The Cuban Revolution's Emotive Regime: A Decade to Remember, 1968-1978

Authors

Maite Morales, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

History

First Advisor's Name

Rebecca Friedman

First Advisor's Committee Title

Co-committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Bianca Premo

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Co-committee chair

Third Advisor's Name

Michael Bustamante

Third Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Jorge Duany

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

committee member

Keywords

history, cuba, revolution, emotions

Date of Defense

7-1-2020

Abstract

While emotions were central for the victory of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, a decade later, feelings became an obstacle for the consolidation of the revolutionary government. During the second decade, growing disillusionment and dissatisfaction challenged the state's emotive regime. Within the first five years, Cubans engaged in one of the largest mass mobilization projects in the nation’s history and failed to achieve a ten-million-ton sugar harvest. The revolutionary government reacted to the failure in various ways, but all dealt with emotions: from a major carnival revival in 1970 to the establishment of new tactics to satisfy consumer demand.

To understand the Revolution's second decade, my dissertation identifies the Revolution as an emotional regime, and officials and mass organizations as emotional managers. It also acknowledges that emotional communities coexisted with the emotive regime. The dissertation exposes some ways in which these communities legitimized and challenged the state's increasing control of the population. The project examines organization records, official reports, and the press. It finds that the failure of the 1970 sugar harvest signaled a shift in the emotive regime and the tactics employed by officials to retain control and deter negative sentiments. On one hand, the state sought immediate and long-term solutions to quell unwanted, negative emotions, while on the other, ordinary people adapted the emotive ethos of the state to express their frustration.

This dissertation highlights how an analysis of emotive regimes allows scholars to explore the contours of everyday life in ways that will open possibilities for future scholarship. It also proposes a new periodization of the Cuban Revolution, identifying the emotions that often precede and remain beyond major historical events.

Identifier

FIDC009167

Recommended Citation

Morales, Maite, "The Cuban Revolution's Emotive Regime: A Decade to Remember, 1968-1978" (2020). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4466.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4466