Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T01:04:33.141Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Army Politics in Socialist Cuba*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Louis A. Perez Jr
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Many of the essential early qualities of the Cuban Revolution emanated from the experience of armed struggle. In the Sierra Maestra microcosmic features of the socialist order acquired their earliest expression, assumed recognizable form, and established the foundations upon which the radical transformation of Cuban society would proceed. The exigencies of armed struggle created a new consciousness and at once proletarianized bourgeois revolutionaries and militarized civilian combatants. The guerrilla war conferred on the revolutionary order a powerful legacy of struggle which, in its earliest forms, expressed itself most compellingly in the Rebel Army.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , May 1976 , pp. 251 - 271
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Guevara, Ernesto Che, Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, trans. Ortiz, Victoria (New York, 1968), pp. 54–111.Google Scholar

2 As early as May 1957 on the eve of the attack against El Uvero, Guevara wrote of a ‘General Staff’ meeting with all the ‘officers’ to plan the insurgent action. Ibid., p. 111.

3 Castro, Fidel, La revolución cubana, ed. Selser, Gregorio (Buenos Aires, 1960), p. 274.Google ScholarCf. Pérez, Pedro Barrera, Por que el ejército no derrotó a Castro’. Bohemia, LIII (segunda etapa) (13 08 1961), 22–5, 67, 80, 82.Google Scholar

4 Candela, Euclides Vázquez, ‘El Segundo Frente Oriental “Frank País”: pequeña república insurgente’, Revolución, 11 03 1963, p. 8.Google Scholar

5 Guevara, Ernesto Che, Guerrilla Warfare, trans. Morray, J. P. (New York, 1961), pp. 73–5.Google Scholar

6 Debray, Régis, Revolution in the Revolution? trans. Ortiz, Bobbye (New York, 1967), pp. 63–4;Google ScholarGuevara, Reminiscences of Cuban Revolutionary War, p. 178.Google Scholar

7 Marta, Rojas R. ‘Un estado rebelde modelo’, Bohemia LI (19 07 1959), 42–6, 114–15;Google ScholarSantos, Juan Carlos, ‘La marcha al II Frente “Frank País ”: Organización política y militar’, El Mundo, 14 Sept 1966, pp. 1, 7;Google ScholarIglesias, Carlos, ‘La United Fruit tuvo que cumplir la ley revolucionaria’, Juveniud Rebelde, 22 Sept. 1966, p. 2.Google Scholar

8 See Vidaurreta, Manuel Hernández, ‘El gobierno civil en la Sierra Maestra’, Humanismo, VII (01–04 1959), 363–8,Google Scholar and Páez, Julio Martínez, Médicos en la Sierra Maestra (La Habana, 1959), pp. 15–48.Google Scholar

9 Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare, p. 74.Google Scholar

10 Revolución, 25 Feb. 1959, p. 14;Google ScholarLockwood, Lee, Castro's Cuba. Cuba's Fidel (New York. 1969), p. 168.Google Scholar

11 Ibid.

12 Cuba, , Gobierno Provisional, Proclamas y leyes del Gobierno Provisional de la Reuolución (25 vols., La Habana, 1959–1960), 1, 42–3.Google Scholar

13 Revolución, 2 Jan. 1959, p. 1.Google Scholar

14 Guevara, Ernesto Che, ‘Interview by Telemundo Television”, in Bonachea, Rolando E. and Valdés, Nelson P., eds., Che: Selected Works of Ernesto Guevara (Cambridge, Mass., 1969), p. 380.Google Scholar

15 In Suárez, Andrés, Cuba: Castroism and Communism, 1959–1966, trans. Carmichael, Joel and Halperin, Ernst (Cambridge, Mass., 1967), p. 41.Google Scholar

16 Valdés, Ramiro, ‘El Ejército Rebelde y la reforma agraria’, Humanismo, VII (01–04 1959) p. 344.Google Scholar

17 Guevara, Ernesto Che, ‘Social Ideals of the Rebel Army’, in Bonachea, and Valdés, , eds., Che: Selected Works of Ernesto Guevara, p. 203.Google Scholar

18 Cuba, , Ejército Rebelde, Departamento Nacional de Cultura, Curso de orientación (La Habana, 1959), p. 68.Google Scholar

19 Boorstein, Edward, The Economic Transformation of Cuba (New York, 1968), p. 57.Google Scholar

20 Guevara, Ernesto Che, ‘Contra el burocratismo’, in Guevara, Ernesto Che, Obra revolucionaria, ed. Roberto Fernández Retamar (2nd ed., México, 1968), p. 545.Google Scholar

21 Declaraciones del Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, Primer Ministro del Gobierno Revolucionario, en el juicio contra el ex-Comandante Hubert Matos (La Habana, 1959), pp. 43–4.Google Scholar

22 Speech before Primera Reunión Nacional de Producción, 26–27 Aug. 1961, Obra Revolucionaria, XXX (29 Aug. 1961), 133.Google Scholar

23 Castro later indicated that “ when the war ended none of our guerrilla fighters even knew how to drill, stand at attention, salute, give commands to a platoon company, battalion, or division I” In Kenner, Martin and Petras, James, eds., Fidel Castro Speaks (New York, 1969), p. 204.Google Scholar

24 See testimony of Hubert Matos in Declaraciones del Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz…, p. 66.Google Scholar

25 Interview with Raúl Castro, Verde Olivo, XII (14 Feb 1971), 6.Google Scholar

26 Guevara, , ‘Social Ideals of the Rebel Army’, p. 203.Google Scholar

27 See, for example, Cuba, Ejército Rebclde, Departamento Nacional de Cultura, Curso de Orientación.Google Scholar

28 Duvallón, Georgina, ‘El ejército en la batalla de la cultura’, Verde Olivo, 11 (26 02 1961), 74–7;Google ScholarLavandeyra, L. A., ‘El nuevo ejército y la cultura’, El Mundo, 15 Jan 1959, p. A–6.Google Scholar

29 It may be impossible to determine the source of these appointments. Hugh Thomas suggests Guevara. See his Cuba, the Pursuit of Freedom (New York, 1971), p. 1082.Google Scholar

30 Verde Olivo, 1 (17 April 1960), 8.Google Scholar

31 Huberman, Leo and Sweezy, Paul, Cuba, Anatomy of a Revolution (New York, 1960), p. 83.Google Scholar

32 Huberman, Leo and Sweezy, Paul, ‘Cuba Revisited’, Monthly Review, XII (12 1960), 413.Google Scholar Cf. Interview with Castro, Raúl, Verde Olivo, XII (14 Feb. 1971), 6–9.Google Scholar

33 MacGaffey, Wyatt and Barnett, Clifford, Twentieth Century Cuba (Garden City, N.Y., 1965), p. 307.Google Scholar

34 Verde Olivo, 1 (17 April 1960), 8.Google Scholar

35 ‘Organización militar y civil del pueblo’, Verde Olivo, 1 (22 Oct 1960), 28–9.Google Scholar

36 ‘Habla el Comandante Universo Sánchez’, Verde Olivo, 1 (8 May 1960), 36.Google Scholar

37 ‘Soidados que son obreros (entrevista al Jefe de los Batallones de Trabajo)’, Verde Olivo, 1 (Nov 1960), 30–4.Google Scholar

38 ‘Vigilancia, trabajo y superación ’, Verde Olivo, 1 (8 Oct 1960), 18–19.Google Scholar

39 ‘Nuevas fucrzas de trabajo en el Ejército Rebelde’, Verde Olivo, 1 (27 Aug 1960), 51.Google Scholar

40 ‘Soldados-obreros fuerza motriz del Ejército Rebelde’. Verde Olivo, 1 (20 Aug 1960), 23.Google Scholar

41 ‘6 nuevas unidades de combate compietadas por el Ejército Rebelde’, Verde Olivo, II (9 April 1961), 16–17; ‘Soldados que son obreros (entrevista al Jefe de los Batallones de Trabajo)’, 30–4.Google Scholar

42 Verde Olivo, 1 (31 July 1960), 41–4.Google Scholar

43 Duvallón, Georgina, ‘Armas, maestros y soldados’, Verde Olivo, 11 (26 03 1961), 48–9.Google Scholar

44 Fernández, Blanco, ‘Supcración revolucionaria’, Verde Olivo, 1 (10 09 1960), 36–8.Google Scholar

45 ‘El sacrificio forma los mejores soldados’, Verde Olivo, 1 (3 July 1960), p. 27.Google Scholar See also ‘Graduación de 55 cadetes del Ejército Rebelde’, Verde Olivo, 1 (Nov 1960), 77–9.Google Scholar

46 ‘Soldados que son obreros (entrevista al Jefe de los Batallones de Trabajo)’, p. 33.

47 José, Armas L., ‘Coordinan los términos de enseñanza dentro del Plan de Preparación Com. bativa’, Verde Olivo, 6 (6 02 1966), 6–7.Google Scholar

48 Lucena, Rigoberto Rivero, ‘Professionalism in the Cuban Armed Forces’, Military Review, 46 (03 1966), 15.Google Scholar

49 ‘Hemos visto la victoria y seguiremos vicndo la victoria’, Verde Olivo, VI (30 May 1965), 6.Google Scholar

50 José, Armas L., ‘Forjando instructores’, Verde Olivo, V (12 08 1965), 4–9.Google Scholar

51 ‘El trabajo politico y la preparación combativa’, Verde Olivo, IV (17 Feb. 1963), 4–7.Google Scholar

52 Pérez, José N. Caussé, ‘La construcción del Partido en las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cuba’, Verde Olivo, VI (11 07 1965), 59.Google Scholar

53 Ibid.

54 ‘Raül Castro on the Armed Forces’, Vie Nouve (Rome) (16 July 1964), pp. 55–7. JPRS Translation, October 1964, No. 18202.Google Scholar

55 Pérez, Caussé, ‘ La construcción del Partido en las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cuba’, p. 59.Google Scholar

56 ‘Raúl Castro on the Armed Forces’, pp. 55–7; Hoy, 27 March 1964, p. 2.Google Scholar

57 ‘Llevamos al trabajo diario los acuerdos adoptados’, Verde Olivo, XI (4Oct. 1970), 70.Google Scholar

58 Pérez, Caussé, op. cit., p. 9.Google Scholar Caussé affirmed elsewhere that ‘The Party in the FAR is not like the Party in the factory. Here it is necessary to discuss how the assignment can be carried out as rapidly and as best as possible, strengthening the principle of authority of the chiefs”. Verde Olivo, IV (22 Dec. 1963), 3–6.Google Scholar

59 ‘El Partido en las unidades de servicios’, Verde Olivo, VI (6 03 1966), 18.Google Scholar

60 See ‘Comité Central del Partido’, Verde Olivo, V (10 Oct. 1965), 8–9.Google Scholar

61 Yasells, Eduardo, ‘El SMO y el estudio salen ganando’, Verde Olivo, VI (28 02 1965), 30–2.Google Scholar

62 ‘Hoy técnicos en sus unidades, mañana en La producción’, Verde Olivo, VI (18 July 1965). 30–2.Google Scholar

63 ‘Brigadas Rojas’, Verde Olivo, VI (16 Sept. 1965), 40–1.Google Scholar

64 José, Armas L., ‘Ascensos en las UMAP’, Verde Olivo, VI (19 06 1966), 31–2.Google Scholar

65 González, Edward, Cuba under Castro: The Limits of Charisma (Boston, 1974), p. 209.Google Scholar

66 ‘La VII zafra del pueblo’, Bohemia, LIX (13 Jan. 1967), 67.Google ScholarCf. Pascual, Alfredo Núñez, ‘Aporte de las FAR a labores agrícolas’, El Mundo, 9 Oct. 1966, p. 4.Google Scholar

67 Castro, Fidel, ‘Orden de combate para las FAR en la zafra de los 10 millones’, Verde Olivo, x (9 11 1969), 62.Google Scholar

68 Ibid., pp. 8, 58–9.