Discuss the use of force in consolidating an authoritarian leaders maintenance of

power.

Castro became the military commander-in-chief of the provisional government

after he had seized power in January 1959. His effort to consolidate his power allowed
him to become the prime minister of Cuba in February 1959 and subsequently the
president in 1976. Castro remained in power for nearly five decades and his regime in
Cuba lasted until 2008. To maintain his power as a single-party state leader, Castro
used various methods such as propaganda, creation of populist social and economic
policies and elimination of all political opposition. In contrast to these methods, the use
of force as a method of consolidating Castros power was vital and equally important as
the others.
With the use of force, Fidel Castro removed the people associated with Batistas
regime. Those who had served in the Batista government and armed forces were
brought to trial, executed and their properties confiscated. The trials drew sharp
criticism from both the United States and Cuba for lack of procedural safeguards and
concern for rights of the accused. However, Castro justified the unfair executions by
claiming that the revolution was endangered by these people. The vast majority of
Cubans stood behind Castro in support, as seen when the people shouted paredn, "to
the wall," meaning death by firing squad. Not only did the execution help Castro to
remove most of his political opponents who might turn into threats in the future, it also
allowed Castro to gain popularity amongst Cubans as he appeared as a saviour
exacting justice for the violated rights of the Cuban people.
The use of force was also apparent in the elimination internal political dissent.
The execution and imprisonment of political opponents, as a form of terror, was used to
discourage opposition. In October 1959, those opposing Communist influence, such as
Huber Matos, who was the governor of Camaguey Province and other anti-communist
leaders, were put on trial and subsequently arrested for treason. Fearing counter-
revolutionary elements in the army, Castro took advantage of this crisis and created a
People's Militia to arm citizens favorable to the revolution, and trained supporters in
combat techniques. Particularly important were the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution (CDRs), a nationwide civilian organization which had a membership of over
seven million. It implemented neighborhood spying to weed out and repress counter-
revolutionary activities and could support the army in the case of invasion. The
establishment of the Peoples Militia helped to consolidate Castros power by
successfully defeating the US-backed Cuban exiles in the Bay of Pigs incident later in
1961. Apart from that, many of the abusive tactics including surveillance, beatings,
arbitrary detention, and public acts of repudiation were developed. Labour camps called
Military Units in Aid of Production (UMAPs), were also set up by Castro to re-educate
political and social dissidents. Beatings, malnourishment and death were common in the
UMAPs. University professors and journalists who voiced their dissent at the increase in
communist influence were threatened with dismissal and arrest. Some of Castros
opponents, who had joined the M-26-7 movement, went to Escambray mountain region
to prepare to fight Castros forces, thus forming the Escambray rebels. This led to a five-
year guerilla campaign. Eventually, the Escambray rebels were utterly defeated by
Castros troop. Even after the establishment of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC),
Castro still resorted to repressive measures. PCC leaders who opposed Castros
criticism of the USSR policy of peaceful coexistence were put on a public trial and
arrested for sectarianism. Although Castro did allow those against the revolution to
leave the country at first, Therefore, it is evident that Castros use of force allowed him
to intimidate internal opponents as well as to defend Cuba against external enemies,
thus maintaining the stability of his rule.
Apart from the use of force, Castro created social and economic policies which
supported his power. He introduced the Agrarian Reforms, which sought to nationalize
large landholdings and redistribute the land among impoverished plantation workers
and small plantation owner, or be taken by the government itself to be used as state
farms or cooperatives. This policy ensured fairer distribution of land and was l popular
among the working class, although it alienated the richer landowners. As promised
before he seized power, Castro eliminated foreign economic control and foreign
companies by nationalizing companies in Cuba. A wave of nationalism ensued as
Castro seized and redistributed American assets. He also lowered rents by thirty to fifty
percent. Moreover, he cut exorbitant utility rates charged by U.S. companies, thus
reducing the costs for electricity and taxes. Also, Castros government lowered
unemployment by creating jobs in towns and temporarily reopening casinos and
brothels which were closed down by President Urrutia. Other policies such as improved
pensions and social welfare benefits gained him more popularity. Laws were introduced
to provide equality for black Cubans and greater rights for women. He also provided
universal education and healthcare for Cubans and removed racist barriers to careers
and promotion prospects. Castros policies in the earlier years of his regime brought
about improved working conditions and a rise in living standards. Furthermore, it
allowed Cuba to move towards greater economic equality, thus leading to popular
support for Castro as a national hero.
The use of propaganda and censorship concomitant with his charismatic
leadership was another method used by Castro to consolidate his power. The Cuba
Communist Party published its own party newspaper called Granma. It gave the Castro
regime an internal propaganda outlet. Newspapers and radio stations were censored
and forced to close if they angered the government. Although the use of propaganda by
Castro has not resulted in an obvious cult of personality, it served as a foundation for
the dissemination of Castros ideologies. Castro had great charisma as well as good
oratory skills. He was often dressed in battle fatigues during his public appearances.
This portrayed his personal image as a He made use of television to explain his aims
and policies. Compared to the use of force, the use of propaganda had less effect on
the consolidation of his power.
Besides that, Castros success in consolidating his power was also due to his
clever political tactics. As soon as the provisional government led by moderates Manuel
Urrutia as President and Jose Miro as his prime minister took over, he soon established
the Office of the Revolutionary Plans and Coordination (ORPC) formed by his closest
advisers. This created a situation of dual power between ORPC and the cabinet. It is
evident that the real power was in the hands of Castro and the ORPC as the prime
minister resigned after six weeks stating that "I cannot run my office while another man
is trying to run it from behind a microphone." In February 1959. Fidel Castro stepped in
as Prime Minister. Later, in May 1959, Castro established the National Institute for
Agrarian Reform (INRA). Its formal role was to oversee the efficient implementation of
his proposed agrarian land reforms. However, it absorbed the ORPC and eventually
came to control most rural programs, including health, credit, housing, and education,
thus becoming Cubas real government. In July 1959, in an act of theatrical genius
which revealed his understanding of the people, Fidel Castro resigned as a prime
minister in protest at President Urrutias refusal to implement social reforms. He
denounced him of anti-communism and near treason in a televised speech. Castro's
sentiments received widespread support as organized crowds surrounded the
presidential palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which was duly received. Castro
then appointed Osvaldo Dortics, one of the his supporters, as the new president.
After getting rid of the Prime minister and President Urrutia, Castro united anti-
Batista political groups, namely the 26 July Movement, student-based Revolutionary
Directorate (DR) and the PSP and formed the Integrated Revolutionary Committee
(ORI) under his leadership, thus creating a single party. This was mainly because
Castros party, 26 July movement was a guerilla army and it lacked political experience
which could be provided by the communist Popular Socialist Party (PSP). The newly
formed ORI was initially dominated by the old PSP. The ORIs organization secretary,
Anibal Escalante was particularly powerful but was later dismissed from his post for
sectarianism. Castro then restructured the ORI by expelling old members and recruiting
members who supported Castro. Castros strategy of merging the remaining political
parties followed by a widespread purge allowed him to dominate the ORI, which was
later renamed Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Although the cabinet of the provisional
government initially included only three rebels, Castro tactically undermined the power
of the provisional government and later eliminated all potential political rivals to emerge
as the undisputed leader of Cuba.
Not only did Castro himself contribute to his consolidation of power, the
aggressive actions of United States also strengthened the public perception of Castro
as Cubas defender and the protector of their hard-won rights. Particularly, the failure of
Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961 proved Castros guess about US intention right. This
ensuing wave of nationalism and the incontrovertible evidence of the USAs intention to
undo the positive changes to the revolution led to anyone who criticized Castro being
denounced as a traitor. The terrorist attacks by CIA agents and Cuban exile just helped
to confirm Castros position as the savior of Cuba. His victory against the USA made
Cubans conclude that Castro was a leader capable of making Cuba a stronger country,
and the credibility of the revolution was reinforced.
In general, Castro was more reliant on the use of force to consolidate his power
in the earlier days of his regime. This was due to the need of eliminating Batistas
loyalist and anti-communist leaders. His use of force proved to be as effective as, if not
more effective than, the other methods as he successfully eliminated all political rivals
and remained in power for nearly five decades. There are claims that the treatment
political prisoners have received under Castro was much more severe than that
imposed under Batista's dictatorship. However, his regime was met with relatively less
resistance than that of Batistas regime. This was mainly due to his own charisma and
the people's trust in him. Also, unlike other single-party state rulers, Castro has never
shown any concern over the use of force and coercion. He justified these techniques as
necessary and correct to protect the revolution against foreign and domestic enemies
and to expand its influence abroad. The effectiveness in removing political adversaries
and thus the consolidating Castros power cannot be accounted solely for his use of
force. His cult of personality developed during his opposition to Batistas regime, his
creation of populist policies, the use of propaganda as well as clever political tactics are
factors which minimized resistance towards repressive measures. They allowed the
political condition to stabilize and ensured the survival of Castros regime. In my opinion,
coercive measures can merely help Castro to get rid of less influential political
opponents or dissents whereas the implementation of populist policies and the creation
of cult of personality allowed Castro to gain mass support. However, Castros
understanding of Cubans, which allowed him to cautiously devise a series of clever
political tactics, was of the utmost importance in allowing him to maintain his power.
This enabled him to tactfully eliminate his major political rivals, such as President
Urrutia, as well as put himself forward as a nationalist of Cuba. Moreover, his sensitivity
towards the need of the majority of Cuban populations led him to formulate policies
which improved their dire conditions. Also, when Castro moved towards Marxism, it
should have provoked the opposition of the majority of Cubans. However, the Cubans
did not seem to mind what he did as long as he was in charge. This manifests the
peoples faith in Castro as a result of his tactful political tactics.