Socialism In Cuba Essay

Cuban history, like many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean which have experienced colonial subjugation and imperial interference, is highlighted by tumultuous rebellions. Ever since the revolt of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in 1868, who took up arms with his slaves to liberate Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp, the existence of insurrectionists and adamant government opposition in Cuba has flourished. Social revolution and a strong will and practice of nationalism has indelibly characterized Cuban history. Nevertheless, the outcomes of particular movements and struggles for social justice have consistently frustrated revolutionary and radical leaders. Government regimes throughout

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

This economic stimulus that the USSR gave the Cubans did not come without a steep price. For the second time in a few years Castro felt the pressure of a super power trying to control the future of his county. Soviet Premier

After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.

economic growth comes from agriculture and exports to and from Europe. Since America has had an embargo on Cuba since 1962 neither countries trade with each other because of many disagreements about governing techniques and Fidel's unwillingness to comply with U.S. instructions. Cuba’s long history and culture has contributed to many economic and social growth through out the world, but Cuba is still struggling to try to stable their economy.

It is the economic system used by a government that regulates only certain businesses for the welfare of the citizens. The government normally only regulates housing, education, food, and medical issues. Since that is all the government regulates, private citizens are allowed to own businesses. However, the income of these businesses is controlled thru taxes. The strength of socialism is that the government has more control over businesses and can regulate what happens in them. The weakness is that people interested in owning a business in the area of housing, education, food, or medical issues cannot. All the three economic systems are different in unique ways.

On January 8th, 1959, Fidel Castro and his rebel army marched triumphantly into Havana, Cuba, having overthrown corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista the week earlier. It was the fruition of the Cuban Revolution, and the dramatic shift in power was about to radically alter the country’s political, social and economic course forever. The positive and negative effects of the revolution on the Cuban people, however, as well as the condition of Cuba’s economy pre and post-revolution, is subject to heated debate. Castro’s iron-fisted regime was the introduction of communism into the western hemisphere, and now, over fifty years later, the Cuban Revolution continues to be one of the most controversial events of the twentieth century. Despite the criticism levelled at Fidel Castro and his communist regime, however, the Cuban Revolution was necessary in improving the quality of life for the majority of Cuban citizens. The four fundamental categories on which to assess this are healthcare, education, economy and governance. By comparing the country’s overall performance under Fulgencio Batista versus under Fidel Castro in these areas crucial to a fully-functioning nation, it can be shown that the Cuban Revolution was a necessary and positive change in Cuban society which benefitted the majority of citizens.

Instead of hunter-gatherers who weren’t very productive, people became farmers (García, The Colonial Era). The development of agriculture was very important to the development of Cubans because before the Cubans did not have enough food to support people working in other professions like metalworkers (García, The Colonial Era). Not being able to have many other professions in a tribe was the reason why many of the tribes did not have complex cities or towns. The conquistadors discovered tobacco, a cash crop, which started a new trend in Europe and created a high demand for Cuban tobacco, which helped the Cuban and Spanish economy (García, The Colonial Era). Another cash crop that was harvested in Cuba because of the Spanish was sugar. As soon as sugar arrived in Europe, it was in high demand for Cuban farmers (García, The Colonial Era). Cuba was also used as a rest stop to house passengers and crews of ships while their ships would be repaired by the townspeople (García, The Colonial Era). It was very helpful for Spain as it allowed them to get to Mexico safer and easier (García, The Colonial Era). It also created jobs for Cubans (García, The Colonial Era). Slavery was also introduced to Cuba (García, The Colonial Era). It added all of the economic activities and created a more prosperous economy (García, The Colonial

From their end, Cuba has surprised many around the world for striving against such barriers. “ The main driver of the Cuban economy is agriculture. The country is a major producer of several crops but sugar and tobacco are the big money products. Despite not being able to export their products to the United States Cuba has become a major exporter of agricultural products. There has been an attempt on the part of the Cuban government to diversify their economy and it looks like natural resources will be one way that they can do this. The country has become a major nickel producer and this has quickly become one of their largest exports. There is also the potential for Cuba to become a major oil producer. There are large reserves of oil in the Caribbean that are in Cuba's territorial water. It is very likely that in the near future they will take advantage of these reserves in order to help diversify the economy.”

Pre-Revolutionary Cuba was under rule of a dictatorship, Fulgencio Batista. Foreigners saw Cuba as a land enchantment and as paradise. People visited the casinos and there was a substantial amount of prostitution. For the native’s of Cuba, there was an economic imbalance between the social classes. Cubans had various reasons for disliking their current government. For example, they were under Batista’s rule and the United States had a large amount of influence on what happened in Cuba. This lead to a feeble economy and government, many would wonder why the economy was weak even though Cuba was a hot spot for tourism. With the thriving tourism market, there were large amounts of unequal distribution of wealth. With this Cuba had such a vast difference between social classes that eventually led to the now infamous Cuban Revolution.

In the early 1900’s, Cuba was a stomping ground for many of the rich and famous from the United States. Many famous movies stars and wealthy business entrepreneurs spend their vacations there along with a substantial amount of money. Trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba flowed freely and abundantly. Even with the Dictatorship-like regime of Batista, the countries benefited from the economic trade between them. This was all about to come crashing down as revolts against Batista occurred and Fidel Castro came to power within Cuba.

Assuming that we understand Cuba as a communist country, they obtain the government type known as a Communist State. A Communist State consist of a classless society, in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single -- often authoritarian -- party holds power; state controls are imposed with the elimination of private ownership of property or capital while claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people (cite2). An important piece of this brief description you should acquire is that states hold most to all property ownership and rarely handed to the private sector. Therefore, property rights are at a bare minimum for the casual citizens of Cuba; although, reforms from the government are beginning to change these norms.

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 this mix and chain of events which produced the communist Cuba that we are familiar with today.

Socialism      Socialism is a type of economic system, a political movement, and a social theory. Socialism is based on the idea that governments should own and control a nation's resources rather than individuals.      Socialism was first used to describe opposition to the free enterprise and market economies. The Industrial Revolution was the cause of many social problems. Long work hours, low pay, and poor working conditions caused Americans to first consider socialism.

The majority of people living in Cuba were of African and Spanish ancestry. They lived in high rise apartment buildings. Their diet consisted of rice, and it was usually served with beans and/or mixed with tomatoes. Many Cuban foods are spicy.