Fidel Castro: A Mini-Biography
Nelson P Valdés (1993)

Fidel Castro was born August 13, 1926 in Oriente province, in eastern Cuba, to a prosperous landowning family. Showing independence early, he was educated in private Catholic schools, where he was greatly influence by Spanish priests who instilled in him a sense of discipline, dedication and assertiveness. The Jesuits, under whom he studied from sixth to twelfth grade, preached a conservative, Counter-Reformation type critique of capitalism. As a student his best subjects were history and geography. In 1943 he became the best secondary school athlete in the country.

Castro arrived at the University of Havana in 1945 when the campus was run by armed thugs (another sign of the corruption and gang warfare that then had a marked influence on Havana). He has often noted that attending the university was more dangerous than waging guerrilla war. He kept busy. Though he studied little, he excelled due to a remarkable memory. His major academic interests were politics, sociology, history, and agriculture, but he received a law degree, which would later aid his political career. His main intellectual influences were the works of 19th century Independence leader José Martí, whose speeches he memorized. Immersed in the polemical climate of Cuban politics, nationalism, anti-imperialism, and socialism became his standard themes.

Soon after entering college, Castro's political activism took shape. In 1947 he participated in a failed expeditionary force against the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. In 1948 he was elected president of the Law Students Association, which he represented at a Latin American University Students Congress in Colombia; the congress, openly anti-imperialist, coincided with a major civil war breaking out in Bogotá, in which Castro participated in skirmishes before leaving the country.

In October of 1948 Castro was married to Mirta Díaz Balart, though her wealthy family disapproved. The following year their son (Fidel Jr.) was born. The marriage ended bitterly in 1955, first with divorce, and then with Fidel having his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico. The son now heads Cuba's nuclear program.

By the late 1940's Castro knew the methods, images, and stakes of Cuban politics. In 1951 he was a leader in the growing populist political movement led by the Partido del Pueblo Cubano (known in Cuba as Ortodoxos), an anti-Communist nationalist group promising major social, economic and political reforms, and expecting to gain the presidency through electoral politics. Castro planned to run for Congress, but on March 10, 1952, Fulgencio Batista, military strongman in Cuba since 1933, overthrew the constitutional government.

Fidel Castro, and many Ortodoxos who had expected to win in the thwarted elections, began to organize an insurrection. Castro led a civilian armed attack of mostly young Ortodoxos against the Moncada military barracks on July 26, 1953. The attack failed and Castro landed in prison; but the movement he organized captured the opposition's imagination. While imprisoned from 1953 to 1955, Castro's time was used to write, study, and further organize.

Granted political amnesty in May, 1955, Castro went into exile in Mexico and began to train an expeditionary force. In late 1956 he landed with 82 in southern Oriente to initiate guerrilla war. The movement grew, and from the Sierra Maestra mountains Fidel organized a parallel government, carried out a mini-agrarian reform, established controlled territories with agricultural and manufacturing production, set up a radio station, and even created a small air force.

Castro's was the first guerrilla movement in Latin America to defeat the military. Castro proved to be a skillful political and military strategist. On January 1, 1959, the Cuban revolution began under his leadership with the largest popular support of any political movement in the history of the country.

With a multi-class base, the populist nature of the revolution meant that the Cuban bourgeoisie identified Fidel Castro with a return to constitutional rule, and the reaffirmation of civil and political rights. But for the majority, who envisioned a major re-structuring of the society, the issue was social justice.

Once in power, Castro proved to be a persuasive and moving speaker, and a man who had the affection and support of the population. He was the critical factor in defining the future direction of the revolution. The very popularity of the revolutionary regime unleashed a process of social radicalization, of which Castro became the major spokesman.

For the last 33 years he has remained in the limelight. Scholars, analysts, supporters and enemies agree on at least one feature of the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro has been the unquestioned political and ideological leader. It is true that important policies usually depend on what he decides. He appears to be at the center of politics and economy but he has to work within a certain context.

Assuming this to be the case, it is necessary to know something more about the qualities of the man as political player. What are the features of Fidel Castro's "charisma"?

Personal Qualities:

Fidel Castro is action oriented, even if the action is dangerous. This characteristic is traceable to his childhood, has remained with him to the present, and is closely tied to a strong character, determination, and persistence. He claims the basic feature of a revolutionary is struggle.

Castro is dedicated, and enjoys being challenged. A Jesuit priest who taught him in school once referred to this personality trait as "indomitable impetuosity." He conveys the image of the strong-willed who refuses to give up.

He has an iron discipline, which he cultivates, and expects others to have. Discipline has been accompanied by an inordinate self-assurance. Only on two occasions he has shown doubts: on the first day he arrived to Havana (January 8, 1959) when he asked one of his commanders "voy bien Camilo?" How am I doing?) and on July 26th, 1970 when he offered to resign. He projects a public image of self-confidence. Alternative views, consequently, he tends to consider erroneous and wrong-headed. His self-sufficiency contributes to an overbearing frame of mind.

Self-assurance, strong will, are all accompanied by keen intelligence. Even opponents concede that Castro is bright, insightful, well-read. Like any effective strategist or actor he has an uncanny sense of timing. His loyal and devoted followers see him as a man of integrity, personal courage and selflessness. "Comandante, whatever may be the task, wherever it may be, whenever it may be" is not an uncommon slogan.

His public speaking is the work of a craftsman who understands and uses well the psychology of Cubans. One author has called his ability a "rare oratorical virtuosity." He educates, instructs, explains, criticizes, persuades, attacks. His oratory attempts to inspire confidence, to stir to action, to move. There are two dimensions to his speeches: style and content. Gabriel García Márquez, a close friend of Castro's has described his style as a devotion to the spoken word bordering on the magical. As he spends time speaking, his message gains clarity; but has a tendency to turn repetitive. The spoken word is clearly one of the most important instruments Castro has at his command, as demonstrated when he was released from prison in 1955, and the Fulgencio Batista government allowed him to publish but did not permit him to speak in public.

A dedicated student of Cuban history, he uses it as a weapon and a guide. He relies on historical symbol and parallel. He is the only Cuban politician in this century who works with historical categories, examples, and models. He has an uncanny sense of historical continuity.

Domestic Influence:

Analysts see Fidel Castro as a leader who sacrifices anything in order to stay in power. He, on the other hand, claims that neither wealth, lust for glory, fame, nor prestige motivates him. He claims ideas, not power, motivate him.

Strangely, even though Fidel Castro has personified and elucidated the revolution's features there is no systematic study of his philosophy or political thought. There are certain predominant core values and ideas and policies in his speeches and the policies he sponsors. He is certainly nationalist. Fidel's unique contribution linked the defense of national independence with the necessity of socialism (done by 1961). This two-fold integration has meant that the revolution and the nation have become inseparable in his view. Revolutionary survival, thus, requires revolutionary unity, which may be translated into national unity. If persuasion does not work, then the law, and the mass mobilization of intolerance assures unity through imposed public uniformity. In such a milieu neither political diversity, nor authenticity or honesty can flourish. Consequently, to question, dissent or oppose revolutionary policies inexorably lead to the charge of treason.

This revolutionary philosophy can be summed up as: collective needs rank higher than individual rights, revolutionary consciousness should motivate, not money, selflessness is a positive value, greed is not, the state can make rational choices the market is irrational, an underdeveloped country should be more concerned with production rather than consumerism, political needs precede economic rationality, mass political participation is more important than political choice, unity is necessary and superior to a plurality of views, central control is preferable to administrative autonomy, mass mobilization is more important than administrative methods, direct contact with the population by the political leadership is a true measure of democracy, equality and justice takes precedence over individual civil and political rights. It is on the basis of such ranking that decisions have been made, and a new society created.

The Cuban political system set up by Castro is an uneasy balance of formal institutions and charismatic authority. His leadership is based not on constitutional rule but on the permanent reaffirmation of his authority he receives from the mobilization of the population. His contact with the population is his very claim to power. He earned popular esteem in this fashion in 1959, and has continued that mode since. From the mid 1970s to 1986, he allowed a process of institutionalization to gain ground, while his own very personal touch diminished. But as changes in the USSR threatened the stability of his regime, he went back to the charismatic model.

Castro is able to organize, even to delegate authority (on those he trusts rather than those who may be competent). He also has a unique quality: he integrates disparate views within revolutionary ranks, unifying diverse views and discovering common grounds. It is on that basis that he also leads, while providing all other revolutionaries the essential link they lack with the population. It is through his consensus building that a line is established -- although if the consensus is not joined, he then is intolerant of the dissenter. He then makes public the synthesis. In that sense Fidel Castro is the Great Synthesizer and the Great Communicator.

Just as the charismatic leader goes directly to the population, the people reciprocate by calling on him. Letters are received, in the thousands, from all over the island. Each and every letter is answered, by a special team that answers to Fidel. When everything else fails, there is Fidel. Charismatic authority is a demanding task.

Yet, a charismatic leader does not make decisions entirely on his own. He has at his command a "support group", an inner circle, made up of specialists who are there, first because Fidel trusts them, secondly because of their special knowledge. They are charged, among other things, with keeping him well-informed. They are expected to be hard-working and multi-purpose. Over the years, the support group has changed. The older guerrillas have been supplanted by the university-educated.

Fidel Castro holds a number of formal titles: Maximum Leader of the Revolution, Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Armed Forces, President of the Republic, Chairman of the Council of State, Chairman of the Council of Ministers, First Secretary of the Communist Party, and is also a member of the National Assembly.

His greatest accomplishment is to have remained in power longer than any other Cuban ruler, despite the opposition of the United States. In the domestic arena he led the radical transformation of Cuban politics, economy and society, including the introduction of a socialist system. His legitimacy cannot be separated from the benefits that the population received through the distributionist policies of the regime.

He led the process of establishing new institutions. He introduced the method of mass mobilization, whatever the task may be. He also defined the pattern of concentrating resources away from the urban areas, and instilled in the population the belief that they have an inherent right to a job, to proper health care and education.

Under his direction the revolution dared to nationalize foreign property (never done before on such a scale in Latin America), and then challenged the Soviet Union on the proper way of building socialism.

Among Castro's shortcomings can be noted Cuba's failure to become more economically self-sufficient, the inefficiency of the island's economy, and the remaining reliance on the export of sugar. From a political standpoint shortcomings have been: the association of dissent with counter-revolutionary activities, the repression of alternative political groups; and the failure to create institutions that would replace the charismatic type of political system.

Fidel Castro certainly has shown daring and initiative in his exercise of power, and has been willing to take great risks when he was convinced that there will be significant gains in the gamble.

Foreign Policy:

In foreign policy, from the very onset, Castro's relations with the United States were strained. By 1960 the United States supported the overthrow of Fidel Castro, and in 1961 a U.S.-organized and U.S.-led force of exiles was defeated by Cuba in the Bay of Pigs victory which Fidel Castro proclaimed the "first defeat of American imperialism" in the western hemisphere. The United States retaliated, imposing on Cuba an economic embargo in 1961. The conflict escalated into the 1962 missile crisis, bringing the world to the brink of war.

Castro also defined the need for a global foreign policy in order to escape the U.S. imposed isolation in the western hemisphere. For the first time, Cuba established ties with Africa and Asia. Moreover, Castro began to play a major role in representing the interests of the Third World in numerous forums. Cuban personnel (what Castro called "internationalism") were sent to a number of countries (Angola, Ethiopia, Algeria, Nicaragua, among others).

From 1961 Cuba developed a special relationship with the USSR. Fidel Castro played a critical role in linking the two countries and in obtaining unusually beneficial terms of trade from the Soviets, a tie which further contributed to the deterioration of Cuba's relations with the United States. By 1991, Cuba's special relations with the Soviets had ended, as the USSR disappeared, placing Cuba at its most difficult juncture since Fidel Castro seized power. By 1992, the prospects of the survival of the Cuban revolution seemed rather dim. With little oil, a shortage of spare parts, raw materials and consumer goods, the population confronted ever more drastic austerity measures. And this is happening precisely as the demands for internal political liberalization have gained. Unquestionably, the greatest challenge that ever confronted Fidel Castro lays just ahead.

Fidel Castro will have a special place in the 20th century because of his role in Cuban, Latin America, and Third World history. He represented a wave of revolutionary experiments, and tried to integrate a Cuban historical tradition with European revolutionary theory. He made important contributions to revolutionary strategy and tactics, while elucidating a Third World perspective on world affairs. He, like his guerrilla fighters, have aged. The elan and magic of earlier heroism no longer touches those who have been born since 1959, as it did their parents. It is doubtful that Fidel Castro will relinquish power; if he does not, then it remains an open question whether he succeeded in creating the means by which the nation and the revolution will survive his death.



SOURCE:
http://www.soc.duke.edu/~nvaldes/Cuba/fidel.htm