Jorge Domínguez also notes: “Cuba has changed, not because the Party and government leadership wanted change, but because it was no longer able to forbid it.” Never before in the country’s history, and scarcely ever elsewhere in Latin America, has a state concentrated so much power as Cuba under Castro. But, for all its efforts, that state is no longer in the same position as before to watch over the lives of its citizens. “What has been declining,” Domínguez argues, “is not the state’s need to repress, but fear of the state and its efficiency.”18 Beneath the surface, things appear to be breaking up – and this is not to the liking of the Party apparatus. “The death of a regime,” writes American sociologist Irving L. Horowitz, “is sometimes made evident by dramatic events: mass uprisings from below or regicide from above. But … , in the case of Fidel, it is made evident by the exhaustion of ideology.”19
Has everything been in vain, then? At the beginning of the nineties, just before the Soviet Union vanished from the political map, Castro told Tomás Borge with a touch of self-doubt: “I really wish that, with today’s experience, I still had the youth of the early revolutionary years. In these difficult times, which require such great efforts, I wish above all else that I still had that youth.” His ego did not permit that someone else should take over; the thought of it tormented him and kept him going. The American writer Gene Vier has written that, in common with other charismatic figures, Castro believes that “no single person represents an absolute value.” “They are always seeking the universal, which implies a detachment from the particular.” Hence, the charismatic leader cannot have a wife, cannot look after others or even his own children, and cannot give himself to another person. “The true charismatic leader is a vehicle, a human sieve, … a ‘purifying agent’ through which the soul and spirit of his people presses.”20
Unlike other leaders, Castro never seems to have been driven by material motives. Not only those who claim to know him personally, but also his various opponents, think that he is one of the few absolute rulers who have not enriched themselves in office and salted away millions in Switzerland.
Castro has repeatedly said that his favorite literary hero is Cervantes’s Don Quixote, as if he wants to ensure the indulgence of world history when it comes to pass judgment on his time. Unable to stop himself, he will go on jousting at windmills until the bitter end. “If I had it to do over again, I’d take the same revolutionary path. I can’t feel entirely satisfied with what I’ve done; I will always feel I could have done better.” And, as if to console himself: “Martí also said that today’s dreams are tomorrow’s reality.”21
But now it is too late. The last words that Gabriel García Márquez makes his dying hero, the Liberator Bolívar, dictate to posterity are also free of any self-deception. “The man who serves a revolution ploughs a sea,” the general in his labyrinth dryly states. And since he knows what people are like, he sarcastically and without any pathos ventures to look into the future destiny of his life’s work – a destiny that one evidently cannot wish for Castro’s: “This nation will fall inevitably into the hands of the unruly mob and then will pass into the hands of almost indistinguishable petty tyrants of every color and race.”22
Notes
Preface to the English Edition
1 All quotations from www.abcNEWS.com, May 15, 2002.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
Chapter 1 The Heroic Myth
1 Gabriel García Márquez, “A Personal Portrait of Fidel,” in Fidel Castro, My Early Years, p. 18.
2 Ibid., p. 24.
3 Ibid., p. 15.
4 Ibid., p. 25.
5 Ibid., p. 17.
6 Peter G. Bourne, Castro: A Biography of Fidel Castro, p. 20.
Chapter 2 The Young Fidel
1 Letter from Fidel Castro, as a young student, to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington; cf. Robert E. Quirk, Fidel Castro, p. 14; and Geoffrey Leslie Simons, Cuba: From Conquistador to Castro, pp. 265ff.
2 According to the author’s copy of the letter of November 6, 1940, to President Roosevelt, made available by the National Archives and Records Administration of the State Department, Fidel Castro came into the world in 1928.
3 Carlos Franqui, Diary of the Cuban Revolution (hereafter Diary), pp. 1–2.
4 According to Ramón Castro, his brother was born a year later, in 1927, and his date of birth was moved back a year so that he could go to school earlier. The official date given by the Cuban Council of State is August 13, 1926. Cf. Lionel Martin, The Early Fidel: Roots of Castro’s Communism, pp. 5 and 235; Bourne, Castro, p. 21.
5 Frei Betto, Fidel and Religion: Castro Talks on Revolution and Religion with Frei Betto (hereafter Betto), p. 100.
6 Ibid., pp. 101, 104.
7 Ibid., p. 105.
8 Ibid., p. 106.
9 See Bourne, Castro, p. 21; Tad Szulc, Fidel: A Critical Portrait, pp. 101ff.
10 Hugh Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 18.
11 Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 26, 1991; Die Zeit, July 7, 1995.
12 Betto, pp. 99, 101.
13 Ibid., p. 101.
14 Ibid., pp. 127–8.
15 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 18.
16 Betto, p. 94.
17 Ibid., p. 110.
18 Betto (German edn, Nachtgespräche mit Fidel), p. 101.
19 Betto, Fidel and Religion, p. 114.
20 Franqui, Diary, pp. 4–5.
21 Betto, p. 111.
22 Ibid., pp. 111–12.
23 Ibid., pp. 115–16.
24 Ibid., pp. 102–13.
25 Ibid., pp. 245ff.
26 Szulc, Fidel, p. 115.
27 Franqui, Diary, p. 6.
28 Ibid., p. 7.
29 Ibid., p. 8.
30 Ibid.
31 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 128ff.
32 Bourne, Castro, p. 7.
33 Die Zeit, February 19, 1998.
34 Simons, Cuba, pp. 354ff
35 Under this doctrine, promulgated by President James Monroe in the middle of the nineteenth century, the United States reserved for itself a kind of police function in its political sphere of influence in Central and South America.
36 Simons, Cuba, p. 219.
37 Jan Suter, “Politische Partizipation und Repräsentation in Kuba, 1902–1958,” in Harald Barrios and Jan Suter (eds), Politische Partizipation und Repräsentation in der Karibik. Kuba, Haiti, Dominikanische Republik im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Opladen, 1996, pp. 17ff.
38 Szulc, Fidel, p. 120.
39 Betto, p. 136.
40 Ibid., p. 140.
41 Ibid., p. 122.
42 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 133ff.
43 Revolución, April 10, 1961.
44 Kitty Kelley, His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra, London, 1987, p. 123.
45 Franqui, Diary, p. 1.
46 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 21.
47 Ibid., p. 27.
48 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 25, quoting remarks to Gloria Gaitán de Valencia, in América Libre (Bogotá), May 22–8, 1961.
49 Franqui, Diary, p. 9.
50 Thomas G. Paterson, Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Oxford, 1994, p. 50.
51 Simons, Cuba, p. 267.
52 See Georgie Anne Geyer, Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro, Boston, 1991, pp. 54ff.; Bourne, Castro, pp. 45ff.; Szulc, Fidel, pp. 166ff., 182; Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, pp. 26ff.
53 Geyer, Guerrilla Prince, pp. 54ff.
54 Bourne, Castro, p. 36.
55 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 166ff.
56 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 27.
57 Szulc, Fidel, p. 182.
58 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 19.
59 Castro, My Early Years, p. 72.
60 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 126.
61 Castro, My Early Years, pp. 112ff.
62 Ibid., p. 123.
63 Franqui, Diary, p. 19.
64 C
astro, My Early Years, p. 123.
65 Szulc, Fidel, p. 203.
66 Castro, My Early Years, p. 75.
67 Szulc, Fidel, p. 205.
68 Ibid., p. 144.
69 Simons, Cuba, p. 263.
Chapter 3 The Young Revolutionary
1 “Report of Sir Adrian Holman on the Conclusion of His Tour of Duty as Ambassador at Havana,” cited in Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 26.
2 Betto, p. 177.
3 Franqui, Diary, p. 43.
4 Szulc, Fidel, p. 223.
5 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 101.
6 Betto, p. 152.
7 Castro, My Early Years, p. 124.
8 Szulc, Fidel, p. 227.
9 Carlos Franqui, The Twelve, p. 27.
10 Franqui, Diary, pp. 58–9.
11 Betto, p. 163.
12 Sarría was subsequently arrested and tried by a military court, which ordered his demotion and sentenced him to a long term in prison for disobedience; he was released only shortly before the fall of Batista. After the victory of the revolution, Castro promoted him and decorated him with the (rare) title of Hero of the Revolution. He became adjutant to the President of Cuba and died of cancer in 1972. Castro gave the graveside speech at his funeral in Havana, and recalled how he had once saved his life.
13 “History Will Absolve Me,” in Revolutionary Struggle, 1947–1958, vol. 1 of The Selected Works of Fidel Castro, Cambridge, Mass, 1972, p. 221.
14 Franqui, Diary, p. 76.
15 Ibid., p. 77.
16 The Madrid paper ABC published six letters from Fidel Castro to Natalia Revuelta (made available by their daughter Alina Fernández) in a supplement in early 1997.
17 Alina Fernández, Ich, Alina. Mein Leben als Fidel Castros Tochter, pp. 103ff.
18 Franqui, Diary, p. 82.
19 Ibid., p. 81; Szulc, Fidel, p. 241.
20 Simons, Cuba, p. 274.
21 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 160.
22 Fernández, Ich, Alina, pp. 19–28.
23 Martin, The Early Fidel, p. 162.
24 Thomas, Cuban Revolution, p. 81.
25 Franqui, Diary, p. 90.
26 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 325ff.
27 Jon Lee Anderson, Che: Che Guevara, a Revolutionary Life, p. 175.
28 Jorge G. Castañeda, Compañero. The Life and Death of Che Guevara, p. 84.
29 Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Back on the Road, London, 2001, p. 99.
30 Interview given to Jorge Masetti, in Granma, October 16, 1967.
31 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 330ff.
32 Franqui, Diary, pp. 91, 94; Matthews, p. 77.
33 Szulc, Fidel, p. 340.
34 Paterson, Contesting Castro, pp. 20ff.
35 Ibid., p. 15.
36 Gregorio Selser, La Revolución Cubana, Buenos Aires, 1966, pp. 102–18.
37 “Enough Lies!,” in Selected Works, p. 323; “Basta ya de mentiras!,” Bohemia, July 15, 1956.
38 Geyer, Guerrilla Prince, pp. 148–9.
39 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 362ff.
40 Geyer, Guerrilla Prince, p. 150.
41 Ibid. (translation slightly modified).
42 Szulc, Fidel, p. 362.
43 Warren Hinckle/William Turner, Deadly Secrets: The CIA–MAFIA War against Castro and the Assassination of J.F.K, p. lxii.
44 Castañeda, Compañero, p. 99.
45 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 33.
46 Oficina de Publicaciones del Consejo de Estado, La Epoya del Granma, Havana, 1986, pp. 7ff.
47 Franqui, Diary, p. 124.
48 Ibid., p. 111.
49 Ibid., p. 129.
50 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 33ff.
51 Franqui, The Twelve, p. 63.
52 Franqui, Diary, p. 126.
53 Franqui, Diary, pp. 139–40.
54 Ibid., p. 140.
55 Geyer, Guerrilla Prince, pp. 182, 251.
56 Matthews, Castro: A Political Biography, London, 1969, p. 94.
57 Franqui, The Twelve, p. 78.
58 Matthews, Castro: A Political Biography, p. 95.
59 Ibid.
60 Ibid., p. 97.
61 Batista y Zaldívar, Cuba Betrayed, p. 52.
62 Paterson, Contesting Castro, pp. 96ff, 103.
63 Anderson, Che, p. 261.
64 Ibid., p. 219.
65 Ibid., p. 237.
66 Ibid.
67 Szulc, Fidel, p. 424.
68 Ibid.
69 Frank País, Letters to Alejandro (Fidel Castro’s cover name in the Sierra Maestra), July 5 and July 7, 1957; quoted in Franqui, Diary, pp. 196–9, 202–5.
70 Letter to Frank País, undated, in ibid., pp. 195ff.
71 Letter of December 14, 1957, in ibid., pp. 265–7.
72 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 192.
73 Franqui, Diary, p. 301.
74 Szulc, Fidel, p. 448.
75 Franqui, Diary, pp. 324–5.
76 Ibid., p. 351.
77 Ibid., p. 370.
78 Ibid., p. 362.
79 Ibid., p. 363.
80 Ibid., pp. 392, 394.
81 Szulc, Fidel, p. 448.
82 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 216.
83 Sebastian Balfour, Castro, p. 49.
84 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 65.
85 Ibid., p. 63.
86 Ibid., pp. 35ff.
87 Ibid., pp. 64, 105ff.
88 Szulc, Fidel, p. 429.
89 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 235.
90 See “Declaración de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular,” Havana, September 13, 1999, p. 2.
91 Paterson, Contesting Castro, pp. 222ff.
92 Franqui, Diary, p. 488.
93 Balfour, Castro, pp. 59ff.
94 Szulc, Fidel, p. 456.
95 Balfour, Castro, pp. 59ff.
Chapter 4 The Young Victor
1 Carlos Franqui, Family Portrait with Fidel, p. 3.
2 Franqui, Diary, pp. 489ff.
3 Paterson, Contesting Castro, pp. 200, 305.
4 Bohemia, January 11, 1959; Thomas, p. 262.
5 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 233.
6 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 251.
7 Bourne, Castro, pp. 161–2.
8 Franqui, Diary, p. 461.
9 Szulc, Fidel, p. 464.
10 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 256.
11 Franqui, Diary, p. 76.
12 Bohemia, January 11, 1959, p. 95.
13 Franqui, Family Portrait with Fidel, pp. 21ff.
14 Ibid., p. 24, 22.
15 Ibid., pp. 5ff.
16 Szulc, Fidel, pp. 471ff.
17 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 441.
18 Szulc, Fidel, p. 503.
19 Betto, pp. 172–3.
20 Philip W. Bonsal, Cuba, Castro and the United States, p. 36.
21 Ibid.
22 Szulc, Fidel, p. 483.
23 Thomas, The Cuban Revolution, p. 431.
24 Quirk, Fidel Castro, p. 227.
25 In James G. Blight/Peter Kornbluh, The Politics of Illusion: The Bay of Pigs Invasion Reexamined, p. 32.
26 Franqui, Family Portrait with Fidel, p. 18.
27 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 255.
28 Betto, p. 197.
29 Louis A. Pérez, Jr, Cuba between Reform and Revolution, p. 319.
30 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 41.
31 Rufo Lopez-Fresquet, My 14 Months with Castro, p. 10.
32 Ibid., p. 10.
33 Franqui, Family Portrait with Fidel, p. 42.
34 Betto, pp. 174ff.
35 Núñez Jiménez, Antonio, En marcha con Fidel, Havana, 1998, p. 308.
36 Ibid.
37 Jules R. Benjamin, The United States and the Origins of the Cuban Revolution, pp. 181ff.
38 “Probleme der innen- und wirtschaftspolitischen Lage Kubas,” secret report of the intelligence department of the GDR ministry for foreign affairs, November 23, 1960, SAPMO-Barch, DY 30/3647, Bl. 5–15.
39 Franqui, Family Portrait with Fidel, p. 54.
4
0 Quirk, Fidel Castro, pp. 252ff.
41 Pérez Jr, Between Reform and Revolution, p. 330.
42 Ibid., p. 324.
43 “Information über eine Aussprache mit dem Generalsekretär der SVP Kubas, Blas Roca, am 13. Juni 1961 in Havanna,” SAPMO-Barch, DY 30/3647, Bl. 43–50.
44 “Vertrauliche Aktennotiz an Walter Ulbricht,” December 17, 1958, SAPMO-Barch, DY 30/3647, Bl. 1.
45 Thomas, Cuban Revolution, p. 495.
46 “Fragmentos de documentos por los obispos cubanos durante las últimas cuatro décadas en relación con la situación nacional,” El Nuevo Herald (Miami), December 21, 1997.
47 Szulc, Fidel, p. 529.
Chapter 5 Old Enemies, New Friends
1 Franqui, Diary, p. 338.
2 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 251.
3 Ibid., p. 258.
4 Benjamin, The United States, p. 203.
5 Paterson, Contesting Castro, p. 257.
6 Peter Kornbluh, Bay of Pigs Declassified – The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba, p. 7.
7 Bourne, Castro, p. 166.
8 Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, To Speak the Truth: Why Washington’s Cold War against Cuba Doesn’t End, New York, 1992, p. 72.
9 John F. Kennedy, The Strategy of Peace, p. 132.
10 Szulc, Fidel, p. 480.
11 Lopez-Fresquet, My 14 Months with Castro, p. 83.
12 Szulc, Fidel, p. 519.
13 Ibid., p. 518.
14 Ibid.
15 Simons, Cuba, p. 304.
16 Pérez Jr, Between Reform and Revolution, p. 335.
17 Hans Ulrich Kempski, “Protest-Ouvertüren für das große Welttheater,” Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 19, 1960.
18 Ibid.
19 Hans Ulrich Kempski, “Hohnrufe und nasse Füße am Pier 73,” Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 21, 1960.
20 Ibid.
21 Hans Ulrich Kempski, “Castros Auftritt mit der Thermosflasche,” Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 28, 1960.
22 Quoted in Bonsal, Castro and the United States, p. 291.
23 Szulc, Fidel, p. 480.
24 Kornbluh, Bay of Pigs Declassified, p. 7.
25 Blight/Kornbluh, The Politics of Illusion, p. 84.
26 Szulc, Fidel, p. 530.
27 Kornbluh, Bay of Pigs Declassified, p. 9.
28 Colonel Jack Hawkins, “Secret Memorandum for the Record. Actions against the Castro Government of Cuba,” May 5, 1961, National Security Archive, George Washington University, Washington.
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