Fidel Castro : Hero Or Villain

The Cuban Revolution was touchy topic for the United States and Cuba. America’s alienation of Cuba didn’t help when communism from the USSR was brewing over the revolution. When the revolution gained Castro as its leader, the worry and hatred from the United States was unbearable, especially when the Soviet Union landed in Cuba to interest Castro in its aid. The US’s fear of communism, Fidel Castro, and aid from the Soviet Union was significant because it changed the US’s political role in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution.

During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.

Louis A. Pérez Jr. is an American author who wrote this source in 2002, which was four years before the end of Castro’s rule. The journal article in its entirety was made to explore how and why the US had fear of and loathing towards Fidel Castro. In the extracts, I have selected benefits and disadvantages brought about by Castro are mentioned and explored. The source, for example, mentions how Castro nationalised US property such as sugar corporations, cattle ranches, oil refineries, utilities, mines, railroads and banks. Although it may have initially created economic problems, the nationalism of US property would have been a good thing, as it would have helped Cuba feel more independent and free and therefore benefit the nation socially by creating a sense of patriotism. In another extract pulled from the same article, the four

In 1959, Fidel Castro led a group of rebel forces to end and overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s regime in an effort to free the Cuban people from his tyrannous rule. For very many different political reasons this has been portrayed as an act of great injustice and hypocrisy in the modern world. A lot of this has of course been advocated primarily by the US due to the high level of political tension between the two nations that developed in the mid 1950s. Believing this conventional wisdom that Castro was simply an evil communist who oppressed his people and stripped them of their human rights is very dangerous because it

Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Buran, Cuba to the parent’s foreigners Angel, and Lina Castro Ruz. He is the son of a successful sugar cane planter. Fidel Castro was known for his athletic skill and for his smarts. He went to

In the article I have found that throughout the rule of Fidel Castro he has proven to be a very poor leader that turned many of his citizens away from him. During his rule in Cuba he did many controversy actions that caused Cubans to flee to America, his family to leave him, and blockades to be put on him.

The Cuban Revolution, which began in the early 1950’s, was an overthrow of a very corrupt government. It was an attempt to improve the conditions of the Cuban people, but the path was covered in blood and sweat and an informed historian has to ask, was it really worth it? How much actually changed?

Fidel Castro rose to power in the late 1950s and became dictator of Cuba. Tensions started to grow between America and Cuba when Cuba cut American ties to isolate Cuba so Castro could gain more power. Castro also developed ties with the Soviet Union which was problematic since the United States was engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union (History.com). When the presence of Soviet Union missiles in Cuba was announced, a new crisis had taken over. In an attempt to keep the United States

For many Cubans the Batista government was simply a puppet regime with the puppet masters being wealthy Americans. This was because his economic policies favoured foreign investors and did little for the development of domestic industries, which resulted in the wealth of the country being concentrated in the hands of a wealthy whtite minority. Consequently, in the 1950s, this harsh regime caused political resistance to reach to its boiling point. In response to these high levels of frustration, Fidel Castro and a small rebel group led a successful revolutionary army into Havana in 1959. This was the first step on the road to a new era in the lives of many Cubans.

Cuban citizens were not allowed to speak up or go against Batista’s rules. In the Green Left Weekly, Jill Hickson in 1996 states that “He answered any opposition with assassination, breaking strikes with machine-gun fire, and using repression against the Cuban people” (No.239). He being Batista shows that Batista was oppressing the Cuban people by not allowing freedom of speech. Therefore, the solution for Batista had to be using violence. This evidence shows how cruel Batista was to the Cuban society. The violence Batista caused only resulted into oppression from the Cuban society. Fidel Castro one of the leaders of the revolution was not going to stand by Batista’s cruel rules. Castro attacked the Moncada army barracks in Santiago. According to Batista, Jerry A. Sierra states that “Batista sent General Martin Tamayo, the military commander of the district, a note ordering him to "kill ten rebels for every soldier killed" in the attack.” (paragraph#4). This evidence shows that Batista has caused people to rebel against him by not having freedom. Also Batista is not afraid to treat other to the point that he needs to kill. The social oppression in the Cuban Revolution relates to my social oppression in my life because both do not have freedom. In the Revolution Batista does not allow people to stand up for themselves or else they

He had been Cuba’s President from 1940-1944, had complete control of the government and ran for a chance at reelection. However, it was apparent that he was going to lose and he stated himself dictator, which made a lot of people angry. The people of Cuba wanted their democracy back, so Fidel Castro led them in their battle for freedom. A long term cause that stemmed the Cuban Revolution was the Cubans suspicion and dislike of the United States.

The Cuban Revolution was an event that sparked change among Latin America. This change was a first of its kind, since the Western Hemisphere had primarily been democratic. Relations with other countries close by and far, improved or declined rapidly depending on the government and its ideals. Latin America countries had internal struggles which they would decide to follow Cuba or stay in favorable relations with the United States. Countries such as Honduras, Guatemala and Colombia seem to have been the most impacted by the Cuban Revolution.

The time of the Cuban Revolution was a great deal of turmoil, not just in Cuba but in almost every corner of the world. It was 1945, shortly after the end of World War Two, and the Cold War was taking off between the United States and the Soviet Union. Cuba, in the middle of its own war, was caught up in the international politics of the Cold War. The interaction between international and domestic politics played a major role in the outcome of the revolution. The result of the revolution left Fidel Castro in charge of Cuba.

The Cuban people have been under the harsh dictatorship of both Felgenico Batista and Fidel Castro. They both had very strict policies and gave the Cuban people limited or no freedom at all. Batista and Castro were similar but yet different. One major difference that they had was that Batista was friendly with the United States and he had respect for American interest. On the other hand Fidel Castro hasn’t been as friendly with the United States, so the U.S has a trade embargo that restricts and American company to do business with Cuba and also U.S citizens are prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless for special circumstances.

The Cuban Revolution was a necessary act that attempted to improve the lives of the cuban population through many horrific events. The Cuban Revolution, which began in the early 1950’s, was an overthrow of a corrupt government. Throughout Fidel Castro’s multiple attempts to improve the horrific conditions of the Cuban population, the Revolution became a long and tragic journey beginning with the 26th of July Movement, to The Bay of Pigs invasion, to The Cuban Missile Crisis.