The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution

The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution
Author :
Publisher : University Press of Florida
Total Pages : 219
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781683401087
ISBN-13 : 1683401085
Rating : 4/5 (87 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution by : Anna Clayfield

Download or read book The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution written by Anna Clayfield and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this extensively researched book, Anna Clayfield challenges contemporary Western views on the militarization of Cuba. She argues that, while the pervasiveness of armed forces in revolutionary Cuba is hard to refute, it is the guerrilla legacy, ethos, and image—“guerrillerismo”—that has helped the Cuban revolutionary project survive. The veneration of the guerrilla fighter has been crucial to the political culture’s underdog mentality. Analyzing official discourse, including newspapers, history textbooks, army training manuals, the writings of Che Guevara, and the speeches of Fidel Castro, Clayfield examines how the Cuban government has promoted guerrilla motifs. After 1959, the revolutionary leadership relied on this discourse to shape a new political culture. During the implementation of Soviet-style management in the late 1960s and 1970s, Cuba underwent profound structural changes, but the beliefs and values that underpinned the Revolution—and that were linked to the guerrilla ethos—were still upheld. Clayfield traces the shifting ideologies that circulated in Cuba during the 1980s to show how this rhetorical strategy helped prevent the proliferation of a siege mentality. The guerrilla code became a recourse Cuban leadership used to steel the population through the 1990s Special Period following the collapse of the Soviet Union. And while the outside world perceived the changes that took place during Raúl Castro’s tenure to be signs the Revolution’s socialist model was fading, Clayfield proves guerrillerismo remained an important anchor for the new regime. By weaving the guerrilla ethos into the fabric of Cuban identity, the government has garnered legitimacy for the political authority of former guerrilleros, even decades after the end of armed conflicts. The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution chronicles how guerrilla rhetoric has allowed the Revolution to adapt and transform over time while appearing to remain true to its founding principles. It also raises the question of just how long this discourse can sustain the Revolution when its leaders are no longer veterans of the sierra, those guerrillas who participated in the armed struggle that brought them to power so many years ago.


The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution Related Books

The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution
Language: en
Pages: 219
Authors: Anna Clayfield
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-05-16 - Publisher: University Press of Florida

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this extensively researched book, Anna Clayfield challenges contemporary Western views on the militarization of Cuba. She argues that, while the pervasivenes
Inside the Cuban Revolution
Language: en
Pages: 287
Authors: Julia Sweig
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2009-06-30 - Publisher: Harvard University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Sweig shatters the mythology surrounding the Cuban Revolution in a compelling revisionist history that reconsiders the revolutionary roles of Castro and Guevara
Celia Sánchez Manduley
Language: en
Pages: 287
Authors: Tiffany A. Sippial
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-10-29 - Publisher: UNC Press Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Celia Sanchez Manduley (1920–1980) is famous for her role in the Cuban revolution. Clad in her military fatigues, this "first female guerrilla of the Sierra M
Cuba and Revolutionary Latin America
Language: en
Pages: 247
Authors: Dirk Kruijt
Categories: Art
Type: BOOK - Published: 2017-01-01 - Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Cuban revolution served as a rallying cry to people across Latin America and the Caribbean. The revolutionary regime has provided vital support to the rest
Leadership in the Cuban Revolution
Language: en
Pages: 302
Authors: Antoni Kapcia
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-09-11 - Publisher: Zed Books Ltd.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Most conventional readings of the Cuban Revolution have seemed mesmerised by the personality and role of Fidel Castro, often missing a deeper political understa