Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
Dear Delegates and Moderators,
Welcome to NAIMUN LIV and more specifically welcome to Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary
Guard! In a few short months, delegates from all around the world will convene to discuss
and respond to some of the most pressing issues faced by the international community.
The document included is a ‘topic abstract’ for Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard. Here,
you will find overview information about the committee and avenues for further research on
the topics we will be tackling during the conference. The intent of this abstract is so that you
may begin research and have an understanding of the material that will be discussed before a
full background guide is released later in the winter. By reading and understanding the topic
abstract, you will more fully get a sense of how this committee will be run at NAIMUN and
what specific issues the secretariat and dais members have chosen to focus on.
We hope to assist you in any way possible in the lead-up to NAIMUN. If you have any
questions, comments, or concerns, please contact the Chair or CM of Fidel Castro’s
Revolutionary Guard – Grace Jiang and Delfin Mendez – at [email protected] or
[email protected]. We look forward to welcoming you to NAIMUN in February!
All the best,
Garrett and Matthew
Garrett Williams
Secretary General
Matthew Robinson
Director General
Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
The Topics
The date is December 2, 1956, and the Granma containing the 82 remaining rebels of Fidel
Castro’s Movimiento 26 de Julio (M-26-7) has just landed upon the shores of Playa Las
Coloradas, Cuba from Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico. While the revolutionaries hardly constitute
an army equipped to overthrow General Fulgencio Batista from power, their anti-Batista
allies on the island stand prepared to supply the revolutionary guard with food, shelter,
supplies, and intelligence. While a small minority of the revolutionaries believes that it is
only necessary to topple the dictator, many more believe that they need to establish stable
democratic institutions with an overhaul of the political parties in Cuba. In addition, many
favor limited economic and social reforms, especially those that would put foreign-owned
assets into the hands of Cubans.
However, many Cubans remain uncertain as to what will happen following Batista’s ouster.
The grandiose vision El Comandante that Fidel Castro has laid out for Cuba has promised the
end of tyranny, but remains largely ambiguous. Instead, the execution of the revolution’s
promises including agrarian reform, a literacy campaign, industrialization, and a solution to
socioeconomic inequality, lie largely in the hands of Castro’s future government, the
members of whom El Comandante has yet to establish. As such, each and every member of
the revolution must prove their worth in both loyalty and capability to hold a position in the
new coalition.
As each member of the revolutionary guard formulates his next moves, the rest of Cuba waits
with baited breath for the economic, political, and social reforms promised to them by the
revolution. Members must especially keep the following topics in mind:
Topic A: Economy
Following the independence of several Latin American countries, especially Haiti, Cuba
became the largest sugar producer in the world, exporting the cash crop to Europe in the early
19th century. However, by the Spanish American War, America became Cuba’s primary
market, with American capital flooding Cuba after the end of the war. Cuba is hardly a poor
country by Latin American standards. In fact, it could be considered the most prosperous
country in the region. Its cities, such as Havana and Santiago de Cuba, supported a vast
network of middle class services and hotels that serve American industries and tourist.
Lawyers, doctors, managers and engineers work and prosper in the cities thanks to close ties
with the US. The biggest sugar, manufacturing, utilities and hotel companies in the island are
owned by US interest. However, not all Cubans enjoy this from this prosperity. Most Cubans
Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
are either underpaid industrial workers in the cities or poor landless farmers. Almost a quarter
of the workforce is employed in the unstable sugar industry, which leaves them unemployed
for four months each year. They certainly do not benefit from the current distribution of
wealth and land, earning only about $91 per year, thereby making Cuba one of the most
unequal nations in the Americas. Also many lack accesses to basic good and services, such as
hospitals and schools. If the revolution is to be successful, the movement must generate
viable solutions to mobilize the lower classes in supporting and joining the revolution.
However, the appropriate means to liberate the country from its inequalities are far from
clear.
Topic B: Nationalism and Democratization
For most, the call for revolution is not for economic or social change, but for political
transformation. Cuba’s political development was interrupted by the United States in their
intervention in the Cuban War of Independence during the Spanish American War. For
Cubans, the goal of the war was to obtain full independence from Spain under a democratic
regime. However, following the war, the new republic of Cuba- founded after a four-year
American occupation- effectively became a protectorate of the United States. The 1901 Platt
Amendment established that the US had authority to intervene in Cuba’s internal politics, and
thus gave it full control over the island’s foreign relations, including to US military control of
the Bay of Guantanamo. Although FDR’s administration ended the Platt Amendment in 1934
as part of the Good Neighbor Policy, the United States continues to exert influence over the
island and maintains control of Guantanamo Bay as a naval station.1
Although Cuba legally obtained independence as a democratic state in 1901, it has been
subject to the brutal control of President Fulgencio Batista, also known as El Hombre or "the
Man." Originally an army sergeant, he came to power in a coup, led in 1934 with U.S.
support. Since then, he has controlled the government either directly or through puppet
Presidents for the last 20 years. Thus, Batista established a Pro-American regime that used a
network of corruption and violence to keep itself in power. For many young middle class
Cubans, such as Fidel Castro, this is an unacceptable situation.2 Many supporters of the
revolution expect that victory will lead to a free society and a return to democracy. It is
fundamental that the revolutionary movement keep in mind some of these expectations and
discuss regime change.
1
“The United States, Cuba, and the Platt Amendment, 1901,” Office of the Historian US Department of
State. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/platt
2
“Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973),” PBS.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/peopleevents/p_batista.html
Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
Topic C: Social/Cultural Reforms
With a Gini Coefficient of 0.57, Cuba’s stark economic inequalities also generate subsequent
social strife. The majority of Cuba’s peasants face unemployment and/or debt and also have
minimal access to social services. Malnourishment, illiteracy, and lack of access to
healthcare, while uncommon in cities, are rampant issues in the countryside. Thus, social
mobility is essentially nonexistent for poor Cubans, who are also disproportionately black or
mulatto (of mixed race). Because Cuba was built on a legacy of slavery which was not
abolished until 1886, whites are largely considered a superior race in Cuban society, an
attitude exacerbated by the presence of the United States, which deals with its own internal
issues of racism and discrimination. Cuban society has institutionalized racism, with laws that
prohibit blacks and mulattoes from entering “whites only” occupations, beaches, parks, clubs,
and schools. Discrimination is so widespread that even President Batista, who is a mulatto,
has been barred from entering one of Havana’s most exclusive clubs. This oppression
disproportionately affects poor black and mulatto women, who are limited to traditional
gender roles as a result of poor health care, child care, and employment opportunities. Lack
of access to contraception, illegal abortion, and medical care means that women are largely
unable to leave their children or homes.
However, not only do poor blacks, mulattos, and women constitute a significant portion of
Cuba’s disenfranchised population, minorities have consistently played decisive roles in
Cuba’s history, having made up a significant share of liberation army participants in both of
Cuba’s wars for national liberation from Spain in 1868-78 and 1895-98. Thus, Cuba’s poor
and marginalized have demonstrated themselves to be an impressive force that could prove to
be critical in the revolution’s success and whose plight simply cannot be ignored by the
Cuban government any longer.
Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
Resources for Further Research
Below is a list of resources that will be useful in your preparation for the committee. Some of
the documents will be in the public domain in order to facilitate your research process. If you
have any problems reach out to the CM and Chair for help. Overall, an understanding of
Cuban history and society will be the most beneficial to perform well in committee.
Speeches of Fidel Castro
● http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/cb/cuba/castro.html
● These speeches will help you understand how Fidel Castro’s political thoughts
changed before, during and after the revolution. This will give you an idea of what
the revolution meant to Castro and Cuba at large as the situation changed in the
island. Place pecial focus the following speeches:
○ History will absolve me (1953)
○ Castro Speaks to the citizens of Santiago Cuba (1959)
○ Speech to Intellectuals (1961)
○ I Shall Be a Marxist-Leninist to the End of My Life (1961)
The Works of Herberto Padilla
● http://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3291&context=etd
● http://www.literatura.us/padilla/fuera.html
● https://books.google.com.pr/books?id=PENl8h8J0XsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=heb
erto+padilla+poems+in+english&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivsd2Y4fTNAhUC1R
4KHcDnCJYQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=heberto%20padilla&f=false
● Herberto Padilla, “Fuera de Juego”
● Herberto Padilla was a supporter turned critic of the revolution. His poems will give
an insight into how initial supporters of Castro will ultimately find themselves in
opposition to the regime.
History of Cuba
● Luis A. Perez Jr., “The structure of Cuban History”
● This book focuses on he history of Cuba, and how the US intervention in Cuba
affected the Cuban mentality and political perception. I recommend the introduction
and the chapters focusing on the War with Spain and Castro. If you have an interest in
any specific chapter and can access the book reach out to the CM who can provide
scans of the intro and several chapters.
Topic Abstract: Fidel Castro’s Revolutionary Guard, 1956
● http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/projects/ThinkingFromCuba/index.php?page_id=C
uban+History , http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cuba.htm
● American University sites focusing on the History of Cuba.
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0952Hj4fWw
● Video documentary on the cuban revolution.
BBC:
●
●
●
●
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19583447
Useful timeline and profile on Cuba.
Che Part One (Film)
This is the first part of a two-part biopic on the life of Che Guevara. The film focuses
on his ideological development and his contributions in Cuba from 1956 to 1959. The
M-26-7 might have operated during 1956. Pleas consult the web for a source, it is
available on netflix.