by the surrealist André Breton as a ‘ribbon around a bomb’ was married to Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican muralist. Kahlo lived, flowered and died during the first half of the 20th century in Coyoacán. However, I was not looking for her house that day. After a few moments of hesitation, I finally ask an English- speaking visitor at the exhibition hall for directions to ‘Trotsky House’. He gives me a surprised look and asks, “Did you not see the picture of the man outside?” He then gestures me to a small room by the side of the hall. Read more at: https://openthemagazine.com/essays/open-essay/raul-castro-sitaram-yechury-face-a-trotskyan-moment/