The Military and the Dynamics of the Cuban Revolutionary Process

Introduction During the fifteen years since the Cuban Revolution, a series of infraand superstructural changes have been slowly and painfully effected in that country. These lead us to question our current theories. In addition, they pose special problems of analysis and interpretation. One of the most conspicuous aspects of the revolutionary process in Cuba has been the increasing use of the military as an instrument of sociopolitical mobilization, and the imposition of the military organizational model on important sectors of the society. Apart from the studies by Rene Dumont and K. S. Karol,1 who offer somewhat controversial material on the subject, the role of the military sector has received little attention. This is regrettable, given the vital importance of the subject for a proper understanding of the course and dynamics of the Cuban revolutionary process. This article attempts to explore the subject more extensively. The scanty and fragmentary published materials on the Cuban military sector may explain the exploratory character of the study, the sometimes high level of generalization of the analysis, and the tentativeness of the conclusions drawn. An analysis of the role of the military sector on two levels will be presented.2 On the micro level, an investigation will be made of the military sector in a more narrow sense, utilizing a series of variables that will allow us to define a social portrait of the Cuban military.3 On the macro level, the military sector within the society at large will be considered. We should focus on three problems: (1) the development of the new military organization and the extent to which elements specific to the Latin American variant of military organization and other models of military organization have been intertwined; (2) the phenomenon of professionalism, its combination with personalistic orientations, and its relationship to political control and the requirements of the ideology; and (3) the definition of a new formula governing the relationship between the armed forces and the state, which conceives of extensive military functions, in particular in the economic and sociopolitical sectors, and which has led to the formation of a very idiosyncratic political system

Dynamics (music · Political science · Process (computing · Sociology · Computer Science · Cuban History and Society · Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies · Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America

• Armies of the Caribbean

  Open Access•Louis A Pérez•Latin American Perspectives•1987

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