Consolidating the Revolution, 1959–1968

This chapter comprises an in-depth analysis of the revolutionary leadership’s discourse between 1959 and 1968, a year often pinpointed by external observers as heralding a move away from the guerrilla-style, empirical management of the Revolution towards a more structured, Soviet-inspired approach. The chapter also charts the way in which the leaders of the Revolution employed guerrilla rhetoric from their very first days in power, thus gradually embedding guerrilla-related motifs into the official discourse. In turn, this language helped to shape a new political culture that not only reinforced the legitimacy of the revolutionary project but also gave the impression of conferring ownership for its development onto the Cuban people.