The Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro's Impact

Castro’s revolution was a complete turnaround for the government of Cuba. Under Batista (Cuba's leader at the time), four thousand workers' retirement funds were embezzled. In 1959, when he was overthrown, Castro began implementing various methods of socialist reform. “We will eventually give you what you need, but rather - Here you have it, fight for it with all your might so that liberty and happiness may be yours!” (Carey, Jr. 37). His main goal in his regime was to establish a socialist society in Cuba. At first, he wanted

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.

In the 1950’s, tourists visited the island of Cuba for its warm beaches, culture and Spanish colonial architecture. But underneath the surface, was a revolution ready to burst through the Cuban people they just needed the right person to lead them. Cuba at this time was run by a Political Dictator named Fulgencio Batista.

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?

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.

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, 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 paved the way for the era of Fidel Castro.

The terrible conditions that many Cuban citizens lived under during the Batista regime was unacceptable. The Cuban Citizens wanted a change and started a revolution. To find out why we go all the way back to 1868 when the United States defeated the Spanish Army giving Cuba its independence. The Cubans elected Fulgencio Batista who did not allow any more elections to take place. This angered many and a new revolution leader formed, Fidel Castro. Fidel overthrew the Batista Regime and named himself dictator. He started close economic ties with the Soviet Union. Shortly after this the United States ended any ties with the Cuban government. The causes of the Cuban Revolution were terrible conditions under the Batista regime, the spread of Communism, and the Spanish-American war. The effects of the Cuban Revolution were the downfall of the economy, Cuban missile crisis, and end of any diplomatic relations with the United States. The Cuban Revolution connects to Global citizenship because the citizens fought for their rights which ended up helping their daily life but hurting their 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.

Castro based his regime on the Soviet Union, rather than the United States and thus improved literacy and public accessibility (The National Review). However, he also turned Cuba into a water prison, isolating itself from the rest of the world, and increased

I know that the death of Castro does not mean that the communist government of Cuba will crumble and go away, but I know that it will be giving the Cuban people hope, ambition, prosperity and a little piece of mind that a key figure in our history, who has left a scar, is no longer living. I hope the death of Fidel can finally put an end to the grief of older generations of Cubans, the political atrocities, and spark an interest in the newer and younger Cubans. Listening to stories from their parents and grandparents will help them decide on how they would like to be governed. Young Cubans may decide to establish democracy in the country and think of what kind of nation they would like the next generation to have. Now I will admit that under his presidency of Cuba there has been a strong importance for one to pursue an education, which has led to the country having a 99% literacy rate and that the country itself has one of the most outstanding healthcare systems that is closely tied to research and development (According to the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan). There are few things under Castro’s rule that brought benefit to the

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.

While Felgenico Batista was running Cuba many American companies grew rich off of Cuban resources while the Cuban people remained poor. An American mobster named Meyer Lansky came to Cuba to open a hotel. The mobster gave Batista 10% of the profits of the hotel and casino, so Batista became wealthy off of that. Batista became very wealthy off of American business and also organized crime. Meyer Lansky also turned Havana into a drug port. Batista did very little to help the Cuban citizens. While running Cuba Batista did not offer the people neither health care nor education. So many Cubans lived in poverty. When they became ill they wouldn’t be able to go to a doctor because they wouldn’t be able to afford it. When Batista took over the country in

The civil society of Cuba was calling for free election and re-establishment of democracy. This was the start of riots and unrest in the country for the government to be neglected to deal with social and economic problems. Corruption flourished in Cuba and there was a halt in welfare and development. Instead of Batista changing its policy, he strengthened his undemocratic actions by censoring the media, allowing violence, and suspended the rights of citizens. There were curfews, therefore, no one was allowed to wander in the streets at night.

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.

From an economic perspective, Castro is pushing down the upper- and middle-class citizens in Cuba. Through the establishment of government control and ownership of private property, he enforces reductions in residential rental prices to landlords. Also, he has nationalized education