Carlos Rafael Rodríguez Rodríguez was a Cuban politician, economist and revolutionary. For many years he was a leader of the Cuban Communist Party .
Biographical summary
He was born on May 23, 1913 in the city of Cienfuegos , Cuba .
Studies
He completed his early education at the Colegio Monserrat , a Jesuit school. He later continued his education at Champagnat, a school of the Marist Brothers .
He enrolled at the University of Havana and completed his studies in Law and Political , Social and Economic Sciences in four courses , with first-class honors; out of a total of 33 subjects, he received 33 outstanding grades, 31 ordinary awards and 4 extraordinary awards, as well as the González Lanusa In Memoriam National Award for the best law student.
He was one of the founders of the literary group “Ariel” and the magazine “Segur” ( 1934 ). He graduated with a PhD in Civil Law and in Political, Social and Economic Sciences from the University of Havana in 1939. He was a leader of the University Strike Committee ( 1935 ); deputy director of the weekly “Resumen”, founded by the Communist Party of Cuba and closed by the government in 1935 ; member of the Board of Directors of the magazine “Universidad de la Habana” (1935); co-founder, with Nicolás Guillén , José Antonio Portuondo, Ángel Augier and other left-wing writers, of the magazine “Mediodía” ( 1936 ). He was a member of the Commission of Constitutional Studies of the National Directorate of the Communist Party. He founded the publishing house “Páginas” with Juan Marinello and Ángel Augier .
Revolutionary trajectory
At the age of 17, he joined the struggle waged by the University Student Directorate in Cienfuegos against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado , for which he was imprisoned in 1931. On September 4, 1933 , when the Provisional Government of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was deposed , he formed part of the triumvirate that occupied the Cienfuegos mayoralty. In 1935 , he joined the University Strike Committee, which led the student struggles. Due to disagreements with the Directorate’s policy of surrender, he resigned from his position as Mayor and became part of the Student Left Wing, under the direction of the Communist Party of Cuba , an organization which he joined in 1936 .
The following year he spoke on behalf of the students when the university’s autonomy was restored. Between 1938 and 1940 he co-directed El Comunista . Upon graduating in 1939 , he devoted himself entirely to the revolutionary struggle and was in charge of the Revolutionary Communist Union Party , which later became the Popular Socialist Party . He was Minister without Portfolio in the constitutional government of Fulgencio Batista from 1940 to 1944. He held leadership positions in the Cuban Society of Historical and International Studies and in the Association for the Promotion of the Cuban Economy . As a founding member of the Popular Socialist Party ( PSP ), he was part of its National Executive Bureau , to which he belonged until its dissolution in 1960 , and of whose newspaper Noticias de Hoy he was director.
He led the clandestine struggle of the PSP against the tyranny of Fulgencio Batista . In June 1958 he was appointed representative of the PSP before Fidel Castro Ruz , in the Sierra Maestra . He returned to Havana two months later, to coordinate the aid that the members of his Party would provide to the rebel troops, who were planning to invade the west, which were led by the guerrilla commanders Ernesto Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos . He returned again to the Sierra where he remained during the last months of the insurrectional struggle.
Revolution in power
Accompanied by Nicolás Guillén and Julio Le Riverend in the tribute to his 70th anniversary
Since the triumph of the Revolution, he has held the following responsibilities:
- Director of the newspaper Hoy , organ of the National Committee of the PSP , from 1959 to 1962.
- Member of the National Directorate of the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations and later of the National Directorate of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba , between 1960 and 1965 [1].
- Member of the Board of Directors of Socialist Cuba between 1961 and 1967.
- President of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform between 1963 and 1965.
- Minister – President of the National Commission for Economic and Scientific-Technical Collaboration from 1965 to 1976.
- Permanent representative of Cuba to the CMEA since July 1972.
- Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs from November 1972 to December 1976.
- Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba since its creation in October 1965, and of its secretariat from 1965 to 1976.
- At the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (December 1975) he was elected a member of its Central Committee and later of its Political Bureau and Secretariat.
- On November 2, 1976, he was elected by the Cienfuegos Assembly as a deputy to the National Assembly of People’s Power.
- On December 3, 1976, he was elected by the People’s Power Assembly as Vice President of the Council of State and Vice President of the Council of Ministers.
As a diplomat, he played a major role in the delicate unofficial contacts that occurred between the Cuban and U.S. governments during the 1970s and 1980s . In November 1981 , in the midst of the Reagan administration’s aggressive anti-Cuban campaign , he held a secret meeting in Mexico with Alexander Haig , in which he reaffirmed Cuba’s principled position on issues related to aid to revolutionary movements in Central America and Africa [2] .
In addition to the aforementioned press bodies, and at various times, he has been deputy director of Mediodía, director of Dialéctica and co-director of Fundamentos. He has given papers and speeches at international forums such as the UN, CEPAL and FAO, congresses of communist parties and similar events.
Death
He died on December 8 , 1997 in Havana , Cuba , at the age of 84. His burial took place on December 9 at the Colón Cemetery in Havana, where he was accompanied by the top leadership of the Revolution and thousands of Havana residents who came to pay their last respects.
Main decorations
- Medal of the Cuban Society of International Law.
- Medals for the 20th Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising, the May Uprising of the Czech people and the liberation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Army.
- Commemorative medal for the 20th Anniversary of the German Democratic Republic.
- Medal of the 20th Anniversary of Moncada.
- Commemorative medal 50th Anniversary of the Founding of the Republic of Mongolia.
- Order of the First Degree of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria
- Order of Merit of the Polish People’s Republic in the rank of Commander with star.
- Medal of the 20th Anniversary of the FAR.
- Medal for the 250th Anniversary of the University of Havana.
- Degree of Commander of Arts and Letters of France.
- Commemorative medal for the 1300th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Bulgarian State.
- Order “Frank País” .
- Order of the October Revolution of the USSR.
- Order of the GDR “Star of Friendship among Peoples”.
- “Félix Elmuza” Order of National Journalism.
- Order “Juan Marinello” of the Republic of Cuba .
- Laureate seal of the Cultural Workers Union.