Militarized by Moscow? Re-examining Soviet Influence on Cuba in the 1970s

Abstract

Cuba in the 1970s has long been characterized as the decade in which the Revolution became not only thoroughly “Sovietized” but, consequently, “militarized”. This apparent “militarization” supposedly put an end to the guerrilla ethos that had buttressed the Revolution until then, replacing it with a more methodical approach and the pervasive presence of the newly professionalized armed forces across the political and social landscape. This chapter challenges the notion that the Revolution was either completely “Sovietized” or “militarized” during the 1970s. Drawing on a range of materials published in Cuba during the period in question, it argues that, while the Revolution certainly transformed structurally, its underpinning guerrilla values, as expressed in official discourse, remained unchanged as it entered its second decade in power.