Rhetorical strategies of José Martí and Fidel Castro: continuity and transformation in Cuban political discourse

Abstract

The research aims to identify universal and specific mechanisms of political discourse evolution through a comparative linguo-rhetorical analysis of the texts of José Martí and Fidel Castro. The article examines rhetorical strategies, key concepts, and linguistic means utilized in Cuban political discourse during the periods of the national liberation struggle (late 19th century) and the socialist revolution (late 20th century). Within a comparative framework, the study identifies and analyzes parameters of style, argumentation structures, the construction of “friend” and “enemy” images, audience definition, and historical narrative. The scientific novelty of the study lies in its holistic examination of the evolution of Cuban political discourse through the lens of linguo-rhetorical analysis, which allows for a systematic comparison of not only ideas but also specific stylistic devices and mechanisms for the adaptation and transformation of rhetorical heritage. The study reveals that Fidel Castro’s rhetoric, while maintaining continuity with José Martí’s key concepts (anti-imperialism, national unity, sacrifice), subjected them to radical transformation, adapting them to the tasks of mass mobilization and the legitimation of the political system under Cold War conditions. Martí’s universal poetic symbols and ethical-philosophical discourse were reinterpreted and ideologized, leading to a paradigm shift: from a dialogic discourse addressed to the intellectual elite to a directive monologue aimed at consolidating society within a new state project.

Research materials

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: January 28, 2026.
• Published: March 16, 2026.

Keywords

• лексико-стилистические средства
• политический дискурс
• революционная риторика
• кубинский национальный вариант испанского языка
• Хосе Марти
• Фидель Кастро
• lexico-stylistic devices
• political discourse
• revolutionary rhetoric
• Cuban Spanish
• José Martí
• Fidel Castro

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