Although, there has been over a fifty-year gap since the removal of dictator Fulgencio Batista in the Cuban Revolution and former president Ben Ali in the Tunisian Revolution, there must be similarities in the methods and reasons that spurred these movements initially. The Cuban Revolution's ideologies may have spurred into the Middle Eastern sphere to influence such uprisings of a mass of a people against their vicious governments. The motivational leaders in both nations in the Cuban and Tunisian Revolution achieved to mobilize masses by means of propaganda, media, and political demonstrations. Each shares several reasons to why oppressed individuals choose to rebel and ending in the overthrow of each government’s authoritarian regime. Gaining …show more content…
The Cuban Revolution took its initial steps towards tackling political oppression by attempting to oust the US backed dictator Fulgencio Batista out of power. Batista alongside the US operated United Fruit Company, brought a problem that would socially divide Cuba in half: those who among Cuba’s president, “favored outright annexation by the United States, and those who were nationalists and were proud of the their Cuban culture who would rather be capitalistic system free,” (Skidmore & Smith, 38). Thus, it would spawn a distinct class of individuals, who were allotted educational and labor opportunity, from those who would be deprived of certain rights. “This dilemma was compounded for Cubans who were employed by U.S. firms: [Cubans] were paid better than their countrymen…men and woman of color were forced to endure the brutal racism of the period as well,” (Skidmore, and Smith 305). It would be those men and woman that would consist of the middle class, agriculture workers, and semiprofessionals that would band together alongside Fidel Castro and push for a revolution to change Cuban …show more content…
Fidel Castro, one of Cuba’s most influential leaders of liberation, finished his education in Havana and became a professional lawyer. “He was born in Oriente Province on August 13, 1926, 50 miles from Santiago de Cuba. His father, Angel Castro, had immigrated to Cuba from Galicia, in northwestern Spain, and had prospered in sugar and lumber,” (Huberman, 25). A young lawyer and former student activist, Fidel Castro entered the political system; however, his plan was disrupted when Fulgencio Batista set to continue he reign of power. “A Cuban presidential election was scheduled for June 1, 1952 and Batista walked into Camp Columbia, the largest military fortress in Cuba, and took over the armed forces. If he couldn’t win at the election polls, he could do what he had done in 1934 - take over the government by force,” (Huberman, 25). Fidel Castro petitioned for the imprisonment of Batista, but was rejected by the courts of Cuba. So, Fidel decided that there was only one way in which Batista could be overthrown…revolution. Having decided that a revolution was necessary, Fidel with a purpose now devoted himself to the task of preparing for
On July 26, 1953, the war for Cuba’s independence began, and for 6 years many Cubans fought for their freedom. The most famous of these revolutionary icons being Fidel Castro, who led the main resistance against the Cuban government. On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and the rest of the Cuban's succeeded. This revolutionary war went on to affect the entire world and Eric Selbin believes it is still affecting it. Throughout Eric Selbin's article, Conjugating the Cuban Revolution, he firmly states that the Cuban revolution is important in the past, present, and future. Selbin, however, is wrong.
The entire struggle that Helg is alluding to in her book is founded within the racial hierarchies and racial ideologies that were formed early on in Cuba’s history. Several aspects of Cuban society (as discussed by Helg) served to foster the racism and the antagonistic attitudes that whites had towards the Afro-Cubans. An acute example of the inequality that the blacks were made to suffer was the denial of citizenship after 1886. According to Helg, Afro-Cubans were denied the titles of "Don" and "Doña" on their identity cards. This was a blatant form of discrimination against because it prevented blacks from being considered as first class citizens, "…despite the fact that they were full taxpayers". (25) What Helg means by this is that even though the Afro-Cubans were participating in the economic spectrum of Cuba, they were still denied access into the political and social arenas.
Long before our involvement, the Cubans had been leading revolts and revolutions against Spain. The Spanish empire considered Cuba to be its jewel, not only for its beauty but also for its economics. Cuba’s main source of income was from its expansive sugar plantations that greatly contributed to its wealth (more so to the Spanish Empires wealth). Ironically, even due to the high regard to Cuba, it was neglected and oppressed, as the Spanish Empire began its decline in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Empire was falling due to it slowly loosing its control over its territories, closer to the US then to Spain, because of a lack of industrializing. The Spanish would claim ownership, but never contribute back to their land. This opened the door for what is known as the 10-year war and the struggle for Cuban Independence. The United States never got directly involved, but it sympathized greatly with the Cuban’s cause, for ...
Little by little, the free people of Cuba came to realize it could happen there. The grim facts of life on an island that became a police state” (Frankel 59). Every day, Castro came closer to controlling every aspect of life in Cuba. Fidel Castro even took control of the schools in Cuba, throwing out any teacher who he thought might be “disloyal” or disagreeing with Communism.... ... middle of paper ...
The Cuban Revolution began in 1959 when a small group of guerrillas overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. There were several main goals to the revolution that revolved around improvement of the lives of Cuban citizens. Even though these goals were not all completely successful, most of the fundamentals of...
“What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, freedom is to the soul of man” (Brainy Quotes). Light is essential to the eyes, love is what makes the heart beat, and freedom is the hope of man kind; all of which are essential to the happiness of humanity. Having to live without these rights is a difficult way of living. For example, Cubans have suffered time after time in pursuit of their freedom, but sadly they never accomplish their goal. They live in fear of their broken government, but never stop fighting for freedom. In the early 20th century, Cuba was a democracy. From 1940 to 1944 Fulgencio Batista, a Cuban politician, was Cuba’s president. In 1952 he decided to run again, but when it was apparent he’d lose, Batista seized power before the election took place. The citizens were outraged causing them to turn against their flawed democracy that was brought upon by the election. As a result, Fidel Castro, a communist revolutionary political man, began to plot Batista’s downfall. The Cuban Revolution, also known as Castro’s Revolution, began on July 26, 1952, and ended January, 1, 1959. After Batista, Cuba’s former president, fled the country, Castro took complete control and turned Cuba into a communist country. The Revolution brought upon: many deaths, censored news and publicity, and no freedom of speech. Throughout the years Castro stayed in power, but due to health issues originating on July 31, 2006, he had to step down. After Castro returned, he took control of Cuba up until February 19, 2008. He then abdicated his place as dictator and handed down his position to his brother, Raul Castro.
In 1952, Flugencio Batista, then president of Cuba, conducted yet another falsified election in his favor. Resulting in a shutdown of all political parties, constitutional rights and even the closure of the University where Castro attended. By July 26, 1953 Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, standing for social justice, began assembling, “111 insurgents... and headed an armed assault on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba,” (Padgett 43). Raúl and Fidel were caught and set to trial, beginning the Revolution of Cuba. It was at this trial where Fidel Castro stood before the judges announcing his lack of fear for prison stating confidently, “History will absolve me” (Fidel Castro). This is where his support came from, he was seen by his followers as the symbol of avengers who stood up the greater evil. Through gore and long ensued battles his victory came in January of 1959, Fidel Castro was the new leader of Cuba (Fidel: The Untold Story). Those who were pro Batista fled to Miami and other far away locations as soon as possible. While those who stayed, predominately the working class, stayed and celebrated in the streets because justice had been served and the dictator had been overthrown by the Valiant
1. The Cuban Revolution was supposed to install a Marxist paradise, lifting all citizens to the same strata and abolishing traditional separations based on class, gender and race. In this brave new utopia, all bodies, regardless of skin tone, would work together to build a prosperous nation, in which all had an equal stake. In reality, however, the revolution was almost immediately co-opted by what Sawyer describes as the Creole elite. Cuba had had a long history of tense racial relations and despite the massive social and economic upheaval brought on by the revolution, this entrenched racism was not erased by the waving of the red flag, only obscured by it.
After his graduation in 1950, Castro continued to practice politics and study law. He decided to become a member of the reformist Cuban People’s Party, called Ortodoxos. The Ortodoxos called for economic independence from the United States, political liberty, social justice, and an end to government corruption. Throughout these years, Castro stayed true to his interests, and political capabilities, and became a candidate for a seat in Cuba’s House of Representatives during the election of June 1952. However, right before the election was held, Fulgencio Batista disbanded the previous government and cancelled the election. This incident is what really pushed Castro into fighting this corrupted government and restoring justice to Cuba. Th...
Whitney, Robert. "The Architect of the Cuban State: Fulgencio Batista and Populism in Cuba, 1937-1940." Journal of Latin American Studies 32.2 (2000): 435-59. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2014. .
The Cuban revolution was one that transformed Cuba into an independent socialist society. This revolution sent a message around the globe. The message: “ Socialism can be achieved and capitalism, with its culture stripping mechanism’s can be supplemented”. However, the revolution did leave its mark on Cuba. This can be seen in the events that took place during the early stages of the revolution. The effects of the revolution were positive for certain sections of the population and negative for others.
“A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past” (Fidel Castro). People of power can be creative with their utterances. They can say anything to the people that they want to control. In this situation, both countries tested the limits. The political leaders of Cuba and China gained support by attracting specific types of followers, motivation and the utilization of propaganda. These leaders had campaigns targeting specific types of people to help gain power and to get support for their revolutionary ideas. The same mindset was in place when these leaders used propaganda and used their own motivation to get into people’s heads.
However, the US played a much larger role in Cuba’s past and present than the building of casinos and the introduction of the first taints of corruption. In the past, even before Batista, Americans were resented by Cubans because the Americans made a lot of Cuba’s decisions. Under Batista, 80% of Cuban imports came from the US, and the US controlled at least 50% of sugar, utilities, phones and railroads. If Cuba was a business in the stock markets, then the US would have been close to owning 50% of its shares. When combined with a long history of US-backed leaders, and US involvement, it is understandable that Cubans begrudged the Americans....
Throughout history, countless uprisings have occurred. Historians classify any forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system as a revolution. The success or failure of a revolution is directly related to the revolution’s causes and consequences. The French Revolution was more successful than the Nicaraguan Revolution, because the Nicaraguan Revolution left the country in social and financial ruin, foreign powers had much greater interference, and it precipitated a period of political unrest with multiple leadership changes. One cause of both revolutions was that people from all social classes were discontented.
With 1950’s Cuba in distress, Fidel Castro was able to swiftly consolidate power. Focusing on the events of 1952 to 1959 when Castro obtained the position of the Prime Minister of Cuba, this essay will examine how Fidel Castro’s “History will absolve me” speech provided the morale to his rise to power in 1950’s Cuba. His defence speech during his trial for the 26th of July Movement called History Will Absolve Me and Fidel Castro: Rebel, Liberator, or Dictator by Jules Dubois will serve as the two main sources alongside many academic sources. Through his speech, Castro became a household name in Cuba, giving him the recognition he needed to gain presidential power. Due to the positive Cuban response to his speech, Castro gained the support he needed in order to overthrow Batista’s regime.