Unlike previous revolutions of this century, the Cuban
Revolution had to build its party after coming to power. Here,
Guevara discusses the problems of selecting the cadre, i.e.,
that core of trained, active and responsible members that will
educate the new recruits and that will embody the party's stability
and continuity. The excerpts are from Guevara's article, 'The
Cadre, Backbone of the Revolution', in the September, 1962,
issue of Cuba Socialista.
It is not necessary to dwell upon the characteristics of our
revolution; upon its original form, with its dashes of spontaneity
which marked the transition from a revolution of national liberation
to a socialist revolution; one full of rapidly passing stages,
led by the same people who participated in the initial epic
of the attack on the Moncada Barracks; a revolution which proceeded
through the landing from the Granma and culminated in the declaration
of the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution. New sympathisers,
cadres, organisations joined the feeble structure to such an
extent that they imparted to our revolution its present mass
character, which has now placed its stamp upon our revolution.
When it became clear that a new social class had definitely
taken power in Cuba, the great limitations which the exercise
of state power would encounter because of the existing conditions
in the state became evident: the lack of cadres to cope with
the enormous tasks which had to be carried out in the state
apparatus, in political organisation, and on the entire economic
front.
Immediately
after the taking of power, administrative assignments were made
"by rule of thumb"; there were no major problems —
there were none because as yet the old structure had not been
shattered. The apparatus functioned in its old, slow, lifeless,
broken-down way, but it had an organisation and with it sufficient
co-ordination to maintain itself through inertia, disdaining
the political changes which came about as a prelude to the change
in the economic structure.
The 26th of July Movement, deeply impaired by the internal struggles
between its right and left wings, was unable to dedicate itself
to constructive tasks; and the Partido Socialista Popular (Popular
Socialist Party), because it had undergone fierce attacks, and
because for years it was an illegal party, had not been able
to develop intermediate cadres to cope with the newly arising
responsibilities.
When the first state interventions took place in the economy,
the task of finding cadres was not very complicated, and it
was possible to select them from among many people who had the
minimum basis for assuming positions of leadership. But with
the acceleration of the process which took place after the nationalisation
of the North American enterprises and later of the large Cuban
enterprises, a veritable hunger for administrative technicians
manifested itself. At the same time, an urgent need was felt
for production technicians because of the exodus of many who
were attracted by better positions offered by the imperialist
companies in other parts of the Americas or in the United States
itself. The political apparatus had to make an intense effort,
while engaged in the tasks of building, to pay ideological attention
to the masses who joined the revolution eager to learn.
We all performed our roles as well as we could, but it was not
without pain and anxieties. Many errors were committed by the
administrative section of the Executive; enormous mistakes were
made by the new administrators of enterprises who had overwhelming
responsibilities on their hands, and we committed great and
costly errors in the political apparatus also, an apparatus
which little by little began to fall into the hands of a contented
and carefree bureaucracy, totally separated from the masses,
which became recognised as a springboard for promotions and
for bureaucratic posts of major or minor importance.
The main cause of our errors was our lack of a feeling for reality
at a given moment; but the tool that we lacked, that which blunted
our ability to perceive and which was converting the party into
a bureaucratic entity and was endangering administration and
production, was the lack of developed cadres at the intermediate
level. It became evident that the policy of finding cadres was
synonymous with the policy of going to the masses, to establish
contact anew with the masses, a contact which had been closely
maintained by the revolution in the first stages of its existence.
But it had to be established through some type of mechanism
which would afford the most beneficial results, both in feeling
the pulse of the masses and in the transmission of political
orientation, which in many cases was only being given through
the personal intervention of Prime Minister Fidel Castro or
other leaders of the revolution.
From this vantage point, we can ask ourselves what a cadre type
is.
We should say that a cadre person is an individual who has achieved
sufficient political development to be able to interpret the
extensive directives emanating from the central power, make
them his, and convey them as orientation to the masses, a person
who at the same time also perceives the signs manifested by
the masses of their own desires and their innermost motivations.
He is an individual of ideological and administrative discipline,
who knows and practices democratic centralism and who knows
how to evaluate the existing contradictions in this method and
to utilise fully its many facets; who knows how to practice
the principle of collective discussion and to make decisions
on his own and take responsibility in production; whose loyalty
is tested, and whose physical and moral courage has developed
along with his ideological development in such a way that he
is always willing to confront any conflict and to give his life
for the good of the revolution. Also, he is an individual capable
of self-analysis, which enables him to make the necessary decisions
and to exercise creative initiative in such a manner that it
won't conflict with discipline.
Therefore the cadre person is creative, a leader of high standing,
a technician with a good political level, who by reasoning dialectically
can advance his sector of production, or develop the masses
from his position of political leadership.
This exemplary human being, apparently cloaked in difficult-to-achieve
virtues, is nonetheless present among the people of Cuba, and
we find him daily. The essential thing is to grasp all the opportunities
that there are for developing him to the maximum, for educating
him, for drawing from each personality the greatest usefulness
and converting it into the greatest advantage for the nation.
The development of a cadre individual is achieved in performing
everyday tasks; but the tasks must be undertaken in a systematic
manner, in special schools where competent professors —
examples in their turn to the student body — will encourage
the most rapid ideological advancement.
In a regime that is beginning to build socialism, you could
not imagine a cadre that does not have a high political development,
but when we consider political development we must not only
take into account apprenticeship to Marxist theory; we must
also demand responsibility of the individual for his acts, a
discipline which restrains any passing weaknesses, and which
will not conflict with a big dose of initiative; and constant
preoccupation with all the problems of the revolution. In order
to develop him, we must begin by establishing the principles
of selectivity among the masses; it is there that we must find
the budding personalities, tested by sacrifice or just beginning
to demonstrate their stirrings, and assign them to special schools;
or when these are not available, give them greater responsibility
so that they are tested in practical work.
In this way, we have been finding a multitude of new cadres
who have developed during these years; but their development
has not been an even one, since the young compañeros
have had to face the reality of revolutionary creation without
the adequate orientation of a party. Some have succeeded fully,
but there were others who could not completely make it and were
left midway, or were simply lost in the bureaucratic labyrinth,
or in the temptations that power brings.
To assure the triumph and the total consolidation of the revolution,
we have to develop different types of cadres: the political
cadre who will be the base of our mass organisations, and who
will orient them through the action of the Partido Unido de
la Revolución Socialista (United Party of the Socialist
Revolution; PURS). We are already beginning to establish these
bases with the national and provincial Schools of Revolutionary
Instruction and with studies and study groups at all levels.
We also need military cadres; to achieve that, we can utilise
the selection the war made among our young combatants, since
there are still many living, who are without great theoretical
knowledge but were tested under fire-tested under the most difficult
conditions of the struggle, with a fully proven loyalty toward
the revolutionary regime with whose birth and development they
have been so intimately connected since the first guerrilla
fights of the Sierra. We should also develop economic cadres
who will dedicate themselves specifically to the difficult tasks
of planning and the tasks of the organisation of the socialist
state in these moments of creation.
It
is necessary to work with the professionals, urging the youth
to follow one of the more important technical careers in an
effort to give science that tone of ideological enthusiasm which
will guarantee accelerated development. And, it is imperative
to create an administrative team, which will know how to take
advantage of the specific technical knowledge of others and
to co-ordinate and guide the enterprises and other organisations
of the state to bring them into step with the powerful rhythm
of the revolution.
The common denominator for all is political clarity. This does
not consist of unthinking support to the postulates of the revolution,
but a reasoned support; it requires a great capacity for sacrifice
and a capacity for dialectical analysis which will enhance the
making of continuous contributions on all levels to the rich
theory and practice of the revolution. These compañeros
should be selected from the masses solely by application of
the principle that the best will come to the fore and that the
best should be given the greatest opportunities for development.
In all these situations, the function of the cadre, in spite
of its being on different fronts, is the same. The cadre is
the major part of the ideological motor which is the United
Party of the Revolution. It is something that we could call
the dynamic screw of this motor; a screw that in regard to the
functional part will assure its correct functioning; dynamic
to the extent that the cadre is not simply an upward or downward
transmitter of slogans or demands, but a creator which will
aid in the development of the masses and in the information
of the leaders, serving as a point of contact with them. The
cadre has the important mission of seeing to it that the great
spirit of the revolution is not dissipated, that it will not
become dormant nor let up its rhythm. It is a sensitive position;
it transmits what comes from the masses and infuses in the masses
the orientation of the party.
Therefore, the development of cadres is now a task which cannot
be postponed. The development of the cadres has been undertaken
with great eagerness by the revolutionary government with its
programs of scholarships based on selective principles; with
its programs of study for workers, offering various opportunities
for technological development; with the development of the special
technical schools; with the development of the secondary schools
and the universities, opening new careers; with the development
finally of our slogans of study, work and revolutionary vigilance
for our entire country, fundamentally based on the Union of
Young Communists from which all types of cadres should emerge,
even the leading cadres in the future of the revolution.
Intimately tied to the concept of cadre is the capacity for
sacrifice, for demonstrating through personal example the truths
and watchwords of the revolution. The cadres, as political leaders,
should gain the respect of the workers by their actions. It
is absolutely imperative that they count on the respect and
affection of their compañeros, whom they should guide
along the vanguard paths.
Overall, there are no better cadres than those elected by the
masses in the assemblies that select the exemplary workers,
those that will be brought into the PURS along with the old
members of the ORI (Organización Revolucionaria Integrada-Integrated
Revolutionary Organisation) who pass the required selective
tests. At the beginning they will constitute a small party,
but with enormous influence among the workers; later it will
grow when the advance of socialist consciousness begins converting
the work and total devotion to the cause of the people into
a necessity. With the intermediate leaders of this category,
the difficult tasks that we have before us will be accomplished
with fewer errors. After a period of confusion and poor methods,
we have arrived at a just policy which will never be abandoned.
With the ever-renewing drive of the working class, nourishing
from its inexhaustible fountain the ranks of the future United
Party of the Socialist Revolution, and with the leadership of
our Party, we fully undertake the task of the forming of cadres
which will guarantee the swift development of our revolution.
We must be successful in the effort.
The Cadre, Backbone of the Revolution, September, 1962, Cuba
Socialista
Immediately
after the taking of power, administrative assignments were made
"by rule of thumb"; there were no major problems —
there were none because as yet the old structure had not been
shattered. The apparatus functioned in its old, slow, lifeless,
broken-down way, but it had an organisation and with it sufficient
co-ordination to maintain itself through inertia, disdaining
the political changes which came about as a prelude to the change
in the economic structure.
It
is necessary to work with the professionals, urging the youth
to follow one of the more important technical careers in an
effort to give science that tone of ideological enthusiasm which
will guarantee accelerated development. And, it is imperative
to create an administrative team, which will know how to take
advantage of the specific technical knowledge of others and
to co-ordinate and guide the enterprises and other organisations
of the state to bring them into step with the powerful rhythm
of the revolution.
