LAUSR

on which it depended economically and its history and its ties and convergences with Third World movements, mainly in Latin America. Cuba is the perennial point of departure and end point of Martínez’s reflection on the various topics discussed, and this is central to the significance and originality of his thought and his contribution to the construction of a Latin American Marxism. In addition, his work captures the dichotomy between unity and diversity that characterizes Latin America, highlighting the various traditions and situations that converge toward a common history and destiny and revealing the political and social dynamics that have marked the region since the 1960s. Martínez’s work and the Latin American Social Sciences Council’s collection are important for our knowledge of the problems that affect Latin America and the Caribbean (inequality, domination, submission, silences, etc.) and of the possibilities for building alternatives based on the construction of effective rights, respect for indigenous cultures and peoples, economic and social development, participatory and inclusive democracy, and social justice. Martínez’s work is essential for understanding the current paths and crossroads of Cuban socialism, its dynamics and recent challenges, and the way in which its destiny is intertwined with that of Our America. Pointing out that, despite the current situation, it is essential to maintain hope, he tells us: “My mother taught us not to be afraid of death, which is natural. What I really fear is that our time will die. . . . I am sustained by the hope that new ones will come and create a better time in which everyone can smile and do different things well . . . [and] feel the joy of life as everyone’s right” (40).