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IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca
PhD Program in Political History
Doctoral Thesis
Fascism and Nationalism in Cuba
A Case Study on the Global Projection of an European Ideology
PhD Student:
Andrea Virga
Advisor:
Dr. Domenico Maria Bruni
Co-Advisor:
Dr. Katia Figueredo Cabrera
Summer 2018
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Lefascisme,ilyabienlongtempsquenousavonspensé
que c’était une poésie, et la poésie même du XXe siècle
(aveclecommunisme,sansdoute).Jemedisquecelane
peut pas mourir. Les petits enfants qui seront des gar-
çonsdevingtans,plustard,apprendrontavecunsombre
émerveillementl’existencedecetteexaltationdemillions
d’hommes,les camps dejeunesse, lagloiredu passé,les
défilés,lescathédralesdelumière,leshérosfrappésaucom-
bat,l’amitiéentrejeunessesdetouteslesnationsréveillées,
JoséAntonio,lefascismeimmenseetrouge.Etjesaisbien
quelecommunismealuiaussisagrandeur,pareillement
exaltante.Peut-êtremêmedansmilleansconfondra-t-on
lesdeuxRévolutionsduXXesiècle;jenesaispas.Dansla
Révolutionfasciste,onm’accorderaquelanationaeusa
placeplusviolente,plusmarquée,etc’estaussiunepoésie
quelanation.Toutcelapeutêtrevaincuparlelibéralisme
apparent,lecapitalismeanglo-saxon,celanemourrapas
plus que la Révolution de 89 n’est morte au XIXe siècle
malgréleretourdesrois.Etmoiquicesderniersmoisme
suissifortementméfiédetantd’erreursdufascismeitalien,
du nationalisme allemand, du phalangisme espagnol, je
nepuisdirequejepourraijamaisoublierlerayonnement
merveilleuxdufascismeuniverseldemajeunesse,lefas-
cisme, notre mal du siècle. (Robert Brasillach,
Lettre à un
)
soldatdelaclasse60
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acknowledgements
Iwouldliketothankthefollowingpeoplefortheirhelpfulcontri-
butiontomyresearches.
First of all, my supervisor, Dr. Domenico Maria Bruni, and
formersupervisor,Dr.MariaElenaCavallaro,aswellastherestof
theIMTSchoolforAdvancedStudiesLuccasecretaryandteaching
staff,especiallyProf.GiovanniOrsina,Prof.AndreaVindigniand
Dr.AntonioMasala,fortheirpatienceandcomprehension.
Secondly, my co-supervisor, precursor and colleague in re-
search,Dr.KatiaFigueredoCabrera,forherparamountsupport
andnotleastforherpreciousinsightonCubanacademyandlife,
along with Cuban scholars Prof. Antonio Álvarez Pitaluga, Dr.
JorgeDomingoCuadrielloandProf.ReinaldodelaFuente.
Thirdly,mysupervisorforthevisitingperiodatCCHS-CSIC’s
InstitutodeHistoriainMadrid,Prof.LorenzoDelgadoEscalonilla,
alongwithdirectorProf.ConsueloNaranjoOrovio,thefirstoneto
treadthisveryresearchpaththreedecadesago,andthescholars
Prof. Eduardo González Calleja (UC3M) and Prof. Rosa Pardo
Sanz(UNED).
OntheothersideoftheOcean,thestaffoftheCubanarchives,
librariesandmuseumsIvisited,withaspecialmentionforJulito
(Archivo Nacional) and Judit González Nuñez Pineiro (UH), as
well as Fr. Juan Miguel Arregui SJ, Dr. Alessia Bonanno, Prof.
Franco Savarino (UNAM), Prof. Lillian Guerra (UFL) and her
studentsDr.AlexisBaldacciandDanielFernándezGuevara.
Onthisshore,thestaffofthearchives,librariesandresearch
institutesIconsultedinSpainandGermany,particularlyDr.Sandra
CarrerasandDr.FriedhelmSchmidt-WelleinIAIBerlin,alongwith
Prof.PaolaLauraGorla(UniOr),Dr.LauraMariateresaDurante
(UniNa), Prof. Marco Tarchi (UniFi), Dr. Francesco Tamburini
(UniPi),Dr.ÉtienneMorales(ParisIII),Dr.PetraKuivala(Helsinki),
Prof.HarukoHosoda(Nichidai),aswellasJuanAntonioLlopart,
GustavoMoralesandMarielladelRiego.
Lastbutnotleast,myMasterdegreesupervisor,Prof.Alessan-
droPolsi,forhavingfirstsuggestedathesisonaLatinAmerican
country,andMartinaManfrin,forhavingfirstbroughtmetoCuba.
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Contents
1 Introduction
FascisminCuba? 5
1.1 TheHistoriographicalQuestion................. 6
1.1.1 OnFascisminLatinAmerica.............. 6
1.1.2 OnCubangeneralbackground............ 9
1.2 TheStateofLiterature........................... 13
1.2.1 Militantliterature.......................... 13
1.2.2 Scientificliterature......................... 16
1.3 OnSources ...................................... 20
1.3.1 PrimarySources ........................... 20
2 FiguresoftheCubanRight 25
2.1 BiologyvsDemocracy:AlbertoLamar.......... 27
2.1.1 LifeandWorks............................. 29
2.1.2 Decadence,Modernismandauthoritarian-
ism......................................... 35
2.2 TheCubanLindbergh:AgustínParlá ........... 48
2.2.1 Lifeandactions............................ 48
2.2.2 CubanpatriotismandSpanishnationalism 55
2.3 “Pepín”Riveroandhispressempire............ 65
2.3.1 Lifeandactivities.......................... 66
2.3.2 Politics,Press&Propaganda .............. 72
3 CubanFascistAssociations 93
3.1 TheNationalRevolutionarySyndicalistLegion. 95
3.1.1 Thebeginnings ............................ 95
3.1.2 Politicaloutline ............................ 100
3.1.3 Prosecutionanddemise ................... 115
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Contents
3.2 MinorFascistGroups............................ 121
3.2.1 TheCubanNaziParty ..................... 121
3.2.2 TheNationalFascistParty................. 127
4 RightandLeftAftertheWar 131
4.1 TheTransitionfromtheOldtotheNewRight. . 133
4.1.1 TheSpanishRightinCuba ................ 133
4.1.2 TheCubanCounter-Revolution ........... 148
4.2 Castroismasa“RedFascism”?.................. 156
4.2.1 CubanRevolutionandNeofascism........ 156
4.2.2 CastroandCastroism...................... 165
5 Conclusion
TheCubanException 183
5.1 CubaandLatinAmerica ........................ 184
5.1.1 FascisminLatinAmerica:someexamples 185
5.1.2 Theweightofsocialfactors................ 187
5.2 Thereasonsofanexception ..................... 188
5.2.1 Thegeopoliticsoffreedom ................ 188
5.2.2 Adifferentpoliticalculture................ 191
5.2.3 Thefailureoffascism...................... 194
1 Bibliography 197
1.1 PrimarySources................................. 197
1.1.1 ArchivesandCollections .................. 197
1.1.2 PeriodicalSources ......................... 199
1.1.3 OtherPrintedSources ..................... 200
1.2 SecondaryLiterature ............................ 202
1.2.1 OnFascismandNationalism .............. 205
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Abstract
ThisthesisfocusesonthediffusionoffascisminCubaand
itsrelationshipwithlocalnationalism,sinceuptonowthis
question has not been studied satisfactorily by historiog-
raphy, as most works on the subject still resent of World
Warpropaganda.Theresearchmakesmostlyuseoforiginal
sources, both archival and printed, with the help of press
and previous studies, in order to reconstruct and discuss
historical events and ideological standpoints in Cuba, in
thetime thatgoes fromMachado’sdictatorship toCastro’s
Revolution.
To this extent, a clarification on the too often mistaken
conceptoffascism,inthelightofscientificliterature,isnec-
essary.Fascismasamodern20th-centuryideology,strongly
opposedandreactivetoliberalismandcommunism,advo-
cated a radical inter-class mobilization and rebirth of the
nation, in militaristic and organicistic sense, under a total-
itarianrevolutionarysinglepartyormovementheadedby
a charismatic leader. Inside fascism, four main trends can
be distinguished, according to different conceptions of na-
tion: classical Fascism, National Socialism, Integrism and
Falangism.
Inthe‘30s,duetothecrisisofLiberalismandtheadvance
of Communism, Fascism had become a viable ideological
alternative in many undeveloped countries, even outside
Europe. This was especially true in Latin America, where
Europeanfascistregimes createdlocalsectionsof theruling
partytocaterwiththelargeimmigrantcommunities(espe-
ciallyItalians,GermansandSpaniards).Thisfascistinfluence,
with its revolutionary nationalism, was strong on local na-
tionalist forces, which struggled for national sovereignty
and economic independence from colonial powers. These
foundednativefascistandpopulistgroups,withthesupport
oflowerandmiddleclasses.
Atthesametime,thesocioeconomicandpoliticalsitua-
tioninCubawasnotexceptionalincomparisonwithother
LatinAmericancountries.In1933,Machado’sdictatorship
was brought to an end by a heterogeneous coalition of po-
litical forces. Aftera convulse phase ofstruggle, power was
assumedbyFulgencioBatistawhocontrolledCuba,either
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Contents
directly or indirectly, until 1944. This long period, marked
bytheemergenceofsocialmassmovementsandtherelative
decline of the old political class of independence veterans,
was crucial for the development of new Cuban nationalism,
whichhadtocopewithUnitedStatesinfluenceandBatista’s
strategytopreservehispersonalauthority.
In the core part of the thesis, nationalist people and
groups in Cuba are examined and analysed to ascertain
their ideological and political relationships with fascism.
TheCubanconservativeRightisexploredthroughthestudy
of three importantfigures: the authoritarian writer Alberto
Lamar,apologistofMachado’srule,theaviationheroAgustín
Parláandthe journalistJosé IgnacioRivero,a greatsponsor
of Francoism in Cuba. It is also observed how, following
the Second World War, the Cuban Right gradually lost its
Europeaninfluence,becomingmoreandmoreAmericanized
by the time of Castro’s Revolution, despite Franco’s attempt
atmaintainingculturalandpoliticalties.
The periodof theSpanish Civil Warwas the high-water
mark of foreign Fascist influence in Cuba, because of the
influenceexercisedbythewealthiersectorsoftheSpanish
colony,organizedintheSpanishNationalistCommittee,in
favour of the Nationalist faction in order to collect money
and obtain diplomatic recognition. Along with it, and not
withoutsome contrasts, theForeignServiceof theSpanish
FalangehadsetupabranchinCuba,whichoperatedamong
Spanishimmigrants,withaSocialAidsection,whichraised
funds to finance assistance projects for poor Spaniards in
Cuba and in the Fatherland. On the other hand, Italy and
Germanyweremuchlessinfluential,duetothescarcesize
oftheirrespectivecommunities.
Nonetheless, the aforesaid organizations only catered
for foreign minorities in Cuba, and were all illegalized,
whenCubaenteredwaralongwiththeUnitedStates.Their
example,aswellasthecircumstanceofthelegalizationofthe
hatedCommunistParty,inspiredafewnativefascistgroups.
Still, eventhe only one,which couldactually be considered
fullyfascist,theNationalRevolutionarySyndicalistLegion,
stillremainedaminoractorinnationalpolitics,beforebeing
outlawed.Forcertain,theydidnotleftanylastingmarkin
Cubansocietyandhistory.
Ontheotherhand,thestudyofthemainCubannation-
alist forces disproves any actual connection with fascism,
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