Castro II. Raúl – ideological leadership in the antilles

Abstract

The article describes and analyzes the main stages of Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz’s political activity– the second most important leader of socialist Cuba. The structure of the article is based on the principles of chronological narration. The conceptual basis of Raúl Castro's ideological outlook has been systematized and generalized. The article pays special attention to his Marxist-Leninist leanings and his closeness with the national liberation ideas of Jose Marti. The article adopts a psychological perspective in describing Raúl’s fierce revolutionary struggle in the second half of the 1950s and uses methods from political management showing that Fidel Castro, Raul’s brother, allowed Raúl to make his personal management decisions and to implement them often with risks to his life and reputation. For the last 50 years, Cuba's power mechanism can be characterized as a non-classical diarchy of the Castro brothers: Fidel was a common leader, Raúl was a military leader, and from 2006 until the death of Fidel he was controlled by the leadership of his brother. Raúl, during the years of his presidency and after escaping from Fidel's psychological pressure, carried out reforms in the country that were aimed at bringing Cuba closer to a market society. These changes were made in the country yet were limited by Raúl’s ideology. Raúl Castro's reforms were related to his denial of the right of the individual to express his own views if they differed from those of the dominant doctrine. However, the reforms didn’t influence the development of democracy and freedom of civil rights. Finally, the article describes Raúl's intransigent attitude towards American imperialism and his willingness to defend Cuba's independence and revolutionary achievements.