Centenary of Carlos Rafael Rodríguez

"The bourgeoisie used to say, "How intelligent Carlos Rafael Rodríguez is, what a shame he’s a communist"

THE day that Fidel spoke these words in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, Carlos Rodríguez radiant face could not hide a childlike vanity, or the pride of knowing his own worth. In contrast, his expression when he became convinced that socialism in the Soviet Union had suffered irreparable damage could not have been sadder.

Carlos Rafael Rodríguez was born in Cienfuegos on May 23, 1913. At 18 years of age, he began to adopt communist ideas, from reading Lenin and other Marxist classics. For him, defense of the Soviet Union constituted the obligation of defending humanity’s future, and loyalty and discipline to the Communist Party the best way of doing that.

His education began in his native city at the Montserrat Jesuit College and secondary studies at a school belonging to the Marist Brothers. He subsequently entered the University of Havana, where he studied Law and Political, Social and Economic Sciences, graduating as top student with outstanding qualifications in all subjects, for which result he received the González Lanusa in Memoriam Prize for best law student.

In 1931, as a member of the Student Revolutionary Directorate, he was imprisoned during the struggle against the Gerardo Machado dictatorship. He was part of the triumvirate which occupied the Cienfuegos mayoralty when President Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was deposed by the September 4, 1933 coup d’état. In 1935, he became a formal member of the Communist Party, rising to become one of its most notable leaders.

In 1948, he legally represented the family of Jesús Menéndez at the trial of Joaquín Casillas Lumpuy, the murderer of the workers’ leader.

In the three volumes of his book Letra con Filo, Carlos Rodríguez detailed in compiled articles, radio, press and televised interviews his work within the Party, at critical, complex and controversial moments of political life in Cuba from 1936 to 1958. In June 1958 he was designated in the presence of Fidel Castro representative of the Communist Party, then the Partido Socialista Popular, and remained in the Sierra Maestra until the triumph of the Revolution on January 1, 1959.

On September 12, 1961, counterrevolutionary elements attempted to assassinate him, but miraculously, he escaped unharmed.

Carlos Rodríguez’ activities after the triumph of the Revolution were diverse and fruitful.

In 1959 he was appointed editor of the Hoy newspaper. In 1961 he founded and was first director of the University of Havana’s School of Economy, where he was awarded an Honorary Degree in 1983. In 1962 he headed the National Institute of Agrarian Reform and became a member of the national leadership of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution (PURS) in 1965. In the 1st Communist Party Congress in December 1975 he was elected a member of its Central Committee and Political Bureau. When the National Assembly of People's Power was created in 1976 he acted as deputy for Cienfuegos province.

In 1967 he was designated president of the National Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation Commission, combining this with representing Cuba at the Mutual Economic Aid Council (CAME), beginning 1972. Given his experience and capability he was appointed Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, attending its Foreign Affairs section, which comprised the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Economic Cooperation State Committee, the National Bank of Cuba and the CAME Affairs Secretariat.

Being a good speaker, with a serious voice and gestures which confirmed his words, he was a formidable antagonist in discussions and debates. His encyclopedic cultural knowledge enhanced his profound analyses of issues and ability to expound his arguments convincingly, invariably guided by a political culture which he reshaped with rigor.

Elegantly restrained in his dress and eating habits, delicate in his gestures and manners, grossness and vulgarity annoyed him. He possessed an excellent sense of humor and enviable mental agility. A voracious reader, he enjoyed literature at home, on the beach or on flights. He was a lover of culture in all its manifestations, in particular music. He also enjoyed baseball, swimming and fishing, as well as a game of dominoes.

To those of us who had the privilege of working with him, he always acted as an exacting chief, respected and loved, but we never saw him as belonging to a different generation.

He particularly admired Juan Antonio Mella and Che Guevara, perceived as exceptional, men such as José Martí, Lenin and Fidel. Of his old comrades in the Communist Party he spoke with affection about Blas Roca, Ladislao González Carvajal, Severo Aguirre and Juan Marinello.

He zealously treasured a book and some notes which Che, with whom he occasionally argued, left him before leaving for the Congo:

"Carlos: With one foot in Rocinante’s stirrup, I stand to attention before you and salute you, Che."

In May 1997 Fidel decorated him with the José Martí National Order granted by the Council of State. Carlos Rodriguez, the exemplary man and communist, whom Armando Hart described as "one of the great Cuban humanists of the 20th century," died in December of that same year.

GRANMA