IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 8 ENGLISH | Page 130

of the real world, including the nation
itself, where an atmosphere of suspicion
and betrayal prevailed even through a
distorted everyday language, all under a
permanent setting of command and control. The total mass of the population was
slowly dragged to an ideological corral
where dissent or doubt, simply apathy or
lesser enthusiasm remain anathema. Those
so anathematized were punished in flesh
and spirit as agents acting under the influence and for the benefit of the external
"Enemy". The population ended up fully
compartmentalized according to military
parameters. A whole mixed and suffocating universe revolved around military
reserves, militia frontlines and ideological
battles. The people were organized in
battalions, or crowded with designations
such as staff or element... The summit of
this stage was reached when the model
citizens performed their warrior role in the
military expeditions to Africa. My purpose
is not to elaborate on this aspect, but simply to point out the retroactive effect
brought to exaltation by strengthening the
armed forces and subordinating further the
civil population to them. It is hard to deny
that it had results. The boyish enthusiasm
of many volunteers led to take part in a
war so distant from their country and to
accept as indisputable justification the
confused demagogy about transferring the
defense of their homeland against an attack
that never came to the engagement in wars
between almost unknown African countries and factions. It is a very vast subject
that leaves a lot to say about its militaristic
permanent effect on civil society. After
using hundreds of thousands of men for
consolidating extremely corrupt dictatorial
systems in Africa, the government left
Cuban society in greater confusion and
apathy, resigned to accept as unshakable
context the order imposed from “the top".

The subordination and absolute fidelity to
the military and political leader, as well as
the blind belief in the infallibility of his
dictum for establishing the correct and
indisputable truth on any matter, were
rigidly set since the very beginning at the
mountain hideouts. Members of the Rebel
Army that transgressed these inflexible
rules were subject to drastic punishment
(even summary execution), but the state of
affairs never reached the peak of the general purge in all the armed bodies and their
own power structures unleashed by the
criminal case number 2 in 1989, which
entailed a cleaning cold-blooded designed
to spread terror nationwide.
The Second Military Period
It starts with the physical and mental incapacity of Fidel Castro for continuing as the
absolute big shot. His brother Raúl took
power surrounded by five heirs appointed
by Fidel, like King Lear, for taking their
respective plots of political land. Soon
thereafter it was understood that the new
national foreman did not accept a parceling
of the inheritance. An ambitious initiative
towards the real power by two of the
younger sycophants, Carlos Lage and
Felipe Perez Roque, was crushed by a
general purge in all the organizations of
political support. Many young civilians
were dismissed and the whole move was
welcomed by the retired leader, who angrily thundered against the ambitious young
cadres5. The initial 5-heir Plan B was
quietly canceled and the possibility of
engagement in "internationalists wars"
vanished due to lack of cash. With the
ubiquitous leader in retirement, the armed
bodies turned to manage the entire economy. They began to control the companies
in the so-called hard currency market, but
it was clear that the purposes were far
beyond. Knowing it was impossible to
fully fill the vacancy of Castro I, who
made everything in his image and likeness,

130