Fidel Castro is one of the most debated leaders in history. Castro ruled Cuba, from 1959 to 2008, as a one party socialist state following the overthrow of the dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Under his rule, Cuba was able to back up the Soviet Union, their ally, during the Cold War, and create radical reforms to better the lives of Cubans, especially through land and education. His legacy is widely debated as being infamous or not, as at times the economy prospered under him, but after the Soviet Union diminished, fell drastically. He also took away many civil liberties, but implemented great reforms.
Cuba was under very harsh rule before Fidel Castro, under Fulgencio Batista, which made it easy for Castro to gain control. He ruled Cuba from 1933
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Comecon is the byname for the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance. It was established in January of 1949. (Comecon) Its goal was to coordinate and facilitate the economic development of the Eastern European countries in the Soviet Bloc. (Comecon) The Original members were Bulgaria, Hungary, Soviet Union, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. Cuba joined in 1972 and became the 9th member. (Comecon) In this council, Cuba and the Soviet Union made many agreements that benefited Cuba. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. This desctroyed the Cuban economy because Cuba’s second largest export product was the leftover Soviet oil. Their oil imports dropped to the tenth of what they were before 1990. (Special Period and Recovery) The Soviet Union had provided them with aid for many years, so without them the economy dropped immediately. They lost 80 percent of its exports and imports including medicine and food. The Gross Domestic Product drooped by 34 percent as well. (Special Period and Recovery) Many societal systems stopped as well such as transportation. Austrialians and countries aided them by teaching them new farming techniques. There was constant hunger, which was not seen since the Cuban Revolution. Cuba became very distraught during this time. (Special Period and …show more content…
On July 31st , 2006, he gives his power to his brother because of health issues. He resigned as Commander in Chief on February 24, 2008. (Raul Castro Fast Facts) Castro died at the age of 90 on November 25th, 2016 in Havana. His legacy is very debated throughout the world. The United States had had a lot of tension with Cuba, so they were glad to be able to fix their relations]. Many Cubans think he was an amazing ruler because he brought prosperity to the society and economy but he also took human rights away. (Cuban Leader… legacy) Many American Cubans hate him because Castro exiled them or their family because they opposed him.
Castro did many great things for Cuba, but also made many mistakes. During his five decade rule, he backed up the Soviet Union and reforms. However the economy fell after the U.S.S.R. dismantled, which lead to great poverty. He also took away human rights, but he was still liked by the people. His legacy will be debated for many years because he is such a controversial
Many factors led to the rise of Castro’s power but finally after popular up-rises and other communistic approaches like the overthrowing the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, led to him being sworn in as Cuba’s prime minister and took power in the winter of 1958 (source A & F). He turned the country of Cuba into a one-party dictatorship with a gulag which evoked fear in the hearts of his fellow
Cuba had a long history regarding its countries state from the Cuban revolution till now. To start off, Cuba is the biggest island in the Caribbean and one of the closest to the United States. Because of its location it played an important role for America. The revolution lasted for 7 years but eventually the Cuban people were successful.
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on the 13th of August, 1926, the third of six children, and the son of a wealthy sugar plantation owner. After Castro graduated from El Colegio de Belen in 1945, he entered law school at the University of Havana. It was during this period that Castro began to become involved politics, taking an interest in the political climate of Cuban nationalism, anti-imperialism, socialism, and social justice (http://www.biography.com/articles/fidel-castro-9241487, 2009). Castro immediately became involved with student protests, whose student groups were known to be violent and often armed, which can be attributed to the fact that there had been a government crackdown on these protesters, with students sometimes being killed or terrorized (The Real Fidel Castro, p16-17, 2003). Brutality was already present in the political system, perhaps a sign that brutality would be needed to change it.
“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.
Argentine born, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara played an important part for the Cuban revolution as guerrilla, as minister of industry, and as a figure that influenced the Cuba 's revolution with his philosophy of a "new man," a new society that could be motivated by the morals rather than by personal gain. He was a first doctor, then a soldier, and a teacher in-between in the Cuba army. Here is where the revolution begin.
Fidel Castro has most certainly been a controversial dictator during his reign in Cuba. His regime has made quite the infamous name for itself during the sixties. When news spread of his, for some, long anticipated death, some were riddled with joy and took to the streets with celebration. Others were solemn for the fall of an impactful leader. However, no one could deny that he left a legacy. Majority of what we hear about Fidel Castro in the United States is negative, seeing that Fidel ousted United States backed dictator Batista and positioned himself against the United States throughout much of his time in power. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Fidel has done pretty indefensible things while in charge but he also is not totally devoid of
In 1959, Fidel Castro had become the powerful leader of Cuba. Castro was a communist and became hostile to the Unite States two years after he became Cuba’s leader (Encarta). People associated with Castro had taken ownership over United States companies and Eisenhower was forced to put in place a trade embargo. Cubans during this time had gone to the United States to escape the communist leadership that Castro was imposing on people. When Eisenhower had told the CIA to train Cuban exiles, they were planning on an invasion when Kennedy became president (Encarta).
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
Castro implemented additional significant social-economical polices which further more increased his popularity with in the public order, such as attempts towards improving health care, medical facilities, and tourism, but mostly highlighting the importance of education by drastically transforming the Cuban educational system. Achieving an extraordinary change required Castro to start the “1961 literacy campaign” which called for raising the literacy rate percentage in the Cuban society, by allowing education and it’s equipment free of charge, building schools, increasing the amount of teachers per student, and making it available to all ages who desired to peruse education. These reforms where a major increase in Castro’s popularity. “The quality of life lies in knowledge”- Fidel Castro (The Right Priorities: Health, Education, and Literacy. PBS.o...
So after Castro had learned a plan to throw the Dominican Republic leader, Rafael Trujillo out of office, nonetheless it had failed due to the United States stressing the continuing invasion on Castro had gone over to Dominican Republic to take over the president, however several people were caught, and detained, with Fidel Castro being one of the people who’ve fled. So after that, Castro had now gone completely Liberal because of American interventionism, and legal corruption.
Fidel Castro was an illegitimate child of the upper middle class in Cuba. He was the son of the family maid and his father, who happened to be a wealthy farmer and landowner. Castro was highly educated for the twentieth century in Cuba, earning a Doctorate in Law. However his success in life did not come to him as a lawyer, but as a ruthless politician and revolutionary. When dictator, Fulgencio Batista was overthrown during the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro boldly took on the role of leader over Cuba, broke away from the domination of the United States, and put Cuba’s economy in the hands of the Soviet Union. According to Charlip, “Castro visualized a reformed Cuba, with agricultural cooperatives, industry, education and healthcare
The Cuban Revolution, lasting from 1953 to 1959, imposed a communist regime onto a republic-turned dictatorial government, a change that resulted in the US trade embargo against Cuba in 1960. Fidel Castro, a prominent leader of the revolution, sought to overthrow the U.S.- backed president, Fulgencio Batista, in order to implement a communist government in Cuba. He proved victorious in this effort and further antagonized the U.S. by establishing a relationship with the Soviet Union. These developments compelled U.S. president Eisenhower to place an economic embargo on Cuba. This transformation in diplomatic relations placed Cuba in a perpetual state of poverty as it was cut off from its neighbor, the most powerful country in the world. Photographer
Castro’s involvement with the foreign and domestic politics during the early Cold War period greatly influenced the outcome of the Cuban Revolution. Without the actions taken by foreign powers like the United States and Russia, some events on the domestic front may have had very different results. It is important to understand how every nation’s foreign policies can influence more than just one other nation, and this was especially true for Cuba. It was because of these events that produced the communist Cuba that we are familiar with today.
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 established dictatorships and lost the support of many of those that they governed. Castro and Batista are each guilt of repression and corruption within their governments. For example, at some point under each regime, the constitution was either suspended or not followed at all. Castro did, though, make one very important contribution to Cuba's political system: Socialism. For the first time, Castro and Che Guevara a socialist plan called the New Man theory which called for developing an ideology amongst citizens that would call for working not for personal enrichment, but for social betterment.
Among those leaders, Fidel Castro is the most influential one. Fidel Castro as the former revolutionary leader, in 1959, he took his brother Raul Castro and Che Guevara, led the people in Cuba overturn the Batistuta dictatorship that supported by United States. In many decades, United States was unhappy about Cuba, which lead by Castro, and set the blockade and embargo towards Cuba. Fidel Castro was so insist about revolution and never give in. He always wears the khaki military uniform in public to represent his determination as a revolutionary. In 1960s, the central intelligence agency (CIA) of America organized Cuban mercenaries several times to armed landing and tried to assassinate Castro, in order to change the revolutionary regime under Castro’s power. Castro once said that in his life, he has bee. Few years ago, the U.S former president Mr. Clinton mock ups him in a speech. He said that, “he is president of Cuba when I was in kindergarten, he is president when I was in elementary school, he is president when I was in high school, he is present when I was in college, he is president when I was campaign for America president, and he is still present when I no longer be the president of America”. Fidel Castro is such a leader who never afraid of being assassinating and so determine about revolution in