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Essay about The Cuban Revolution

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"They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America?" -- Fidel Castro

Introduction

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.

Pérez-Stable’s Reasons for …show more content…

As Pérez-Stable says, "safeguarding the Cuban quota in the U.S. market was their priority" (16-17). Conflicts arose between industrialists who wished to diversify Cuba’s economy by encouraging growth of other industries, and sugar producers who desired to maintain sugar’s economic dominance. According to Pérez-Stable, industrialists argued that a diversity of products would improve the Cuban economy and "change only the composition of Cuba-U.S. trade, not its overall amount" (23). For its part, the sugar industry continued to insist that its interests were best for the nation (Pérez-Stable 23). Despite some attempts at sugar reform, the Cuban government, which was reluctant to weaken its economic ties with the United States for fear of losing its support, refrained from taking any serious steps. The discontent produced by the lack of economic diversification added fuel to the fire of the revolutionary cause.

In addition to a sugar dominated economy, Cuba was besieged by other problems which helped lead it down the path toward revolution. Differences in standards of living between the urban and rural populations were evident throughout the nation. Cubans living in urban areas tended to be better educated, healthier, and had higher standards of living than those living in rural areas. For instance, Pérez-Stable says that illiteracy among rural

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