Rodríguez, Carlos Rafael (1913–1997)

Carlos Rafael Rodríguez (b. 23 May 1913), Cuban revolutionist. Born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, Rodríguez became actively involved in 1930 with the student movement against Gerardo Machado, soon heading the student movement in Cienfuegos. At this time he began meeting with a small nucleus of Communists. For the next two decades, he remained active in political affairs, becoming a member of the Popular Socialist Party (PSP) and editing numerous political publications. In 1958, along with the PSP, he allied with Fidel Castro. In postrevolutionary Cuba, Rodríguez devised agrarian reforms and published the official socialist periodical Hoy. He often represented Cuba at international meetings. In 1976, the Cuban government named him to several ministries, where he played a vital role in establishing Cuba's foreign policy.

By the early 1980s, Rodríguez ranked behind only Fidel and Raúl Castro within the Cuban hierarchy. He also held numerous administrative posts, including fourth secretary of the Cuban Communist Party. In 1990, he won the special Raul Prebisch Prize given by the Latin American and Caribbean Economists Association. In 1991, he was given an honorary doctorate in international relations from the Cuban Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales. He died on December 8, 1997 in Havana.

See alsoCuba, Revolutions: Cuban Revolution; Machado y Morales, Gerardo.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Araceli García-Carranza and Josefina García-Carranza, Biobibliografía de Carlos Rafael Rodríguez (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Guevara, Ernesto. El gran debate: Sobre la economía en Cuba, 1963–1964. 2nd ed. Havana: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 2004.

Hernández Rodríguez, Rafael, and John H. Coatsworth, eds. Culturas encontradas: Cuba y los Estados Unidos. Havana: Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Cultura Cubana Juan Marinello; Cambridge, MA: David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard Univesity, 2001.

Miranda Francisca, Olivia. Carlos Rafael Rodríguez: Tradición y universalidad. Havana: Editora Política, 1997.

                                 Allan S. R. Sumnall