Nature and extent of the opposition
- After the Revolution, Batista loyalists were tried, imprisoned, or executed.
- Castro carried out internal purges (e.g., Huber Matos, possibly Camilo Cienfuegos).
- UMAPs (1965–68): Used to detain minorities and dissenters, especially gay men.
Note
- In authoritarian states, anyone not aligned with the leader may be labeled a dissident.
- Opposition: Groups with real power to challenge or destabilize the regime (e.g., armed or internationally backed).
- Resistance: Everyday acts of dissent or individuality, such as music, fashion, or religious practice, even if banned.
Exam technique
- Resistance → usually small-scale, everyday dissent.
- Opposition → organized groups with real destabilizing potential.
- Key exam angle: How far can resistance threaten the regime, and how far can limited opposition weaken a leader’s hold on power?
Armed opposition
- Escambray Rebellion (1960–66): Armed resistance in central Cuba’s mountains.
- Rebels: ex-Batista soldiers, disillusioned revolutionaries, anti-communist farmers, Democratic Revolutionary Movement.
- Cause: opposition to regime’s communist turn and agrarian reforms that seized land.
- Conflict: Prolonged guerrilla war with ambush tactics and some peasant support.
- Government response: Tens of thousands of troops, tanks, aircraft; villages forcibly relocated; reprisals, arrests, torture, executions.
- Outcome: Defeated by 1966; thousands killed or imprisoned.
- Significance: Showed Castro’s growing military strength and security control.
Intellectuals and artists
- Intellectuals and artists were viewed as opposition by Castro’s regime.
- Reinaldo Arenas: persecuted for his writing and sexuality (see Use of Force).
- Heberto Padilla & the “Padilla Affair” (1971): Turning point in the regime’s handling of dissenting intellectuals, exposing tensions between cultural freedom and revolutionary control.
Case study
The Padilla Affair (1968-1971)
- Heberto Padilla (poet/journalist): Initially supported the revolution but later criticized its authoritarianism.
- Fuera del Juego (1968): Won UNEAC prize but published with a disclaimer labeling it “counterrevolutionary.”
- Arrest (1971): Detained for 36 days, accused of subversion and foreign collaboration.
- Public “confession”: Denounced himself and fellow writers (widely seen as coerced).
- Impact: Sparked international outrage; intellectuals like Sartre and Vargas Llosa condemned Cuba.
- Significance: Ended Cuba’s honeymoon with global leftist intellectuals; reinforced censorship and showed that loyalty trumped artistic freedom.
Exiles and emigration to control dissent
- Emigration as a tool: Castro used it to reduce internal opposition.
- 1959–62: 250,000+ left, mostly middle/upper classes opposed to reforms.
- 1980 Mariel crisis: Castro allowed discontented Cubans to leave, framing them as “counter-revolutionaries” to delegitimize dissent.
Case study
El Mariel Boatlift (1980)
- Trigger (April 1980): Cubans seeking asylum stormed the Peruvian embassy; after a guard was killed, Castro withdrew security → 10,000 people flooded the embassy.
- Mariel boatlift (Apr–Oct 1980): Castro opened Mariel Harbor; 125,000 Cubans emigrated to the U.S.
- Government strategy: Included prisoners, mentally ill, and criminals among emigrants; framed departure as “cleansing” society of “scum” and counter-revolutionaries.
- Propaganda: Media portrayed leavers as traitors; mass rallies reinforced image of national unity behind Castro.
- Underlying causes: Many left due to economic hardship and disillusionment with socialism, not just politics.
- Significance: Marked a shift from political exile (1960s) to economic migration; foreshadowed similar patterns during the 1990s Special Period.
- Outcome: Crisis exposed cracks in support; regime responded with repression and surveillance to maintain control.
Self review
- What distinction can be made between “opposition” and “resistance” in authoritarian states, and why is this useful for exam analysis?
- How did the Escambray Rebellion (1960–66) demonstrate both the strength and limits of organized opposition to Castro’s regime?
- Why was the Padilla Affair (1968–71) a turning point in the regime’s relationship with intellectuals, and what was its international impact?
- In what ways did Castro use emigration (1959–62 and the Mariel boatlift of 1980) as a strategy to control dissent and project propaganda narratives?
- To what extent did everyday acts of resistance (music, religion, culture) pose a real threat to Castro’s regime compared to armed opposition or intellectual dissent?
