Fidel Castro: A Paradoxical Revolutionary

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Everyone knows the name Fidel Castro, the revolutionary of Cuba. At the University of Havana in 1945 is where Fidel Castro began his long and treacherous journey as a radical nationalist. (Fidel: The Untold Story). He fought the infamous Flugencio Batista in the name of social justice until victory was won. He claimed to have fought for a democratic Cuba and a restoration of constitutional government and Cuban sovereignty, but he also stood for socialism and communist ideals. As Tim Padgett from Times Magazine on page 42 stated “Fidel imported old-world Marxism and its perverse notion that social justice is best delivered via the injustice of autocracy.” He supported everything the US and pro-democracy states despised and stood as a revolutionary …show more content…

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 …show more content…

While on the contrary, during Castro’s USA tour Eisenhower refused a visit with him calling his ideals communist and unjust. Nixon, following Eisenhower’s judgment, claimed that Castro “is either incredibly naïve about communism or under communist discipline-my guess is the former” (Depalma 19). This sentiment spread to the American citizens rapidly creating a huge divide among Cubans and Cuban Americans. One of the first and most controversial reforms done by Castro was the Agrarian Reform which sought to break up all the landholdings by foreigners, including the US, from the Batista rule and redistribute it to those who worked for it, also known as the working-class citizens. The US grew animosity as some of these land holdings were owned by the USA, stripping them of some of their economic property. In addition, cases of denied human rights were reported. In September of 2000, there was a committee on foreign relations held by the chairman Jesse Helms where two Cuban doctors were interviewed about their medical expedition in Zimbabwe. When Leonel Cordova and Noris Pena were kidnapped by Zimbabwean police and Cuban diplomats by the orders of Castro himself. In this testimony, they clearly describe the conditions they faced after they made a declaration against the Cuban Government regarding their mission and the Castro regime in general. After being kidnapped Castro officials tried to

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