ABSTRACT
The concept of military organization as a basis for communist revolution was greatly enhanced by the Cuban revolutionary experience. Indeed, one theorist of the Cuban Revolution has elevated the guerrilla band to a prominence that subordinates, even denigrates, Communist party political organization. Throughout the Third World and particularly in Latin America, the military increasingly represents the pivotal element in any ruling class. At the least, the military has the capacity to prevent anyone sector from maintaining power — even when, as an armed force, they are able to seize power. One of the unique aspects of the Cuban Revolution is that Cuba's Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) consolidated control of the state apparatus for the revolutionaries. As a result, the party, as early as 1960-61, became dependent on military decision making. The accelerated movement of the Cuban Revolution into militaristic forms reflects the multiple needs of the Cuban regime.
