The Revolt That Never Was 177In Havana and Matanzas, Liberal groups loyal to the "half
crazy" Loynaz del Castillo had formed paramilitary organiza
tions called the "Constitutional Militia" in the spring of 1907.
While their announced purpose was to deter the conserva
tives from trying to incite violence, the units constituted a
shadow army available to the highest bidder.^33 In Oriente,
the Miguelistas considered a revolt to impress Gomez with
their potential voting strength, and at the same time hoped
the Provisional Government would buy them off with work.^34
Partially screened by the sound and fury of the Miguelista-
Zayista reorganization, another political movement gathered
strength in the summer of 1907: an all-Negro party. Whether
such a racially-based party might have developed without
the American occupation is problematical, but the Negro
movement began only after the intervention. The organizers'
motives were mixed, but dissatisfaction with their share of
Liberal patronage and confidence that the Negroes would be
fairly treated by the Provisional Government seem to have
been among the more obvious reasons for the movement's
rise.^35 In March, 1907, the Negro movement started rumors
among the whites of a race war in Cuba, and the rumors
persisted throughout the summer.^36 Upon closer investigation
the Military Information Division discovered that the Negro
movement was not simply another political faction. In various
provinces under such names as "Union Social," "Gran Coali
ci6n Social de Occidente," "Antonio Maceo Association," and
the "Camaguey Directory," the Cuban Negroes attempted to
institute a broadly based, reform-oriented mass social move
ment. The Negroes' goals included the reorganization of the
economy, moral regeneration, the elimination of discrimina
tion in the courts, free public instruction, and full political
participation.^37 The Negro associations, the basic units in the
movement, were regionally based; their major figures, Evaristo
Estenoz and Luis Pena, were former insurgent officers.
The Negro associations were vigorously opposed by the
leading Liberals, white and Negro, including Pino Guerra,