Castro and Cuba: SL History

• Cuba was a Spanish colony until 1898
• Following 3.5 years of US military rule, Cuba gained formal independence in 1902 with strong US influence
• Platt Agreement allowed the US the right to intervene in Cuban politics and economy
• Under the pro-US dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, conditions for Cubans worsened, setting the scene for the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro
• The Cuban Revolution refers to the political and social upheaval that occurred in Cuba from 1953 to January 1, 1959
• US companies controlled most of Cuba’s financial, railway, electricity, telegraph, and sugar industries
• Batista suspended the constitution when he took power in 1952
• Castro's first attempt to dispose of Batista came in 1953
• Castro, with his brother Raul and Abel Santamaria, led an attack on a military garrison on July 26, 1953
• Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison while his brother was sentenced to 13 years
• In 1956, Castro returned to Cuba on a yacht called the Granma with 82 rebels and a supply of weaponry
• Castro's form of nationalism aimed to end imperialism and capitalism and develop an economy focused on growth, fairness, and social welfare
• Castro used propaganda to gain control and maintain power through speeches, radio, film, television, newspapers, and magazines
• Factors contributing to the success of the guerilla fighters included discipline, guerilla warfare tactics, and effective military leadership
• Castro's victory was also influenced by lack of popular support for Batista, propaganda, political alliances, strong leadership, and unifying ideology
• Immediate effects of Castro's success included socioeconomic changes, human rights abuses, increased US/Cuban tensions, and improved health and education standards
• Castro's government invested heavily in healthcare and education, leading to significant improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens
• Castro's methods of consolidation included imprisonment of Batista's supporters, confiscation of land and property, and establishment of a one-party system
• The Agrarian Reform Law of May 1959 aimed to redistribute land, nationalize large estates, and organize state-owned land in cooperatives
• The US embargo on Cuba was tightened after Castro took over US banks in 1960, leading to increased hostility between the US and Cuba
• In 1961, the Bay of Pigs invasion, backed by America, failed, pushing Castro into a firmer alliance with the Soviet Union
• Castro believed that Cuba could become a role model for other underdeveloped countries in Latin America and Africa to lift themselves out of imperialist oppression and poverty
• Because Cuba is only 145 kilometres away from the coast of Florida, the US considered it in its sphere of influence.
• The Platt Amendment of 1901 allowed the US to establish a naval base at Guantanamo Bay and gave the US the right to "intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence"
• Batista was the elected president of Cuba from 1940-1944. In 1952, he tried to run again but knew he would be defeated, so he staged a successful military coup against the elected president.
• After Batista took power in 1952, he suspended the Cuban constitution
• Batista’s military coup was supported by US financial and military aid, in return allowing the US to continue to dominate the economy
• Castro's first attempt to dispose of Batista was in 1953
• Castro, with his brother Raul and Abel Santamaria, led an attack on a military garrison on July 26 1953. The assault aimed to seize weapons to use in an uprising against Batista. The assault failed; around 70/140 of the rebels were killed, including Santamaria.
• Castro gave his famous "history will absolve me" speech after the July 26 attack on the Batista military garrison. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison.
• In 1955, under political pressure, Batista freed all Cuban political prisoners, including Castro and his brother, who then fled to Mexico
• 1954: Batista held elections while his opponents were in disarray, the PSP banned, and Castro was in prison. Batista presented his election victory as a demonstration of his democratic legitimacy
• Starting in 1955, revolutionary groups grew in the countryside and engaged in acts of sabotage on oil refineries, sugar mills, and infrastructure like rails and phone lines
• December 2, 1956: Castro returns to Cuba on a yacht called the Granma with 82 rebels and a supply of weaponry. Government forces detected the Granma’s forces as they struggled ashore through a swamp; only 12 rebels survived an ambush. Castro led the remaining rebels into the Sierra Maestra mountains in order to recover and rebuild.
• Castro’s form of nationalism drew on ideas dating back to the Cuban war of independence in 1868 and the idea of Cubania, which was used at the time to reference the modernization of the state for the Cuban people. Cubania aimed to end imperialism and capitalism and develop an economy that focused on growth, fairness, and social welfare.
• Those who argue that Castro was not a Marxist before he declared himself a “Marxist Leninist” in 1961 use the following evidence:

  • Castro argued for the overthrow of tyranny and the establishment of democracy
  • Castro had a “social justice agenda” and wanted a “planned economy” but did not reference explicitly Soviet-inspired ideas
  • The provisional government originally included some moderates and liberals
• Castro's methods of propaganda:

  • Radio Rebelde, set up by Che Guevara
  • State-controlled newspaper "Granma"
  • State-controlled magazine "Bohemia"
• Factors contributing to the success of Castro's guerilla army:

  • At their permanent camp, La Plata, they established a government, courts, a hospital, and a school
  • The revolutionary newspaper "El Cubano Libre" and Radio Rebelde
  • Enemy soldiers, prisoners, and civilians were treated as humanely as possible
  • Castro enforced strict discipline; all food taken from locals was paid for, no drinking of alcohol was allowed among soldiers
  • Insubordination, desertion, and defeatism could be punishable by death
  • The guerillas were supported by an urban underground (the Llano) that helped their success
• The US placed an arms embargo on Cuba in 1958
• With a weakened military that lacked supplies, Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959