An Unfinished Struggle? the Guerrilla Experience and the Shaping of Political Culture in the Cuban Revolution
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AN UNFINISHED STRUGGLE? THE GUERRILLA EXPERIENCE AND THE SHAPING OF POLITICAL CULTURE IN THE CUBAN REVOLUTION BY ANNA CLAYFIELD, BA (Hons), MA Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2013 Abstract In the years that immediately followed the victory of the rebel forces in 1959. the new leaders of the Cuban Revolution seemed to approach the task of revolutionary governance as a continuation of the guerrilla campaign in the sierra. The leadership's empirical management of the Revolution in power betrayed its guerrilla roots, and resulted in an inchoate political system headed by charismatic guerrilleros. By the end ofthe first decade, however, it seemed that the Revolution's guerrilla past had been all but forgotten, as it established closer ties with the Soviet Union and subsequently underwent a process of 'institutionalisation'. Since that time, many Western scholars of Cuba have commented on the increased role of the military in the revolutionary leadership, and in other aspects of the Revolution which would normally be considered to be beyond the remit of most armed forces. These scholars have concluded that the pervasive presence of the military is evidence of the 'militarisation' of the Cuban Revolution. This thesis calls into question this notion of a 'militarised' Revolution by arguing that such a perspective overlooks the guerrilla origins of both the Cuban armed forces and the Revolution more broadly, in addition to the signs and symbols that point to an on-going legacy of these origins in revolutionary Cuba. Using evidence derived from an analysis of the hegemonic discourse of the Revolution at different stages in its trajectory, this study demonstrates that the lived experience of guerrilla warfare has shaped the beliefs and values that have underpinned the Revolution since 1959. Together, these beliefs and values comprise a unique political culture in which the figure of the guerrillero is revered, and in which the guerrilla campaigns of the Cuban historical narrative are presented as unfinished struggles. The thesis argues that the active cultivation of this political culture has contributed to legitim ising the long-standing presence of former guerrilleros in the revolutionary leadership, and has helped to gamer the support of civilians for the revolutionary project. In addition to challenging the idea of a 'militarised' Revolution, this study also undermines the widely accepted notion that the Revolution was thoroughly 'Sovietised' during its second decade. An examination of the hegemonic discourse of the 1970s reveals that, while the Revolution transformed structurally during those years, the guerrilla ethos which had buttressed the revolutionary project in the 1960s remained unchanged. Acknowledgements This doctoral research would not have been possible without the financial support provided by the University of Nottingham, for which I am truly grateful. It has been a privilege to spend over three years studying a country for which I hold a passionate interest. I am also thankful to the Society for Latin American Studies and the Graduate School at the University for awarding me funding to conduct field work in Cuba, an experience which was vital to the furtherance of this research. My greatest debt is to my two supervisors, Professor Antoni Kapcia and Dr. Gareth Stockey, for their continued support, patience, invaluable feedback, and for believing in me and this project; I have gained immeasurably from their insight and expertise. I would also like to express my gratitude to the many people who helped me during my research trip to Cuba. For their guidance and advice, I am grateful to Fernando Martinez Heredia, Hal Klepak, Raul Rodriguez de la 0, Jose Bell Lara and Eduardo Yasells Ferrer; for their friendship and kindness, to Elga Gonzalez and Barbara Danzie; and for keeping me going and sharing daiquiris, to Raquel Ribeiro. In the UK, fellow students and colleagues at Nottingham and in the Cuba Research Forum more broadly have helped to make the research process enjoyable and enriching. Special thanks go to my family and close friends for their on-going encouragement and understanding throughout the period of my PhD. In particular, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my readers (Mum, Dad, Felicity and Michael); to my parents for always being supportive and for letting me follow my own path; and to David, for everything. 2 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 5 A 'militaristic' Revolution? ............................................................................................... 12 A New Approach: The Guerrilla Legacy, Political Culture, and Discourse Analysis ...... 39 Chapter One ........................................................................................................................... 53 Conceptualising the Perpetuation of the Guerrilla Ethos in the Cuban Revolution What is Foquismo? ............................................................................................................ 54 'Sierra Maestra Complex', 'Guerrilla Mentality', or Guerrillerismo? .............................. 87 Guerrillerismo, Discourse and Power ................................................................................ 99 Chapter Two ......................................................................................................................... 105 Guerrillerismo in the I 960s Textual Analysis (1959-1969) ......................................................................................... 115 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 174 Chapter Three ....................................................................................................................... 178 Guerrillerismo in the 1970s Textual Analysis (1969-1981) ......................................................................................... 184 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 255 Chapter Four ........................................................................................................................ 262 The Cuban Revolution in the I 990s: A Return to Guerrillerismo? Textual Analysis (1990-1999) ......................................................................................... 267 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 296 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 299 Cuba: A Guerrilla Nation? Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 315 3 List of Acronyms CDR Comites de la Defensa de la Revolucion EIR Escuelas de Instruccion Revolucionaria FAR Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias FEU Federacion Estudiantil Universitaria FMC Federacion de Mujeres Cubanas MINFAR Ministerio de las Fuerzas Armadas MNR Milicias Nacionales Revolucionarias MIT Milicias de Tropas Territoriales OLAS Organizacion Latinoamericana de Solidaridad PCC Partido Comunista de Cuba PSP Partido Socialista Popular SEPMI Sociedad de Educacion Patriotico-Militar SMO Servicio Militar Obligatorio UJC Union de Jovenes Comunistas UNEAC Union de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba UMAP Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Produccion 4 Introduction On 24 February 2008, Raul Castro officially succeeded his brother Fidel as President of both the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba, following a nineteen-month period in which he had provisionally held these positions, owing to Fidel's poor health. Fidel's choice of successor was by no means a surprise, given that Raul already occupied the posts of First Vice-President of the Council of State, and Minister of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR). Raul was thus the obvious choice to take over the reins of power. Even less surprising, perhaps, has been Raul's selection of new members, along with the promotion of existing ones, for the Council of State since his succession. As the Minister of the FAR since 1959, Raul had always been considered first and foremost a military man, as someone more suited to instilling tough military discipline than negotiating revolutionary politics (Bardach, 2009; Dumont, 1974; Latell, 2005). The long-standing commentator on the Cuban Revolution, Irving Horowitz, for example, recently described Raul Castro as 'the orthodox military figure' who 'has become the spokesman for all things military and the heir apparent to the revolution itself. His orthodoxy extends to the cut of his uniform' (Horowitz 2008, 137). Accordingly, then, Raul wasted little time in surrounding himself with men cut from a similar cloth. Several well-known raulistas have been awarded membership of the Council, while others have been granted a direct vertical promotion. I Among the latter was seventy-two-year-old Julio Casas Regueiro who, having held the position of First Vice-Minister of the FAR up until that point, found himself promoted to one of five vice-presidencies of the Council, in addition to replacing Raul