In this extensively researched book, Anna Clayfield challenges contemporary Western views on the militarization of Cuba. She argues that, while the pervasiveness of armed forces in revolutionary Cuba is hard to refute, it is the guerrilla legacy, ethos, and image—“guerrillerismo”—that has helped the Cuban revolutionary project survive. The veneration of the guerrilla fighter has been crucial to the political culture’s underdog mentality. Analyzing official discourse, including newspapers, history textbooks, army training manuals, the writings of Che Guevara, and the speeches of Fidel Castro, Clayfield examines how the Cuban government has promoted guerrilla motifs. After 1959, the revolutionary leadership relied on this discourse to shape a new political culture. During the implementation of Soviet-style management in the late 1960s and 1970s, Cuba underwent profound structural changes, but the beliefs and values that underpinned the Revolution—and that were linked to the guerrilla ethos—were still upheld. Clayfield traces the shifting ideologies that circulated in Cuba during the 1980s to show how this rhetorical strategy helped prevent the proliferation of a siege mentality. The guerrilla code became a recourse Cuban leadership used to steel the population through the 1990s Special Period following the collapse of the Soviet Union. And while the outside world perceived the changes that took place during Raúl Castro’s tenure to be signs the Revolution’s socialist model was fading, Clayfield proves guerrillerismo remained an important anchor for the new regime. By weaving the guerrilla ethos into the fabric of Cuban identity, the government has garnered legitimacy for the political authority of former guerrilleros, even decades after the end of armed conflicts. The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution chronicles how guerrilla rhetoric has allowed the Revolution to adapt and transform over time while appearing to remain true to its founding principles. It also raises the question of just how long this discourse can sustain the Revolution when its leaders are no longer veterans of the sierra, those guerrillas who participated in the armed struggle that brought them to power so many years ago.

'The Guerrilla Legacy of the Cuban Revolution' examines the way in which the guerrilla origins of the Cuban Revolution have shaped the beliefs and values that have underpinned it since 1959. It argues that these beliefs and values comprise a political culture in which the figure of the guerrillero (guerrilla fighter) is revered and the past struggles are presented in the revolutionary historical narrative as both unfinished and guerrilla in their nature. Drawing on extensive analysis of official discourse across six decades, the text outlines a consistent, conscious promotion of a guerrilla ethos throughout the Revolution's trajectory.

Sweig shatters the mythology surrounding the Cuban Revolution in a compelling revisionist history that reconsiders the revolutionary roles of Castro and Guevara and restores to a central position the leadership of the Llano. Granted unprecedented access to the classified records of Castro's 26th of July Movement's underground operatives--the only scholar inside or outside of Cuba allowed access to the complete collection in the Cuban Council of State's Office of Historic Affairs--she details the debates between Castro's mountain-based guerrilla movement and the urban revolutionaries in Havana, Santiago, and other cities.

The Cuban revolution served as a rallying cry to people across Latin America and the Caribbean. The revolutionary regime has provided vital support to the rest of the region, offering everything from medical and development assistance to training and advice on guerrilla warfare. Cuba and Revolutionary Latin America is the first oral history of Cuba’s liberation struggle. Drawing on a vast array of original testimonies, Dirk Kruijt looks at the role of both veterans and the post-Revolution fidelista generation in shaping Cuba and the Americas. Featuring the testimonies of over sixty Cuban officials and former combatants, Cuba and Revolutionary Latin America offers unique insight into a nation which, in spite of its small size and notional pariah status, remains one of the most influential countries in the Americas.

Gonzalez explores the extraordinary role of Che Guevara in the Cuban revolution, and his legacy today in the anti-capitalist movement. However, while paying homage to the inspiring example of Guevara, Gonzalez also critically assesses the developments in Cuba since 1958.

Celia Sanchez Manduley (1920–1980) is famous for her role in the Cuban revolution. Clad in her military fatigues, this "first female guerrilla of the Sierra Maestra" is seen in many photographs alongside Fidel Castro. Sanchez joined the movement in her early thirties, initially as an arms runner and later as a combatant. She was one of Castro's closest confidants, perhaps lover, and went on to serve as a high-ranking government official and international ambassador. Since her death, Sanchez has been revered as a national icon, cultivated and guarded by the Cuban government. With almost unprecedented access to Sanchez's papers, including a personal diary, and firsthand interviews with family members, Tiffany A. Sippial presents the first critical study of a notoriously private and self-abnegating woman who yet exists as an enduring symbol of revolutionary ideals. Sippial reveals the scope and depth of Sanchez's power and influence within the Cuban revolution, as well as her struggles with violence, her political development, and the sacrifices required by her status as a leader and "New Woman." Using the tools of feminist biography, cultural history, and the politics of memory, Sippial reveals how Sanchez strategically crafted her own legacy within a history still dominated by bearded men in fatigues.

Guerrilla Warfare is an epoch-making book by Che Guevara aimed to inspire thousands of guerrilla fighters in various countries worldwide. Guevara believed that in the world of totalitarian regimes, where political opposition and legal civil struggle are impossible to conduct, guerilla warfare is the best method to resist the government. Yet, commonly guerilla movements lack organization, clear political vision, motivation, and supply. This book was aimed to help guerilla leaders solve these issues and strengthen the opposition with strong motivation and strict organization. Content: Part I: General Principles of Guerrilla Warfare Essence of Guerrilla Warfare Guerrilla Strategy Guerrilla Tactics Warfare on Favorable Ground Warfare on Unfavorable Ground Suburban Warfare Part II: the Guerrilla Band The Guerrilla Fighter: Social Reformer The Guerrilla Fighter as Combatant Organization of a Guerrilla Band The Combat Beginning, Development, and End of a Guerrilla War Part III: Organization of the Guerrilla Front Supply Civil Organization The Role of the Woman Medical Problems Sabotage War Industry Propaganda Intelligence Training and Indoctrination The Organizational Structure of the Army of a Revolutionary Movement Organization in Secret of the First Guerrilla Band Defense of Power That Has Been Won