Carlos Baliño

Carlos Baliño (1848-1926) was a Cuban writer born in Guanajay, Cuba.

His early writings were poetry and prose. By 1869 his writings had gained notability for their anti-colonial and pro-independence inclinations; thus placing him at odds with the colonial authorities. He was forced into exile and lived in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he studied architecture.

In 1892, while living in the United States he, along with Jose Marti, founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party.

In 1902, a year after the United States signed the Platt Amendment, Baliño returned to Cuba. While in Cuba he began to write more often, appearing in El Mundo and El Proletario, among other publications. In 1905 he published Bases Fundamentales (Principal Bases).

In his writings Baliño addressed the position of the proletariat, the question of political power and argued for the creation of a classless society based on the socialization of the means of production. He was an early critic of neocolonialism and wrote the prologue and translation to Scott Nearing’s 1921 anti-imperialist work, The American Empire.