Fidel Castro: Fascist or Not?

by Zoltanous

Andrea Virga of the Falange JONS had a doctorate thesis called Fascism and Nationalism In Cuba. This thesis thoroughly examines the origins of fascist growth in Cuba, emphasizing the strong connection between Cuban nationalism and European fascism. It also explores how this connection eventually influenced the Cuban Revolution. During a time when Latin America was questioning American interventionism and Western liberalism, both socialists and Cuban nationalists rejected the America-backed regime they aimed to overthrow. Additionally, the influx of Spanish immigrants to Cuba after the Spanish Civil War, comprising 7% of the total population, played a significant role.

“The period of the Spanish Civil War was the algid point of foreign fascist influence in Cuba, given the influence exercised by the wealthier sectors of the Spanish colony, organized in the Spanish Nationalist Committee, in favor of the nationalist faction in order to raise money and obtain diplomatic recognition. With this, and not without some contrasts, the Foreign Service of the Spanish Falange had established a subsidiary in Cuba, which operated between the Spanish immigrants, with a section of Social Aid, which raised funds to finance assistant projects for poor Spaniards in Cuba and in the fatherland. On the other hand, Italy and Germany were less influential, given the scarce size of their communities independently.”

— Andrea Virga, Fascism and Nationalism in Cuba. A Case Study on The Global Projection of a European Ideology

As a result, various historical organizations emerged in Cuba, including the Revolutionary National Syndicalist Legion, National Workers Commission, the National-Syndicalist Workers Youth, the Cuban National Fascist Party, and the Cuban Falange. These organizations established contact with what would later be known as the Third Position. Fidel Castro's formative years as a student played a crucial role in shaping his life and work, particularly his revolutionary ideals. He attended the School of Belen, where he received guidance from Spanish Jesuit Armando Llorente, who had a close relationship with Castro. Another mentor, Father Alberto de Castro, also influenced him. Both mentors admired Franco's Spain and the Falangist ideology, instilling in Castro a passion for their cause and for Hispanidad, a movement that criticized Anglo-Saxon values and admired Spanish values.

During Castro's high school years, his role model was the charismatic José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of the Falange Española. José advocated for a fascist-like ideology centered around a Corporate State, which proposed a socialist doctrine organized by corporations within a national assembly. The ideology also promoted militant nationalism. Castro's early involvement in politics was rooted in fascism. His anti-Americanism was partly fueled by Falangist grievances against the US, stemming from the 1898 disaster and the loss of their beloved Cuban colony. Similarly, his nationalism was influenced by his Jesuit mentor, Llorente, who revealed in an interview in Miami that Castro had a profound interest in fascist leaders such as Mussolini, Hitler, and José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The Falangist doctrine was actively promoted in the school environment, as confirmed by Llorente.

“He had many heroes during his boyhood and youth… Lenin, Hitler, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera... Mussolini… Perón… He knew the speeches of Jose Antonio by memory .. He knew ‘Mein Kampf’ and also Lenin’s ‘What is to be Done?’.”

— Huge Thomas, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom

Castro openly acknowledged the impact of Falangism and its founder, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, on his own beliefs and perspectives. In fact, Castro held a prominent position within the Orthodox party, which was a National Syndicalist group inspired by the Falange. This indicates that Castro's Cuban Revolution was influenced by the Falange, and initially, he intended to run as an Orthodox party candidate for the Cuban parliament before Batista's coup. In December 1958, when Llorente visited Castro in Sierra Maestra, he raised concerns about Castro's involvement in socialist revolutionary movements.

In response, Castro stated:

“Father, from where am I supposed to take up communism if my father is more of a Francoist than yourself?”

— Fidel Castro, quoted in Agencia EFE by Andrea Virga

Fidel Castro's father, Angel Castro, was associated with the Caribbean Section of the National Spanish Committee. While this detail was not explicitly included in his official biography, Castro did not refute the information when questioned by reporters Frei Betto and Ignacio Ramonet. Furthermore, Castro's written works indirectly support these facts, as he consistently demonstrates an ongoing interest in historical events from the previous century. During his tenure at the School of Belen, he expressed a fascination with the Jesuits and acknowledged their role in shaping his perception of justice.

“At that time, the Spanish teachers of my school, in Santiago, spoke of that war. From the political point of view they were nationalists, said it more frankly they were Francoists, all without exception.”

“They know how to form the character of the students (…) The Spanish Jesuit knows how to inculcate a great sense of personal dignity, the sense of personal honor, knows to appreciate the character, the frankness, the rectitude, the courage of the person, the capacity of enduring a sacrifice (…). And I believe that my temperament, which in part is from birth, forged also there with the Jesuits.”

— Andrea Virga, Fascism and Nationalism In Cuba. A Case Study on The Global Projection of a European Ideology

According to José Ignacio Rasco, a close friend of Castro during their time at the School of Belen and the University of La Habana, Castro had an extensive knowledge of Mein Kampf and could recite speeches from Mussolini, Hitler, and José Primo de Rivera during his speeches. Castro possessed numerous articles and essays from José Antonio Primo de Rivera and even carried his Complete Works in his backpack. Despite his interest in fascist figures, Castro remained a staunch supporter of Christianity, seeing it as a source of ethical values and social justice. He identified himself as a Christian from a social vision perspective rather than a religious one and did not believe atheism should be used as a rallying cry. The Brigades of Rapid Response (BRP), established by Castro, sported blue shirts similar to those worn by the Falange and drew inspiration from the paramilitary militias of the early Third Positionist movements. The flag of the Falange also served as a model for the creation of the Movement 26 of July flag.

After World War II, Spain became a haven for exiled fascist figures, including Léon Degrelle, Ante Pavelic, and Horia Sima. A rift developed within Francoism between the older veterans and younger fascists seeking to revive what they perceived as the lacking fascist elements in Franco's government. Many of these young fascists, from Italy to Spain, found inspiration in the revolutionary aspects of the Cuban experience. This helps explain why the Spanish University Syndicate (SUE), the student body of the Franco regime, expressed support for anti-colonial struggles and drew comparisons between Latin American guerrillas and the early militants of the Falangist movement. European sympathies for the Cuban Revolution and its participants were primarily embraced by fascists, as communists did not view it as progressive internationalism.

Given this cultural context, it is not surprising that Ernesto Che Guevara received a warm reception during his brief visit to Madrid in 1959. He was only advised to avoid meeting with the regime's opposition. During his visit, he met with journalist Antonio Dominguez Olano and a young journalist named Cesar Lucas. Olano presented Guevara with a copy of the Selected Works of the Falangist intellectual José Antonio Primo de Rivera, which was dedicated to both Che and Castro. This copy can still be found today in the museum established in Che's home in Havana.

A Falangist Spanish Civil War veteran speaking with Che Guevara supporters

Che Guevara's second visit to Madrid took place on August 28, following a trip to Rome and a brief stopover in Morocco. However, due to technical issues with his transportation, he had to return to his new homeland on September 8. During his stay in Madrid, he was accommodated as a sponsored guest at the Hotel Suecia by the National Movement. This was met with criticism from individuals associated with the Francoist regime, as they feared potential alliances between national socialism and radical syndicalism, which could lead to closer ties with the Soviet Union. These concerns were expressed by figures like Blas Piñar, who held a marginal position. Despite such reservations, favorable views of the Cuban revolution persisted in doctrinal media in the subsequent years. One notable example was the independent Falangist newspaper "Diario SP," which enjoyed considerable popularity in the country. Jose Miguel Orti Bordas, one of the newspaper's writers who served as the National Chief of the SUE during 1964-1965 and later as Vice Secretary of the National Movement in 1969-1971, believed and proposed establishing relations with Cuba, viewing it as a revolution that transcended the traditional left-right dichotomy.

Fidel Castro and one of Francisco Franco's ministers

After the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, Fidel Castro declared three days of mourning in Cuba, although he ensured that this went unnoticed by the press. It was an official decree signed by the Cuban president. Subsequently, a delegation from the Spanish Authentic Falange (FEA) was sent to the XI World Festival of Youth and Students in 1978. The delegation consisted of Salazar and Gustavo Morales, with three militants from Barcelona added due to the absence of youth organizations. According to Morales's book, Falangistas contra el Caudillo, the strong presence of Falangists in the Consejo de la juventud de España resulted in six members of the FEA being included in the Spanish representation at the festival. These encounters were turbulent due to the obvious contrast of wearing blue shirts in a predominantly socialist congress. The four young Falangists from the Authentic Spanish Falange who attended were José Manuel Saceda, Vicente Martinez, Angel Salazar, and Gustavo Morales himself.

The group embarked on the Soviet cruiser Leonid Sobinov from the main port of Lisbon, which served as the direct sea route between Spain and Cuba. Falangist designer Javier Gonzalez Alberdi from Murcia also managed to stow away on the ship but was eventually discovered. There were some minor scuffles on board, and it is quite remarkable to envision a scenario where young Falangists engaged in fistfights with Titoists from Yugoslavia and militants of the Italian Communist Party while en route to Cuba. Some Communists were taken aback, and one Chilean exile commented in horror:

"The Italians have brought in the extreme anarchist left, the French, the Trotskyists... but the fact is that the Spanish have brought in the Falangists!"

— Cilean communist quoted in Falangistas contra el Caudillo by Gustavo Morales

One night, the communist crew on the ship decided to sing "The Internationale," and the Falangists, uniformed in blue shirts with the Falange's symbol on their chests, joined in. Soon, they began singing the emblematic "Cara al Sol" and raising their left arm in a Roman salute. Gustavo Morales, their young leader who was only 19 years old, tells us of his encounter with Castro:

“Morales affirms that the treatment with Fidel went beyond cordiality and that the dictator, 'with an overwhelming personality, you like him, he takes you wherever he wants', he stopped them as he passed and said: ‘Comrades, I know what you are up to'. Then he told them something about the library of the House of the Heroic Guerrilla Fighter and its relation to certain readings. Morales headed there before setting sail back to Spain and found ‘the complete works of José Antonio, the cheap edition, the one with José Antonio's death mask on the cover, I open it and put, from Antonio de Olano to his friend Fidel Castro, September 1958, and the seal of the José Antonio Circles'.”

— Miguel Madueño Álvarez, Luis Velasco Martínez, and José Manuel Azcona, Canamisas azules en Hispanoamérica (1936-1978) Organización política y prosopografía del falangismo en Ultrama

Authentic Falange aboard the Soviet Cruiser 'Leonid Sobinov'

The delegations from the ship were welcomed with a parade that culminated in a large stadium, where Castro, Santiago Carrillo, and other Communist leaders greeted them from the tribune. The Dutch delegation rode bicycles and wore straw hats, the Soviets were dressed in gray and yellow, and American blacks and Native Americans marched behind the American flag. The Spanish delegation was a vibrant mix of shirts, Spanish Republican flags, and representatives from various autonomous regions, including those wearing red, black, and even Falangist shirts. When the Yugoslav delegation entered, seven blue-shirted Falangists stood up and cheered loudly in a silent stadium as the Yugoslavs passed by. The Yugoslavs even invited these Falangists to visit Belgrade during their stay in Cuba.

During their visit, the Falangists also had the opportunity to visit the library of the "Museu del Che Guevara," where they came across an edition of the Complete Works of José Antonio Primo de Rivera with a dedication to Fidel Castro on display. Seventy militants from the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers party) and the PCE (Spanish Communist party) also visited Cuba on the same trip, alongside numerous other organizations, as the invitation was extended to all sympathizers of the Cuban government.

“FIDEL CASTRO: This is one of those men who unleashes opinions and mixed feelings. But I dare to affirm that, in Spain, he attracts more sympathy than antipathy for this personage has already surpassed the threshold of what’s legendary. How many times and from how many people have we heard in our country: "What we need here is a Fidel Castro". When we are told about his deeds they are described as feats. Luis del Riego, one of the members of the founding Board of the Falange Auténtica, who had been his companion and collaborator in the early days of the Cuban Revolution, told me about some of his exploits. On one occasion, when Fidel was very young…”

— EL NORTE DE CASTILLA, January 31, 1984

Che Guevara, unlike Castro, was a genuine Marxist-Leninist, but his image and persona became mythical and extended beyond the realm of politics. This mythos appealed to many fascist youth who sought to distance themselves from the conservative and right-wing tendencies that characterized the post-war Third Position. The first movement outside of Cuba to embrace Che as an icon was Jeune Europe, founded in 1962 by Jean-François Thiriart, a former member of the Waffen SS, National Bolshevik ideologue, and writer. Unlike its sister organizations, Jeune Europe formed alliances with non-aligned nations in the conflict between the West and the East, including Syria, China, Iraq, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Tito's Yugoslavia, and others.

In 1961, the Florentine section of the Italian Social Movement (MSI), the largest political faction of the Third Position after Mussolini's death, paid tribute to Che's figure. Positive mentions of Che also appeared in the fascist newspaper "L'Orologio" and the National Federation of Combat of The Italian Socialist Republic (FNCRSI), as well as other guerrilla and underground fascist terrorist organizations active during Italy's Years of Lead, such as Franco Freda's Ordine Nuovo. The fascination surrounding the Cuban Revolution gave rise to a certain admiration for Fidel Castro. According to Franco Cardini, an Italian historian and Fascist, people from various backgrounds found themselves drawn to Castro's persona. Despite being labeled a mere "communist" by their fathers and brothers, even those in the Third Position ranks, including Cardini as a young boy, were captivated by him. They perceived Castro as a political figure whose actions embodied generosity, adventure, and a mix of iconic characters from literature. He was seen as a restorer of justice, a mender of mistakes, and someone who symbolized the redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor.

Che Guevara was sympathetic to these fascists, and especially to Peronism in Argentina, which he imbibed many of its ideas. In many ways, he remained under the spell of Peronist ideology all his life. In 1955, Che said this to the USSR, "We have to give Perón all possible support..." Peronism, or Argentine fascism, probably had the largest state-capitalist sector outside of the USSR. Wages were forced up by decree, and a host of social benefits were introduced for Los Descamisados (the shirtless ones). The "anti-imperialist" game was played with an excess of violent anti-Anglo-American sentiment. America was made into the scapegoat of all of Argentina's problems, as was the case in Cuba with Castro and Che. When Perón was overthrown by a coup, Che stated:

“I will confess with all sincerity that the fall of Peron deeply embittered me... Argentina was the Paladin of all those who think the enemy is in the North.” 

— Che Guevara quoted in Che: A Revolutionary Life by John Lee Anderson

During the Cuban revolution, Che called his new guerrilla recruits Los Descamisados, the name Perón gave to his followers, as a show of respect for Perón. This affection for Peronism never ceased. Che told Angel Borlenghi, Perón's former Minister of the Interior, in 1961 that Perón was the most advanced embodiment of political and economic reform in Latin America. In 1962, Che declared that the Peronistas had to be included within Argentina's revolutionary front. Castro asked Perón to visit Cuba, and John Cooke, Perón's personal representative, visited Cuba and lauded the Revolution. Perón would go on to say that people like Fidel Castro and Che Guevara were part of his ideology (Justicialism), which Perón would also call Falangism. When Perón died, Castro said:

“The news of his death hurt me a lot. I had a terrible feeling of disheartening sadness. As it happens with friends and the people one cares for. I refused at first to believe the veracity of the news.”

— Fidel Castro July 9, 1974

Che Guevara identified war as the ideal circumstance in which to achieve socialist consciousness, and regarded the revolutionary army as the principal political arm of the revolution. The glorification of a martyr's death was part of this, and the Cuban slogan "Nation or Death!" echoed the Falangist slogan "Long Live Death." After Che's death in Bolivia, the Italian composer Pier Francesco Pingitore composed the song "Addio Che," while the journalist Adriano Bolzoni wrote the book El Che Guevara, which was turned into a film directed by Paul Heusch. Fascination with Che was prevalent in fascist circles, including the student movements of the same cut in Italy, as well as the armed fascist group Terza Posizione, whose founding leader Gabriele Adinolfi wrote many articles praising Che.

Declassified German intelligence files reveal that during the peak of the Cuban missile crisis, Fidel Castro enlisted the help of ex-Waffen SS members to train his forces. Among these was Otto Ernst Remer, a key figure in foiling Operation Valkyrie, who also received Soviet funding for his efforts. After his Socialist Reich party was outlawed in 1952, Remer escaped to Egypt, where he and other ex-Nazis aided in building up the military capabilities of Arab nations. His involvement with anti-American and third-world revolutionary groups led to a connection with Che Guevara. In the early 1960s, this connection helped Remer facilitate arms purchases for Castro's Cuba, culminating in a deal brokered by Remer and Ernst Wilhelm Springer to sell Castro 4,000 pistols, as documented by the Bundesnachrichtendienst, Germany's foreign intelligence service. Additionally, Castro invited four ex-Nazi death squad officers to Cuba, offering them salaries well above the German average to train his soldiers, with two accepting the proposal. The Castro government also engaged with two traffickers associated with the National Democratic party of Germany for the acquisition of Belgian pistols for the Cuban military. This maneuvering by the Cuban leadership was interpreted by German intelligence as an attempt to reduce Cuba's reliance on Soviet military support and resources.

An article from the National Renaissance party (NRP) titled The Racial Foundations of Western Civilization compared Nasser and Castro positively to the figure of Hitler. The NRP, an American Yockeyite fascist organization active after World War II, was financially supported by the Soviet Union. This group believed that leaders like Nasser in Africa and Castro in South America were harbingers of a new era of economic growth and cultural achievement for their continents. The organization extolled dictatorial governments as embodiments of anti-liberal values, celebrating the cult of personality and action, qualities they saw epitomized in Castro's leadership.

The NRP article praising Nasser and Castro

Considering this historical context, why did Castro gravitate towards an alliance with the USSR? Prior to the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Cuba was often viewed by Americans as practically their own territory. Following Cuba's liberation from Spanish rule in 1898, the United States engaged in frequent interventions in Cuba, spanning diplomatic, economic, and military actions. José Martí, a key figure in Cuban history, actively opposed Spanish colonialism and warned against the encroaching threat of American expansionism. Martí believed that America's ambitions to annex Cuba could only be thwarted by achieving full independence for the island. He viewed the United States as a significant threat to the entirety of Latin America, a perspective that seemed validated by the rapid US occupation of Cuba.

By the mid-20th century, Cuba was seen by Americans as a place for vacations, a brothel, a casino, a cabaret, and a good liberty port. Castro changed all that, vanquishing the American-allied local oligarchs and expelling the American gangsters who ran the casinos and brothels. After leading a successful revolution against the US puppet regime of Fulgencio Batista, Castro implemented agrarian reform, expropriated foreign oil company holdings, and eventually seized all foreign-owned property in Cuba. The American attitude towards Castro's government soon changed from cautiously suspicious to downright hostile.

Fidel Castro once characterized his government in the following way:

"Our system is not based on Communism or Marxism, but on representative democracy and social justice within a carefully structured economy."

— Fidel Castro quoted in Profile: Fidel Castro by Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2007/12/18/profile-fidel-castro-2)

Castro, fearing for his life and his country's sovereignty, allied himself with the Communist party and grew friendlier with the Soviet Union. The USSR provided Cuba with economic and military aid, including nuclear missiles during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This alliance was seen as a way for Cuba to protect itself from further US aggression and to gain support from a powerful global player. At a United Nations conference in the 1960s. According to Nikita Khrushchev, Fidel Castro was currently not a communist, but due to pressure from the United States, he will embrace communism within the next two years.

After the US severed diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba and enacted a trade and travel embargo, America's loss of Cuba was a shock. The US was blindsided by Castro's anti-Americanism and his turn to the Soviets. In December 1961, Castro openly declared, "I am a Marxist-Leninist." However, Castro was not a true communist but a fascist trying to survive, and his public announcement dedicating himself to Marxism-Leninism was simply a ploy to get more Soviet assistance, as Khrushchev had predicted. Castro’s biographer Sebastian Balfour noted that:

“The vein of moral regeneration and voluntarism that runs through Castro's thought owes far more to Hispanic nationalism than European socialism or Marxism–Leninism.” 

— Sebastian Balfour, Castro: Profiles In Power Series

In his latest book exploring theological connections to Fidel's life, Argentine historian Loris Zanatta has described Castro as embodying these traits:

“In reality, this is the school of Fidel, Hispanic, Christian, hierarchical, corporate nationalism, with an ethical State that has the purpose of evangelizing the population.”

— Loris Zanatta, Fidel fue un católico integrista que quiso construir el Reino de Dios

Contrary to popular belief, the Cuban Revolution did not stem from Marxism but from nationalism, which included the traditions of the Cuban people, primarily Christianity. The guerrillas were not all Marxists or atheists; they even had priests appointed by a bishop to baptize newborns and bury their dead. The revolution received support from all walks of life, not only from workers and farmers but from small and medium-sized enterprises as well. The Cuban people were united by a national cause, tired of foreign exploitation that turned the island into a cesspool of brothels, playhouses, and American hotels that took profits to be invested abroad.

Cuba's relations with the USSR were strictly pragmatic and geopolitical, due to sanctions imposed by the US, various assassination attempts, and even an attempted overthrow of the government. There was never an ideal relationship with the Soviets either, and they soured relations with Castro on multiple occasions, especially during the Cuban missile crisis. Castro regretted aligning with the USSR, as his country became completely isolated. After World War II, the political and ideological international landscape rapidly changed, with various fascist regimes being crushed. José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Castro's ideological idol, was executed during the Spanish Civil War, and communism was becoming fashionable and politically convenient in the wake of victory by Soviet armies. Open fascism was essentially a death sentence for any government. Castro was the supreme opportunist, but it completely backfired.

Castro was raised in a Catholic home and studied with the Jesuits. Initially a Falangist, Castro continued to maintain admiration for Falangism, collecting works by José Antonio Primo de Rivera and receiving visits from militants of the Authentic Falange in Cuba. Castro eliminated the mafia that had settled in Cuba and expelled Samuel Zemurray, one of the founders of the State of Israel and owner of the multinational United Fruit Company, involved in the modern slave trade, which was later nationalized by the Cuban state. Castro persecuted other Zionists, such as Meyer Lansky, by banning the activities of his casino, the Colonial Inn, and extinguishing his alcohol smuggling and prostitution business. Castro miraculously survived 638 assassination attempts by both American mobsters and the CIA. Marita Lorenz was sent to kill Castro but was seduced by him instead. Cuba under Castro humiliated the USA time after time, especially by defeating the CIA-orchestrated and armed invasion at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. The American-backed terrorists were defeated within three days, with almost 100 invaders dead and over 1,000 surrendering. Castro himself directed the military and stood on the frontlines alongside Cuban soldiers during the invasion.

After the revolution, Castro went to the US in good faith to establish fair and reasonable economic relations. However, his efforts were met with extreme hostility. Without other options, Castro responded to recommendations by his brother Raúl Castro to ally with the USSR. Cuba became more dependent on the USSR than it should have, and many things that could have been better never improved because of this isolation. Although mistakes were made in Castro's government, the most important things happened, such as the liberation of the Cuban homeland from the international Jewish plutocracy, capitalist imperialism, and Anglo-American hegemony. Many modern fascists and fascist organizations support the legacy of both Castro and Che as symbols of genuine nationalism, echoing this battle cry against the globalists: "Fatherland or Death!"

Italian Fascist propaganda by Casapound Italia, featuring Castro and Che as symbols of nationalism