Regime In Motion: Salesmen (and Enforcers) of the Revolution
If
the Castro government has something to sell the Cuban people, the Committees
of the Defense of the Revolution, or CDRs, are its most reliable sales agents.
These small cells of socialist power were formed in 1960 in an effort to confront
the many U.S.-supported counter-revolutionary groups that had formed since Castro
came to power in 1959 and to organize the Cuban Communist Party at the grass
roots level. They were originally intended to provide a network of communication
and information for the Castro government as a kind of neighborhood watch against
potential enemies of the state. Over the years they have taken on many important
responsibilities that include literacy, political organanizing, socialist education,
youth organizing, protection against crime and illegal economic activities,
and social services such as medical assistance and employment. The CDRs basically
combine the functions of political parties, social service agencies, scouts,
and police on nearly every block in Cuba, and signs advertising particular CDR
units like the one at left in Havana are visible everywhere. The CDRs are aware
of everything on their blocks -- they are the always present everywhere agents
of the socialist machinery. Perhaps the man in the Cuban street says it best:
"In Cuba it is very safe. There are eleven million people,
and six million police."
A mural in Viñales supporting the CDR with a new significance for its initials: "Cubans, Dignified and Revolutionary."