GERARDO MACHADO: CUBA’S FIRST TRAGIC POLITICAL MESSIAH

*By Pedro Roig

On August 12, 1933, president-turned dictator, Gerardo Machado escaped from Cuba.  In over eight years he had gone from an immensely popular president to an arrogant, greedy, and despised tyrant.  In his first term (1925-1928), Machado successfully implemented his campaign promises of a national regeneration.  It was a great beginning and a tragic end.

On May 20, 1925 he was sworn as Cuba’s 5^th president.  The Republic was 23 years old and seem to be moving in the direction of political stability and economic growth. Machado won the presidency on a platform of a nationalistic fervor.  Upon becoming president, he called for the abrogation of the Platt Amendment.  It is a historical fact that Machado delivered on his political slogans “water, roads and schools.”

Machado’s first three years in office were probably the most successful of the Cuban Republic.  Several aqueducts were built to supply the water needs of major cities, a vast program of road construction got underway creating thousands of jobs, and a modern communication system that opened new agricultural and industrial markets.  Completion of the Central Highway finally linking Havana and Santiago de Cuba was the culmination of Machado’s successful road network program.

Education improved with the addition of new classrooms in the public-school system and several vocational-technical schools throughout the island.  Teacher salaries were raised, and the University curriculum modernized, with an emphasis on science and engineering.  The Machado administration also developed an urban renewal program, paving streets and improving the sewer system of major cities.

Havana’s Malecón (boardwalk) was widened and extended to its present splendor as a majestic waterfront boulevard.  The escalinata or stairs leading to the University’s Alma Mater and Congress Capitol building were constructed under Machado’s first term.  Machado advocated the economy’s “Regeneration” by breaking the one-crop sugar monopoly and diversifying agriculture. He stated: “Let us assure our political independence through economic independence.”

In September 1926, the University of Havana conferred on him an honorary doctorate.  During the first two years of his administration, he was named “favorite son” of 25 municipalities, and, in a shameless showing of adulation, journalists and politicians called him “El Supremo,” “El Titan,” and “El Egregio.”  Not until 32 years later would there be a Marxist-Leninist dictator, named Fidel Castro, who could again command such a frenzy of flattery.  By 1960 Castro was being referred to as “El Caballo” (The Horse), “El Comandante,” and “El Máximo Leader.”

Machado had stirred up nationalistic fervor and a sense of confidence in the ability of Cubans to govern themselves.  Commenting on Machado’s accomplishments, professor Luis Aguilar León said: “Considering the immediate past of Cuba and the spectacular programs and actions of the new government, it was no wonder that Gerardo Machado became, after a few months in power, the most popular president the island ever had.  A glorify and respected brigadier general of the War of Independence (1895-1898), Machado’s presidency was providing material progress, natural pride, and the illusion of security.  By 1927, President Machado had decided to remain in power believing himself indispensable to Cuba’s welfare.

The pro-Machado congress extended Machado’s term in office (la prórroga de poder) for two more years, agreed to call elections for a Constituent Assembly to consider revising the 1901 Constitution, and extend the president’s term in office to six years without reelection.

Machado accepted and the younger generation became enraged by the Constitutional farse.  The violence grew in intensity and cruelty.  The dictator repression reached an infamous level of torture and crime.  The use of explosive and political assassination became common practice.

Machado’s Downfall

1933 was a momentous year for the Cuban people.  It marked the beginning of a political and social revolution led by the expanding middle class.  It included the end of the hegemony of the war veterans who, for 30 years, had dominated the Cuban government, and the rise to power of the first republican- born generation with an intense nationalistic commitment and  clearly defined emphasis on social justice.

In 1933 the island’s economic fabric began to fall apart as the U.S. economy sank into a depression.  Hardest hit was the Cuban sugar industry whose share of the U.S. market dropped from 51.9% to 25.4% in 1933 sending over 240,000 heads of household into unemployment.

The end of the dictator was ignited by a minor labor dispute.  On July 25, 1933, Havana bus drivers went on strike protesting a municipal tax increase.  The strike turned into a political confrontation that escalated when streetcars operators (tranvias) and taxi drivers joined the protest.  Havana transportation came to a halt.  By August 1, it had spread to other labor sectors and grown into a national general strike.

On August 6, rumors that Machado had resigned swept the capital.  Thousands of people went out to celebrate and were gunned down by the police. Twenty-two were killed and more than 70 wounded.  It was obvious that the Machado’s regime was agonizing, and the attention turned to a peaceful transition of power to avoid a chaotic situation.

But the dictator was not giving up.  Machado’s courage and arrogance were his personality trademarks, never wavering in self-control even when the whole structure he had built was collapsing (a pathology present in 2020 among the powers elite).

On August 12 Machado was offered with a plan for his resignation and a legal transition of power.  A defiant dictator visited the Columbia Military barracks where he found that he had lost the support of the Army and had to resign.  That afternoon Machado left the Presidential Palace and flew to Nassau in the Bahamas.  For several months chaos reigned supreme.

That was the end of Cuba’s first tragic messiah.  Machado’s legacy of violence remained as a cultural curse vividly present among the radical revolutionaries that mostly turned into Gangsters (pandilleros).  This dysfunctional pattern reached a catastrophic magnitude in 1959 with Fidel Castro’s Marxist-Leninist Revolution of terror, fear, and misery.

*   Pedro Roig is Executive Director of the Cuban Studies Institute. Roig is an attorney and historian that has written several books, including the Death of a Dream: A History of Cuba. He is a veteran of the Brigade 2506.