Inside the Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro and the Urban Underground

by Sweig

Julia Sweig shatters the mythology surrounding the Cuban Revolution in a compelling revisionist history that reconsiders the revolutionary roles of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara and restores to a central position the leadership of the Cuban urban underground, the Llano. Granted unprecedented access to the classified records of Castro's 26th of July Movement's underground operatives--the only scholar inside or outside of Cuba allowed access to the complete collection in the Cuban Council of State's Office of Historic Affairs--she details the ideological, political, and strategic debates between Castro's mountain-based guerrilla movement and the urban revolutionaries in Havana, Santiago, and other cities.

In a close study of the fifteen months from November 1956 to July 1958, when the urban underground leadership was dominant, Sweig examines the debate between the two groups over whether to wage guerrilla warfare in the countryside or armed insurrection in the cities, and is the first to document the extent of Castro's cooperation with the Llano. She unveils the essential role of the urban underground, led by such figures as Frank País, Armando Hart, Haydée Santamaria, Enrique Oltuski, and Faustino Pérez, in controlling critical decisions on tactics, strategy, allocation of resources, and relations with opposition forces, political parties, Cuban exiles, even the United States--contradicting the standard view of Castro as the primary decision maker during the revolution.

In revealing the true relationship between Castro and the urban underground, Sweig redefines the history of the Cuban Revolution, offering guideposts for understanding Cuban politics in the 1960s and raising intriguing questions for the future transition of power in Cuba.

Genres: History, Academic, Nonfiction, Politics

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2002

Reviews

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside the Cuban Revolution is a detailed, practically month by month political account of the Cuban Revolution. It's also very much Sweig's dissertation, which is a double-edged blade. On the positive side is an obsessive focus with the minutia of newly open archives that a journalist or more senior scholar would elide. On the negative side is a desire to advance scholarship by pushing against the conventional wisdom. The conventional wisdom, at least as I understand it, is very much driven by Cold War ideologies, Cuban exiles, and the self-aware mythmaking of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. And yet, in looking for a new story about the relationship between the urban llano and the rural sierra components of the 26th of July Movement, Sweig perhaps misses the forest for the trees.

But first those trees, and they are quite impressive. Inside the Cuban Revolution brings forward lesser known figures of the Revolution, such as Frank Pais, Armando Hart, and Celia Sánchez. Rather than a unitary and inevitably victorious war, Sweig shows the Revolution as constantly backfooted, debating strategy and organization, and very unsure of where to go next. The main object of focus was a general strike, a broad coordinate rebellion across Cuban society that would shut down industry and transport, aligning ordinary workers, radical activists, and the staid conservatives of the civic groups in an anti-Baptista rising, out of which a new constitutional order would arise.

Of course, it didn't work out like that at all. Several attempts at a general strike failed due to organizational lapses, as the 26th of July Movement lacked the deep basis to pull it off, and these failures were accompanied by high casualties. The 26th of July Movement was one faction in the opposition, which included politiqueria exiles who threatened a return to traditional corruption. Coordination between Castro in the mountains, activists at the literal other end of the island in Havana, and members overseas charged with raising money, arms, and diplomatic support was always spotty at best.

Yet somehow Castro's ragtag but motivated guerrilla columns defeated Batista's army in battle, showing that superior firepower doesn't always win. A strongman cannot ever afford to look weak, and Batista fled, letting the 26th of July Movement seize power in a triumphal march.

[Chongyang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can be hard to read in the beginning if you don't have any prior knowledge of Cuban politics and the history of that time and before. But it'll get easier as the story goes on.

I went into this book with zero knowledge of the revolution or Cuba. I came out a little less ignorant. Even with zero knowledge, I enjoyed the book and was able to follow along.

Took me months to finish this book. Mostly reading at work in between customers' orders.

[Krocht Ehlundovič · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not had a broad knowledge and deep understanding of Cuban revolution before I read this book. So I entered this area as almost like tabula rasa - here I do not speak about basics, I think the basic knowledge each school history teacher must possess: the fundamentals are our necessity, our laws.

But back to the book...
J. E. Sweig made a good intro, where she presented her thesis and starting points. For me, I was curious how she got to Cuban sources as there is still a "regime" - not very open, but my assumption turned to be wrong. She explained that she could enter the Cuban archives and
libraries almost without problems. Within the last chapter (About the Research) she showed that Cuban revolutionaries wanted even to speak about their revolution + Castro complained that historians do not approach him when they write about Cuba... The point is, they want to lay down their deeds in front of History. So, I can say that she covered the all possible and accessible (CIA has not declassified some documents) sources.

The book is about the time when Fidel started revolution (by landing on Cuban shores by boat Granma) till the Batista´s escape from Cuba. Then, I was positively surprised, the book main idea is analysis of role of urban opposition forces and movements within the revolution (llano = urban environment - intelligentsia and sierra = rural/mountainous environment - the Fidel´s M276). The author explains in details all processes which happened among these movements - to remind: the opposition was composed of white and blue collars, military, students, workers - unions, socialists, communists, exile in US and in other countries (also divided) and other minor groups.

Sweig describes and analyzes all relevant events occurring around the revolution and I must say, that I did not expect such a complex and complicated process. She commented all agreements and developments with their impacts. Her narrative is attractive and historically entertaining. In her text, she shows how important and strong was llano - opposition; Fidel in her book appears scarcely and he also expressed his point when she wanted to interview him, saying: he has a small role in the llano (keep in mind: revolutionary movement in cities and towns).

Sweig has skilfully been able to unfold the Cuban revolution that anybody can enjoy its mechanism. I dare to say, it is an excellent work! I want to read: prof. Piero Gleijeses: The definitive history of Cuban and American policy in Africa from 1959-76, and prof. Thomas G. Paterson: Contesting Castro: The United States and the Triumph of the Cuban revolution.

What has touched me the most is the role of women in the Cuban revolution, I admire them! I admire all of them and I say it directly and openly and I know why, read this and you would understand.

Chapters:
Introduction: History, Mythology, and Revolution (I appreciate this chapter as it explains the main terms and issues - it shows how colorful the movement(s) was(were))
1. "Tactics in Politics and Tactics in Revolution Are Not The Same"
2. The Sierra Manifesto
3. "We had to act a bit dictatorially"
4. Defending opposition unity on the ground
5. Fear and loathing in Miami
6. Taming the Politiqueros in Exile
7. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
8. Total war?
9. The golden age of Llano
10. The arms race
11. Politics and popular insurrection
12. "Bordering on chaos"
13. Picking up the pieces
14. Unity: "Like a magic word"
15. The Pact of Caracas
16. Hasta la Victoria!
Epilogue: Transition then and now
About the Research

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Inside the Cuban Revolution mainly focuses on the llano, the urban underground division of the 26th of July Movement (M267). It covers the period from February 1957-January 1959. What I appreciated about this book is that it focused on the lesser known players of the Cuban revolution, people like Frank Pais, Rene Ramos Latour, Haydee Santamaria, Luis Buch, Armando Hart, Vilma Espin, etc. In fact, Fidel, Raul and Che are kept in the background in this book.

I learned a lot about the rival opposition factions to Batista. Castro's movement was certainly not the only one fighting against the dictatorship in the 1950s. Most of these organizations had little popular support though and were living in exile in Miami. Much of the book involves the M267 trying to maintain control of the opposition movement without giving up their independence by joining a unity ticket with the other opposition orgs. The other primary concern of the book is the struggle the M267 had trying to smuggle weapons onto the island. They sent people to Miami, Mexico, Venezuela and Costa Rica trying to procure weapons and it was one of their biggest barriers to success.

It is also interesting to see the arguments within the M267 during these years about how close they should ally with the PSP, the Communist party in Cuba. A myth often presented by right wingers is that Castro was always a Red in the pocket of the Soviet Union. This is not true and in fact Castro and others were very self aware of how close they could get to the PSP and how that impacted their international image. In reality, the PSP had major disagreements with the M267, specifically the llano, about using violence to foment revolution. The PSP warned the llano that a national general strike to bring down Batista would fail because the people were not organized enough and they were vindicated by the failed strike of April 9, 1958.

One negative aspect of this book is I felt that Sweig avoided talking about US involvement during these years. I know there are other books that focus on Cuban-American relations though and she is talking about a specific aspect of the revolution so it is forgivable. Whenever the author interjects their own political opinions I always dislike it, the epilogue is particularly bad with Sweig encouraging Cuba to move towards "market democracy". But she went to Harvard and works for the Council on Foreign Relations, so take her analysis with a grain of salt. One could also ask what the ideological reasons were for writing a book from this perspective and I would suggest the US is trying to revise history a bit by lessening Castro's role in the revolution and give Cuban exiles a more honorable role in the history (without mentioning their CIA ties). But the history she presents is well written and interesting and no other book focuses on the urban element of the revolution in such detail so for that I quite enjoyed it!

[Evie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book covers a very interesting topic, but it is very hard to read. It is certainly better suited for someone who already knows a good amount about Cuban history. I found there to be many run on sentences which make the book hard to read. The information gets lost, and you lose her argument easily. The lack of transitions makes you wonder why the author is bringing something up. Often times examples are brought up with little explanation or context.

[Nato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler: Castro wins.

This book is the kind of rigorous historical scholarship I love. A deep dig into primary sources to re-evaluate other narratives. Getting a nuanced and almost day by day analysis of the urban underground side of the revolution over a two year period was fantastic.

[Linnea Colton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me when I learn

[Yvonne O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here in the Us, we tend to learn very little of Cuba. We are told that Battista was corrupt and allowed the Mafia to do as they wished there. But, then we are told that Che, Fidel and all the rebels who fought to remove Battista were also corrupt. Then we learn snippets about the Bay of Pigs invasion of 1962 and its failed attempt to get rid of Fidel Castro - which resulted in the embargo, travel restrictions, and conflict that lasts to this day. This book details the Revolution from its very start to the bitter end and goes through a month by month analysis of the ups and downs.

While understandably dry and fact-based, the book is really eye-opening considering how little we learn in the US about the Revolution. I learned that it was not Che and Fidel who started it all, but that, through the course of events and over time, became the ones in charge (and that both men actually led very privileged lives and were not "of the people" before the Revolution). Overall, the book should be part of an American history class (on world issues) because this is important and relevant information.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but very dry, clinical, abstract and tedious. The book does lay out the process of how the revolution was carried out in detail (sometimes excruciating, watching-paint-dry detail), so you should come out of the experience with a sense of what it takes to bring down a government. Sweig also suggests there were many players in the Cuban Revolution, some of them every bit as significant as Castro, who have, at least in America, been lost to the mists of history (Frank Pais, just to name one). Interestingly, Che Guevarra is pretty much a bit player here. Unfortunately, Sweig's delivery of this information is so abstract that it often renders the story of the overthrow of a nation boring. It also suffers from "hard to tell the players without a scorecard" syndrome. One wonders what, say, a Lawrence Wright would do with this same material.

[José · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly dry and tedious. It consists primarily of correspondence between the revolutionaries loosely strung together. I found out, however, that the M26 was gunning for Eusebio Mujal, the guy my grandfather protected.

[Lawlasaurus]

good book