The history of Fidel Castro’s and the Cuban Revolution, has left many of the citizens of Cuba in great debate over his legacy. Castro can be credited for the anti-Batista movement, were he and his fellow members of the coalition, overthrew U.S.-backed dictator, Fulgencio Bastita on December 31, 1958. Castro, can also be proclaimed as the man who put an end to racism within the developing nation. He also implemented a national literacy campaign.…
1) List the circumstances that lead to a change in Castro’s stand regarding Russia in 1959.…
The Cuban Revolution The year was 1952, an election between Fulgencio Batista and Carlos Prío Socarrás was heating up on a small island ninety miles off Florida’s southern coast, and the citizens of Cuba were furious. The new Cuban leader, Fulgencio Batista, seized power through a military coup against President Carlos Prío Socarrás. Cuba, at the time, had a democratic form of government; Batista’s seizure of power revealed the corruption in the country’s flawed democracy. Batista’s corruption angered many Cubans, including Fidel Castro, who then decided to lead a revolution against Batista by using a rebel force of Cuban citizens. The intent of Castro and the rebel force was to overthrow Batista.…
Cuba 's political history carries a pattern: when the masses are disillusioned by the current ruler, they turn to a young, strong-willed leader-of-the-people as their new ruler, only to become disillusioned to that ruler when he becomes too oppressive. It has seemed a never- ending cycle. Batista and Castro were both well-regarded leaders initially who appealed strongly to the masses and common citizen. Later, both…
Castro worsened Cuba politically because he made them depend on the Soviet Union and cut ties with the U.S. in the process, which led to Cuba failing in more ways than one. For instance, Fidel Castro angered the U.S. with an increasingly anti-American rhetoric, and allied with the Soviet Union in a 1960 trade deal. This example proves Fidel Castro made Cuba worse politically because when he decided to align with another country with a trade deal, the U.S. got angry and cut all the diplomatic ties with Cuba in the process. In addition, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Cuba lost the funds from the regime. This example proves Castro made Cuba worse politically because when the Soviet Union collapsed, they lost the funds to the regime,…
Cuban leader Fidel Castro (1926-) established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere after leading an overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades, until handing off power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008. During that time, Castro’s regime was successful in reducing illiteracy, stamping out racism and improving public health care, but was widely criticized for stifling economic and political freedoms. Castro’s Cuba also had a highly antagonistic relationship with the United States--most notably resulting in the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The two nations have no formal diplomatic relations, and the United States has enforced a trade embargo with Cuba since 1960, when U.S.-owned businesses in Cuba were nationalized without compensation.…
Modern Cuba has been shaped by the U.S.'s abhorrence for the communist government. Today there are many problems in Cuba such as its waning economy, its health care issues, even its pollution, but almost all of them stem from the U.S. unwillingness to cooperate with the Cuban government, and ultimately, the U.S.'s goal to spread "freedom and liberty" to Cuba's "oppressive communist regime"…
Analise and Discus the Influences and events of significance in Fidel Castro’s early life that lead to his abandoning mainstream politics and becoming the leader of the Cuban revolution.…
Fidel Castro is “Machiavelli’s Cuban Prince”. (1) Chapter 17 of The Prince deals with a common question for a leader: What is better, to be loved or feared? Machiavelli states that people will easily be disloyal to the love for their leader, but if you are feared, it will be much more difficult to quickly challenge a leader that is feared. Fidel Castro’s leadership techniques prove that he very much tries to gain the affection and love of his people, but ultimately fear is what gives him power over them. In 1961 1,400 Cuban exiles, supported by the CIA, made an ineffective shot at invading Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. They assumed the invasion would inspire other Cubans in the population to rise up and overthrow Castro. To everyone’s surprise the Cuban population supported Castro. (2) Castro’s military assure his physical power over Cuba and Castro has been expert at using the customary Cuban fear of the “Miami Cubans” and the detested “Americanos” to overpower his people and keep them aligned. His people fear him and the power he has over them is what in the long run keeps him with that power. This same trait is what was discussed by Machiavelli in Chapter 17 and proves how Castro exemplifies what Machiavelli considers to be an…
In May of 1955, history did absolve Fidel. In an effort to appease international pressure for reform, Batista and his government released many of its political prisoners – of which Fidel and his brother Raul. The evermore-resilient Castro men escaped to Mexico where they sought other disillusioned exiles to join their new “26th of July Movement” (MR-26-7’s). By November of 1956, the new regime was ready for action and boarded a tiny yacht, Granma, heading towards Cuba and the revolution. Battle after battle Batista was unable to thwart the strength of the new movement and their guerrilla tactics. The revolution grew in size and their words were published around the world. Quickly, rebel fighters began staging attacks on Batista – nearly succeeding at an assassination attempt. In 1958, Batista sent troops to the mountains in order to flush out Fidel and his hundreds of men – a feeble attempt that would result in Batista’s men switching sides or deserting. As the movements’ numbers flourished, Fidel staged the final assault. Seeing the…
The context of Cuba’s social, economic, and educational standings stems largely from the country’s rich history. Following the Spanish-American War and the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Cuba became an independent country and was occupied by the United States military shortly after. Throughout the next three decades, Cuba operated as a free nation while the U.S. maintained close supervision. In 1933, Fulgencio Batista headed a revolt that overthrew Gerardo Machado’s authoritarian rule and Batista assumed power. Beginning in 1934, Batista maintained control of Cuba through a chain of puppet presidents until he was elected President in 1940. Batista served for four years and then moved to the United States. However, Batista returned to Cuba to run for president yet again and, certain that he would be defeated by a reform party, staged a coup d’état where he was able to seize power and establish himself as a dictator. During Batista’s reign, the economy was controlled by the U.S, poverty and poor education were…
Cuba is changing. The “special period” has ended and Cuba is progressing out of its heavily ruling fist. A change in power and new relations with the United States has sparked cultural changes in Cuba, but not without dissonance. One of the largest fears in Cuba is of how to implement new policy and adapt to new ways of thinking. Amid signs of change and growth, many Cubans are hesitant to believe in a new structure of government and are tending to resort back to old habits and following old practices…
Fidel Castro was one of the longest ruling leaders in South America. This essay discusses the question if his maintaining in power was caused by his economic policies, namely his agriculture reforms, his reforms towards the ideals of the revolution and communism, the year of the ten million and the fight against the influence of foreigners, or by his social reforms, the influence of the foreign powers of the USSR and USA, the lack of an organized opposition, his personality and war-hero image and the state propaganda.…
Though he has a negative connotation in the American political perspective for being a Leninist/Marxist and for provoking such incidents as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fidel Castro was a positive leader in Cuba and made many improvements to Cuban society after the Cuban Revolution that he led in 1959. Due to such incidents, many of Castro’s social reforms in Cuba are ignored (or dismissed as completely communistic and therefore without any merit to the United States), especially reforms that he made between the start of the revolution and 1990. As any newly instated leader would, Castro made mistakes in his rule and misjudged some situations, especially in the political playground. However, he made many contributions to his country and to the status of living to Cubans in his long reign as the main authority power in Cuba.…
After Castro’s graduation from law school he went on a trip to the Dominican Republic in attempt to overthrow the government. He gathered a coup but they failed. However it didn’t put Castro down. When Castro got back to Cuba he joined the Partido Ortodoxo. This was an anticommunist political party that was founded by Eduardo Chibas. Its goal was to reform government corruption in Cuba, their goals were “nationalism, economic independence, and social reforms.” Chibas ran for president but lost, however this didn’t discourage Castro, he went on and studied with Chibas.…