cuban revolution - the two dictatorships

7/27/2019 Cuban Revolution - The Two Dictatorships

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The Dictatorships ofCol. Fulgencio Batista& Fidel Castro

A Comparison


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Conditions Under Col. Batista

In 1933, Batista

rose topower with the Revolt ofthe Sergeants which, along

with other groups,overthrew the authoritariangovernment ofGerardoMachado

He then ran the country firstas leader de facto from 1933 1940 and then asPresident from 1940 - 1944


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Batista had implemented some very

progressive policies during the time

providing land reform, public education,

minimum wage, the right to vote, andendorsed a representative democratic

republican government under the 1940

Constitution of Cuba



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Batista, upon finishing his term, lived in the

United States, returning to Cuba to run for

president in 1952. Facing certain electoral

defeat, he led a military coup that preemptedthe election.

Let us take a look at what he did next



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Batista suspended the 1940 Constitution and revoked mostpolitical liberties, including the right to strike

He then went into league with the wealthiest landowners whoowned the largest sugar plantations, and presided over a

stagnating economy which saw a widened gap between the richand poor

Batista's increasingly corrupt and repressive regime then began toprofit from the exploitation of Cuba's commercial interests, bynegotiating lucrative relationships with the American mafia, who

controlled the drug, gambling, and prostitution rackets in Havana He also consorted with large multinational American

corporations that had invested considerable amounts of moneyinto Cuba at the expense of poor Cubans

To quell the growing discontent amongst the populace which

had taken to frequent student riots and anti-Batistademonstrations Batista established tighter censorship of themedia, while also utilizing his anti-Communist secret police andU.S.-supplied weaponry to carry out wide-scaleviolence, torture and public executions; ultimately killing as many

as 20,000 Cubans.


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Fidel Castros Dictatorship

In 1959 Cuba becomesthe first Communiststate in the westernhemisphere after Fidel

Castro, a 32-year-oldlawyer, leads his rebels,known as the 26 JulyMovement, to victory on

the streets of Havana,overthrowing the regimeof US-backed dictatorFulgencio Batista.


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1960 Castro's regime begins to dissolve the old capitalist system.American-owned businesses come under state control and theeconomy becomes centrally planned, with more social provision forthe poor. Cuba strives for closer economic ties to the Soviet Unionas the US quickly breaks off diplomatic relations with Havana.

1961 Cuba invaded by US-trained rebels who land at the Bay ofPigs, south of the capital. The invading force is easily put down afterthree days of fighting. US president John F Kennedy confirms havingsupported the attack, which ratchets up the tension between thetwo countries and their allies.

1962 With Cuba cementing ties to the Soviet Union, the world is

brought to the brink of nuclear war after Castro agrees to allow theUSSR to position nuclear missiles on the island, 90 miles from theUS mainland. As the Russian standoff with the US reaches crisispoint, Moscow finally agrees to remove the missiles on conditionthat the United States dismantles its nuclear weapons deployed inTurkey.



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How did Castro change Cuban society?

It changed radically after Castro was rebuffed

by the U.S. government and then attacked by

the U.S. sponsored insurgents at the Bay of

Pigs

Let us look at the ways in which it changed



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The state became officially atheist and expelled theChurch and bishops

All schools were taken over by the state and illiteracywas largely eradicated

The land was nationalized and land reforms introducedwhich broke up the latifundias and gave land to thepoor as cooperatives. This improved the standard ofliving

Rich and middle class Cuban businesses werenationalized including the plantations of FidelCastros family

American businesses, especially, were targeted andnationalized. The U.S. responded by freezing Cubasassets in foreign banks and imposing an embargo

No elections and the creation of the Cuban CommunistParty by a combining of the leftist political movements


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By the end of 1960, the revolutionary government hadnationalized more than $25 billion worth of privateproperty owned by Cubans.

Cuba also nationalized all foreign-owned property,

particularly American holdings, in the nation on 6 August1960. The United States, in turn, responded by freezing allCuban assets in the United States, severing diplomaticties, and tightening the embargo on Cuba

Further, the U.S. rebuffed Castro when he went toWashington to explain his position. He is quoted asstating, "I know what the world thinks of us, we areCommunists, and of course I have said very clearly that weare not Communists; very clearly."

In response to the acts of the Eisenhower

administration, Cuba turned to the Soviet Union forsupport

The Turn to Communism


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The Political Continuum

COMMUNISM

FASCISM

Rule by thecollective,

however, under

state

supervision

Rule by the state:varying degrees of

authoritativeness

DEMOCRACY

SOCIALISM

ANARCHY

Rule by thepeople through

representation

Rule by the

individual and the

absence of

government

cuban revolution - the two dictatorships

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