During 1958, the last year of the revolutionary war, the 26th of July Movement took steps toward the formation of a provisional government. The orientation of Fidel was to establish a government that would calm the Cuban bourgeoisie and would not provoke an immediate hostile reaction from the dominant economic class, in order to give the revolution time to prepare itself to take the steps required for a profound economic and social transformation, which necessarily would provoke the hostile reaction of the national and international bourgeoisie (Buch and Suarez 2009:74, 194).
The 26th of July Movement named Manuel Urrutia Lleó as president of the provisional government. He had not been part of the revolutionary movement. However, he was appreciated by the movement for his vote as a judge in 1957, in which he affirmed, in opposition to the other judges in a trial against captured guerrillas and insurrectionists, the constitutional right of Cubans to resist oppression, thus giving legitimacy to the armed struggle against the dictatorship. Urrutia was ratified as the presidential candidate of the July 26 Movement at a meeting in the Sierra Maestra on May 3 (Buch and Suarez 2009:6-8, 18, 191).
On July 20, the July 26 Movement formed the Revolutionary Civic Front. The Front proclaimed a Declaration of Unity on Radio Rebelde, calling for the united participation of Cubans of all classes, races, religions, and ideologies in overthrowing the Batista dictatorship by means of armed struggle. The Declaration was subscribed by a number of organizations and parties, including the traditional parties of the period 1940-52 and student organizations, but not including the communist party. On August 11, at a meeting in Miami, the Revolutionary Civic Front, upon the recommendation of the 26th of July Movement, approved Urrutia as provisional president, although he was not supported by the March 13 Revolutionary Directory (a student organization), on the grounds of his lack of participation in the revolutionary struggle. In preparation for his assumption of duties, Urrutia arrived in the Sierra Maestra on December 7. On January 2, 1959 in Santiago de Cuba, one day following the flight of Batista, the Provisional Revolutionary Government was established, and Uruttia took the oath of office as president. On January 3, the government established headquarters at the library of the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba, and several ministers of the government were sworn. On January 5, the government relocated to the Presidential Palace in Havana (Buch and Suarez 2009:23-25, 28-29, 35, 42-45, 50-52, 192).
A Council of Ministers was formed by Urrutia in consultation with Fidel and other leaders of the 26th of July Movement. Most were lawyers who had ties with the national bourgeoisie. Some, including the president and prime minister, had no connection with the anti-Batista movement, although most did participate in some way. Only four of its eighteen members were leaders of the July 26 Movement (Buch and Suarez 2009:30-31, 53-54, 63, 74, 193-96).
Fidel declined to enter the government, and thus did not directly participate in the decision-making process during the month of January. However, he was by far the most powerful person in Cuba. He was overwhelmingly and enthusiastically supported by the people, as a result of his having led the heroic struggle that had toppled the dictatorship. This enormous prestige was reinforced by his exceptional gifts of leadership. At the same time, he was named by the provisional government as Chief of the Armed Forces, the principal branch of which was the army formed by the guerrilla struggle that had displaced the army of Batista, incorporating some Batista battalions. During the days following the triumph of the revolution, Fidel met with the people, spontaneously visiting them in places of work, seeking to deepen his understanding of their concerns and hopes. He functioned at this time as an “overseer,” criticizing the government when he perceived errors or shortcomings (Buch and Suarez 2009:31, 47, 67).
During its first month, the Provisional Revolutionary Government adopted some measures of importance. On January 7, in reaction to the participation of the courts in the brutality of the Batista dictatorship, it suspended the authority of the judicial branch, with anticipation of its reconstitution. On January 23, it established the Ministry of Social Welfare, with the intention of addressing serious social problems, such as child mendicancy; and it suspended mayors that had been appointed by Batista, replacing them with three-person executive commissions for each municipal government (Buch and Suarez 2009:57, 64, 65).
However, the process was slow and inefficient, and many important measures remained pending. Uruttia was a judge by profession, and he had little administrative capacity. Under his leadership, council meetings were characterized by endless discussion. Much time was consumed by debates between Uruttia and Prime Minister José Miró Cardona, who perhaps was oriented to creating a crisis, so that he would be named to replace Uruttia as president. By early February, the people were becoming impatient (Buch and Suarez 2009:73, 197).
Some of the members of the Council of Ministers believed that its dysfunctional character was creating a crisis for the revolution. They believed that it would be necessary for Fidel to take a leadership role within the government, for only he possessed the authority of prestige that could make the government effective. They were aware of his reticence to enter the government, but they also knew of his sense of obligation to duty. They thus approached Fidel, asking him to assume the position of Prime Minister, arguing that the situation required him to assume this role. Not wanting to enter into a complex situation that would be out of control, he indicated that he would be willing to assume the position, if it would be established that the Prime Minister is to have direct control of general policy, without undermining the legal authority of the president (Buch and Suarez 2009:74-75).
Acceding to Fidel’s condition required an amendment to the Fundamental Law, which had been passed in February 7 and had not yet been printed for distribution to the people. The Fundamental Las was based on the Constitution of 1940, with some modifications for the facilitation of the revolutionary process. On February 13, the Council of Ministers unanimously approved a change in the language of the Fundamental Law with respect to the position of Prime Minister. Rather than “representing” general policy, the Prime Minister will “direct” general policy. This set the stage for Fidel’s entrance into the government as chief of state, and he immediately began to chair the sessions of the Council of Ministers. Uruttia continued as president, whose signature was required on all measures, but his role was considerably reduced. At the same time, Fidel was freed from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a position that was assumed by Raúl Castro (Buch and Suarez 2009:72, 75-76, 79).
Following Fidel’s entrance into the government as Prime Minister, a number of decisive steps were taken, as we will discuss in the next post.
Buch Rodríguez, Luis M. and Reinald Suárez Suárez. 2009. Gobierno Revolucionario Cubano: Primeros pasos. La Habana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales.
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