13-year history." In the spring of 1939, the PUR disappeared as it merged into the newly legalized Communist Party. Relations had reached such a high point in 1939 that Batista was moved to say, "The Communist Party, as in Mexico, the USA, and in France, is recognized, and communism, as a legal instead of a disturbing force, has become the promoter of dramatic formulae."

Relations between the Cuban and U.S. Communist parties were also very friendly and Blas Roca visiting New York in 1938 praised Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy. He came to make sure that the Cuban Communist Party would continue to receive financial support from its United States counterpart.10

In 1939, the old CNOC also disappeared and a new labor federation directed by the Communists was established-the Confederation of Cuban WorkersCTC. The CTC became Batista's link to Cuban labor." The Communists thus became all powerful in organized labor and were so favored by the Ministry of Labor that the CTC unions dealt with the ministry rather than through collective bargaining. Opponents of the Communists charged that the Ministry was packed with Communist Party members and that this situation existed well after the end of the Batista administration.18

The Communists were very instrumental in the development of the Constitution of 1940 which many regard as one of the most social-reform oriented in Latin America. Communist suggestions which were adopted included recognition of the right of the workers to organize and the right of unions to strike and boycott. Other suggestions by Blas Roca which were written into the Constitution included provisions for written collective contracts, minimum wages, the 8-hour day and the 48-hour week, prohibition of work for children under the age of 14, and provisions for social security."

In the 1940 elections the Communists, now under the name of the Revolutionary Communist Union, worked enthusiastically for Batista's election as president, joining his Socialist Democratic Coalition. The Communists elected 10 of their members to the Chamber of Deputies, 100 members to city councils throughout the island, as well as the mayors of Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo.20

The Communists enjoyed great influence in the Batista administration, in congress, and among the masses. Juan Marinello entered the Cabinet as Minister Without Portfolio, the first Communist in Latin America to become a member of a government." Later another Communist Party leader, Carlos Rafael Rodrigues, entered the cabinet. The number of registered Communist voters rose from 90,000 in 1940 to 150,000 six years later. The Party organ, Hoy, had one of the largest circulations in the city of Havana. One of the city's largest radio stations came under Communist control and became an organ of the Party."

Prior to this time, the Socialists who had joined the party broke away because the Communists considered World War II an imperialist war."

In early 1944, the Communists changed the name of the party from Revolutionary Communist Union to the Popular Socialist Party (PSP). Their program during this time was mild, calling for racial equality, and rights for women, refraining from advocating land reform or nationalization on a large scale." In the elections of 1944, the Communists supported the unsuccessful Batistabacked candidate but made gains for themselves in Congress. For the first time three communists were elected to the Senate and nine members were elected to the Chamber of Deputies including the leader of the CTC. The elected President, Grau San Martin, was careful not to offend the Communists because of their power in the labor movement."

In the new administration of Grau San Martin, the Communists cooperated with the President but gradually began to lose the power and influence they had gained under Batista. They lost the Senate seats but retained the nine in the Chamber." Grau's Autenticos won a bitter struggle over the Communists for control of the CTC and finally emerged on top in 1947. Communist strength in the

CTC dwindled rapidly and by the early 1950's the Communists had only a skeleton organization within the labor movement." The Communists vigorously opposed Autentico presidential candidate Prio Socarras who as Minister of Labor Isided with the Autenticos in the CTC battle with the Communists. The Communists opposed mostly every measure Prio proposed as President and accused the President of selling out to Yankee imperialists. Favoring the Communists' position was the fact that there was flagrant corruption in both the Grau and Prio administrations."

25

Communist Party fortunes however continued on the decline and Party registration fell from 150,000 in 1948 to only 55,000 two years later. Their ranks were so diminished within their once powerful labor organization that in the last Congress of the CTC before Batista's March 1952 coup, there were only 11 Communists out of a total of 4500 delegates. It was reported that only twenty of the country's 3,000 unions were clearly in Communist hands."

When Batista returned to power in 1952 he assumed a very anti-Communist and pro-United States stance. In April of that year the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Cuba and the battle lines were drawn. Batista had the electoral law changed in order to make it more difficult for the Party to be officially recognized. In late 1953, major Party leaders were either arrested or went into exile and finally the PSP was outlawed. However, the Communist Party still existed as an organization because they always had a functioning secret party.* Interestingly, Batista was well aware of the secret party and even allowed Communists into his political organization hoping they might provide some labor support for his government. According to charges of CTC leaders, various Communist Party members had positions in the Ministry of Labor. Even after Batista was elected "constitutional President" in October 1955, he did not present any obstacles in the way of the illegal Communist Party.31

The Communists stayed out of the Castro-led revolution until the final stages when victory was practically assured as the Batista government became increasingly unpopular with most segments of the Cuban population. At the time of the famous Moncada attack on the 26th of July, 1953, the very birth of the Cuban Revolution, the PSP criticized active anti-government movements as "adventuristic activities of the bourgeois opposition against the interests of the people." The Communists went so far as to inform the police of the activities of members of the Revolutionary Student Directorate."

Fidel Castro, a lawyer and former congressional candidate of the Ortodoxo Party, conducted his campaign with his 26th of July Movement closely allied with the Civic Resistance Movement and joined by some elements from labor and student groups. They carried out terrorist acts and brought many others into the fight against the government. The Communist Party meanwhile contributed to one of Castro's major setbacks when it refused to support the general strike which the 26th of July Movement called for April 9, 1958. The strike was successful in some areas of the country but for the most part it was considered a failure. In a statement issued on April 12, the Communists said that the strike failed because the Movement rejected their offers of alliance.38

33

Taking advantage of growing discontent against Batista, the 26th of July Movement formed the Civilian Revolutionary Front, composed of seven revolutionary organizations which met in Caracas on July 20, 1958. The Communists were not included among these groups which signed the Caracas Pact calling for a strategy of armed insurrection accompanied by a civilian general strike, a brief period of provisional government to restore constitutional and democratic procedures, and a program to insure workers' rights, public order, freedom and progress."

The Communists, however, perhaps sensing that they might be left out if Castro ultimately did achieve victory, made contact with the 26th of July Movement in the Sierra Maestra as Central Committee member Carlos Rafael Rodriguez met with rebel leaders. By the fall of 1958 the Communists seem to have given orders

Ibid., p. 288.

* Ibid., p. 289. "Ibid., p. 292. 30 Ibid., p. 293.

81 Ibid., p. 294.

33 Suarez, Andres. Cuba: Castroism and Communism. Cambridge, The M.I.T. Press, 1967, p. 26-27.

Special Operations Research Office. Area Handbook for Cuba. Washington, The American University, 1961, p. 399.

Ibid., p. 398.

for their membership to give full support to the movement by participating in urban terrorist activity. The Party cooperated in the general strike of January 1, 1959 and thus was able to share the victory with the Castro forces. Shortly after, the Communists opened Party offices in some of the major cities, began publishing its newspaper, and helped organize the welcome for Castro when he arrived triumphantly in Havana on January 8."

The Communists gave Castro full support and cooperation and began to gain influence which was first apparent in the rebel army and in the labor unions. Revolutionary doctrine became a regular feature of army training as Communists lectured on the revolution in the army camps."

Subsequently, the long-time Party functionaries became prominent in government as Castro appointed them to important posts. Gradually, the Communists replaced 26th of July Movement loyalists in many areas and through Castro's intervention on their behalf, the Communist Party was given greater power in the CTC." By mid-1960, the Communists, taking advantage of their position as the only highly organized political force functioning in the first months of the triumphant revolution, took charge of many organizations and were able to supply the government with needed cadres.35

Castro became more closely aligned with the Communists on April 16, 1961, on the eve of the Bay of Pigs invasion, when he declared the revolution to be a socialist one. The Party officially gained ascendency over the other revolutionary groups when Castro announced, on July 26, 1961, the merger of the Communist Party (PSP) with the loyal Castroite groups, the 26th of July Movement and the Revolutionary Student Directorate. The new organization called the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations-ORI-was designed to be the preparatory stage for the formation of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution. Old-line Communist leader Anibal Escalante organized the ORI around the PSP nuclei throughout the island and the PSP members became dominant." The Communists had taken control of the revolution.

40

On December 1, 1961, perhaps to establish himself as leader of the Communist movement in Latin America and to gain more aid from the Soviet bloc, Castro declared, “I am a Marxist-Leninist, and I shall continue to be one until the last day of my life."

However, in March 1962 Castro moved against the old-line Communists when he purged the ORI and accused Escalante of favoring PSP members at the expense of the men who began the revolution. Subsequently, in a reorganization of the ORI, the old-guard lost control." In February 1963 the ORI became the United Party of the Socialist Revolution (PURS). Those originally loyal to Castro had control, and Castro's particular ideas on communism became the established doctrine. This organization eventually evolved into the Communist Party of Cuba in October 1965 with the Fidelistas still holding the important positions.

The Communist Party consolidated its position and today stands as an integral and dominant participant in the Cuban government. Castro as First Secretary of the Communist Party, as Prime Minister of the nation, and as commander-inchief of the armed forces is able to control the government through the Communist Party apparatus. Members of the nearly 100-man Central Committee, two-thirds of whom are military men who fought alongside Fidel in the mountains, are considered Fidelistas as are the members of the 8-man Political Bureau. Carlos Rafael Rodriguez is perhaps the only old-line Communist who has any position of influence with Castro and seems to be Castro's chief contact with the Soviet Union. It is very clear that Castro in a very personal way still rules Cuba through his special adaptation of the Communist system.

Extremely important to the success of the Castro government are the Cuban Armed Forces which are involved in many facets of Cuban life. Their importance is illustrated by the fact that eleven of the 24 cabinet posts are held by soldiers." The army is under the leadership of Fidel's brother, Raul, as head of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR). The largest group of Com

35 Ibid., p. 400-01.

30 Ibid., p. 427. 37 Ibid., p. 419.

33 Ibid., p. 421.

p. 356.

Halperin, Ernst. The Castro Regime in Cuba. Current History, December, 1966, 40 Suarez. Op. cit., p. 141.

41 Halperin. Op. cit., p. 356.

42 National Observer, April 26, 1971.

munist Party members in the nation is in the officer corps of the armed forces but the Communist Party hierarchy in the military is subordinate to the military hierarchy. Both, however, are under the control of Fidel. About half of the graduates of the military schools join the Party and most of the rest join the UJC (Communist Youth Union)."

In 1968, Castro began to use the army as a developmental tool and as a convenient source of manpower in the economy. Today, the military is prominent in agricultural production, especially in the sugar industry, in addition to other areas of economic life.

The Cuban people have derived a number of benefits from the Castro government as compared to life under Batista. Castro has practically eliminated illiteracy with two and a half times as many pupils in public schools as under Batista. Some 277,000 of them are on scholarships." Health conditions have greatly improved and income distribution has certainly been improved. Telephone service is free and Castro may be near his goal of rent-free living. However, critics of Castro, among them internationally recognized Communist figures, have been quick to point out the many problems faced by the government.

Castro has asked the Cuban people to make tremendous sacrifices and live under a program of severe economic austerity. Food is rationed and milk is available only to children and the sick. In his 26th of July speech in 1970, Castro was quite frank in admitting that the Cuban economic picture was very bleak and he officially recognized that there was growing discontent because of the deterioration in the standard of living. A critical labor shortage, compounded by a high rate of absenteeism, has resulted in low productivity. One of the reasons given for this deteriorating economic situation was the inefficient use of human and energy resources which went into the struggle to obtain a 10million ton sugar harvest in 1969-70. Critics such as French-Socialist Rene Dumont, once a chief agricultural advisor to Castro, point to economic inefficiency as one of Castro's basic problems. Cuba's 1971 sugar crop totalled 5.9 million tons, one million under the goal set last December and about 700,000 tons under the revised figure set early in May."

The Cuban government is carrying out a campaign to counter the absenteeism and low productivity which has plagued the economy. Earlier in the year, the CTC elected new trade union representatives with the apparent objective of allowing the union leadership to crack down on worker absenteeism and slowdowns. Exiled former labor leaders say that instead of seeking benefits for labor as the CTC originally was designed to do, the organization now will act as a police unit for the state."

On April 1, 1971, "anti-loafing" or anti-vagrancy law went into effect which made "loafing" a crime punishable by six months to two years in a "rehabilitation center." 47

Significant acts of sabotage have also contributed to the nation's economic problems. Among some of the more significant events has been the destruction of one of Cuba's largest match factories and a fire which destroyed a multimillion dollar fish-freezing plant. The government blamed the 195 railroad accidents in the first 11 months of 1970 on negligence." Cuban refugees say that the periodic power failures and power fade-outs, which have become quite common, are the result of fuel shortages and sabotage.

The Cuban government has taken measures against dissidents; the InterAmerican Human Rights Commission issued a report in November 1970 documenting the poor treatment of thousands of political prisoners." In addition, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) still serve as a "spy on your neighbor" organization in addition to their mobilization of the community function.

The arrest of the respected Communist poet Herberto Padilla in February of 1971 indicated that the Castro government is now repressing intellectual dissent. The official organ of the armed forces, Verde Olivo, has condemned "counterrevolutionary" literary efforts. Exiled Cuban intellectuals fear that a "Stalinization" process is underway in Cuba.50

43 Burks, David D. Cuba Today. Current History, February 1971, p. 109.

"Le Monde Weekly, April 1-7, 1971.

45 Christian Science Monitor, July 24, 1971.

Copley News Service, February 4, 1971.

47 National Observer, April 26, 1971.

48 U.S. News and World Report, January 18, 1971.

49 OAS. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Second Report on the Situation of Political Prisoners and their Relatives in Cuba. Washington, November 17, 1970. 60 National Observer, April 26, 1971.

Castro's problems have driven him closer than ever before to the Soviet Union. Relations between the two nations have been at times both friendly and strained but ties have been close since Cuba's support of the Czechoslovakian invasion. Trade protocols have been signed, the most recent in February, 1971. Estimates of Soviet aid to Cuba range from one to one and a half million dollars per day; Cuba already owes the Soviet Union more than three billion dollars. The Soviets are becoming increasingly more involved in Cuba's economy through the joint commission which was set up under the February agreement. The commission was created to study Cuba's "economic management and ways to increase the efficiency of the national economy."

In the past few years there has been an increase in Russian military activity in Cuba. Since 1969, Russian naval squadrons, including nuclear submarines, have visited Cuba six times, and exiles report the establishment of a naval base in the Cienfuegos Bay area. In November of 1970, the Soviet Defense Minister pledged that the USSR would give Cuba the "newest weapons and military equipment."

One possible effect of Castro's dependency on the Soviet Union is that the government seems to be moving toward a more traditional Communist stance with regard to revolution in Latin America. In January, 1970, Douglas Bravo, a commander of the Venezuelan Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), charged that Castro had abandoned the guerrilla movement in Latin America."

Castro and the Cuban Revolution are no longer considered the inspiration for the new urban guerrilla movements in Latin America but they serve to illustrate a one-time guerrilla's adaptation of Communism to govern a victorious revolution.

CHILE

55

The Chilean Communist Party is the best organized, and well-disciplined, political party in Chile and as such has been an extremely important factor in the politics of this South American nation since the party's formal establishment 50 years ago. It is principally a party made up of trade union workers but includes segments of the petite bourgeoisie, writers, and artists. The appeal of the Cuban revolution has enabled the Communists to gain adherents from the peasant class." For the greater part of its history the Communist Party has either controlled organized labor or has had a very important voice in the movement. In the early 1920s the Party controlled the Chilean Worker's Federation (Federacion Obrera Chilena) with a membership of 200,000 5 and today a Communist Party member of Congress heads the largest labor organization in the nation, the Workers' Single Central Union (Central Unica de Trabajadores de Chile-CUTCh). The chief rival to the Communists for control of labor has been the Socialist Party although that party has not had the upper hand since a period in the 1930's.5* Except for the several times that it has been outlawed, the Communist Party has been a legitimate political force which has been represented in the Chilean Senate and House of Deputies and constantly courted by rival parties for support in Chile's traditional game of coalition politics. As have most Chilean political parties, the Communists have demonstrated tremendous flexibility and thus have supported all shades of political ideology in the pursuit of their ultimate objectives. Since the mid-1950's the Communists have been cooperating with the Socialist Party and other leftist parties and today constitute an important force in the government of Socialist President Salvador Allende.

The Communist Party, traditionally Marxist and closely adhering to the moderate Moscow line, has always been a rival-bitter at times-of the generally more radical Socialists, who also profess Marxism but are independent of international and ideological ties. Communist participation with the Socialists among other parties in today's ruling coalition called Popular Unity, is understood more clearly from a brief look at the development of both parties in the Chilean political system.

Although originating in the Socialist Workers' Party (PSO) founded in 1912, the Communist Party was formally established in 1921 when the PSO joined the

51 New York Times, February 28, 1971.

52 New York Times, July 13, 1971.

53 Gonzalez, Edward. Castro: The Limits of Charisma. Problems of Communism, JulyAugust, 1970, p. 22.

5 Gil, Federico. The Political System of Chile. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966, p. 178.

55 Alexander, Op. cit., p. 178.

o Ibid., p. 177.