Juan Valdés Paz

Juan Valdés holds a degree in Sociology. He has worked as a Cuban sociologist, political scientist, historian and philosopher. Associate Senior Professor at the University of La Habana and at the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI). Researcher in topics such as Philosophy, Marxism, Rural Sociology, International Relations, Latin America and Central America and various aspects of the Cuban Revolution. From 2000 onwards he retired from employment, but continues his work as an independent researcher. He is recipient of the 2014 National Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Temas, in which he has published articles and reviews, and participated as a speaker in the Último Jueves sessions.

He has served as a professor in different institutions over the years: between 1969 and 1971 in the Philosophy Department of the University of La Habana; in 1980, professor of Labor Sociology at the Sugar Institute; of Agrarian Sociology at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) and of Political Sociology at the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI) in 1995.

Between 1980 and 1996, he was a Researcher at the Center for Studies on America (CEA); and between 1996 and 1999 researcher at the Institute of History of Cuba (IHC).

He was a member of the Editorial Board of Cuadernos de Nuestra América and of the Scientific Council of the CEA and elected member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of History of Cuba and of the Center for Psychological and Sociological Research; member of the Jury of the Casa 2010 Prize and 2011 Cultural Research Prize of the Ministry of Culture. Member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and of the National Association of Historians of Cuba (ANHIC).

He completed agrarian study missions in Cuba, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Nicaragua, and has participated in national and international events, including: Congresses of the International Association of Sociology (ISA), the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO), the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), the Latin American Association of Sociology (ALAS), the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

He has stood out for his academic dedication, scientific sincerity, intellectual humility, and detachment from the pursuit of personal benefits.

Publications
His research over the years has covered different topics, such as: Philosophy, Marxism, Rural Sociology, International Relations, Latin America and Central America and various aspects of the Cuban Revolution.

He has published numerous articles on topics in his specialty in journals and compilations from Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Spain, the United States and others.

Active Bibliography
The Socialist Transition in Cuba (Buenos Aires, 1993)
Agrarian Processes in Cuba, 1959-1995 (La Habana, 1997).
Agrarian Organization Processes in Cuba 1959-2006 (La Habana, 2009).
Space and Limit: Studies on the Cuban Political System (Ruth Casa Editorial-ICIC Juan Marinell, La Habana, 2009)
The Processes of Agrarian Organization in Cuba 1959-2006. Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Mankind, La Habana, 2010.
Cuba's Foreign Policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1990s: the New International Scenario
The Evolution of Power in the Cuban Revolution (vol. I). Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, México. n.d.

His texts have been included in the compilations:
Cuba: Building the Future, El Viejo Topo, Barcelona, 2000.
Left-Wing Alternatives to Neoliberalism, El Viejo Topo, Barcelona, 2002.
Left-Wing Governments in Latin America. A Political Assessment, Ediciones Aurora, Bogotá, 2007.
Texts by Rosa Luxemburg. Ocean Press, 2007 (Prologue and text selection).
Latin America and the Caribbean. Social Policy in the New Context. Approaches and Experiences. FLACSO-UNESCO, Montevideo, 2011 (Prologue and selection together with Mayra Espina).
Introductory Essay and Compilation with Selma Díaz of Charles Bettelheim in Cuba. Economics and Socialism. Ruth Casa, E-book.

Awards and Distinctions
Member of the Executive Committee of the Latin American Association of Sociology (ALAS), 1982-1988.
Coordinator of the Central American Crisis Working Group of CLACSO, 1987-1989.
Promotion in Peru, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina of the XVIII Latin American Congress of Sociology, in a visit for that purpose and as a member of the Organizing Committee, 1989-1990.
Member of the Editorial Board of Cuadernos de Nuestra América (CNA), organ of the Center for Studies on America (CEA), 1984-1996.
Member of the CEA Board of Directors, 1980-1993 and 1995-1996.
Member of the Scientific Council of the CEA, 1994-1996.
Member Advisory Board of the Journal TEMAS, 1996.
Member of the Advisory Board of the "Félix Varela" Center, 1999-2001.
Member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of History of Cuba (IHC), 2000-2002.
Member of the Scientific Council of the Center for Sociological and Psychological Research (CIPS), La Habana, 2000-2006.
Jury member of the Libertador de Venezuela Prize, 2010.
Jury member of the Casa de las Américas Prize for the Bicentennial of the Independence of Latin America, 2010-2011.
Cultural Research Prize from the Ministry of Culture (MINCULT), 2011.
Jury member of the Juan Pérez de la Riva Prize of UNEAC, 2012.
Associate Researcher of the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Mankind, La Habana, 2013.
Gold Medal for the work of a lifetime, awarded by the National Union of Workers of Culture, La Habana (July) 2014.
President of the Jury of the National Prize for Cultural Research of the Institute of Cultural Research (IIC) Juan Marinello (September), 2014.
"Guest of Honor of the National University of Rio Cuarto". Resolution 882 (Ibídem).
National Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities, 2014.