Chapter 2 Cuba - Castro

Fulgencio Batista

Batista was born in the town of Veguita, located in the municipality of Banes, Cuba, province of Holguín, in 1901, to Belisario Batista Palermo[16] and Carmela Zaldívar González, who had fought in the Cuban War of Independence. He was of Spanish, African and Chinese descent. Both Batista's parents are believed to have been of mixed race, and one may have had indigenous Caribbean blood. Batista was initially educated at a public school in Banes, and later attended night classes at an American Quaker school. He left home at age 14, after the death of his mother. Coming from a humble background, he earned a living as a laborer in the cane fields, docks, and railroads.He was a tailor, mechanic, charcoal vendor and fruit peddler. In 1921, he traveled to Havana and joined the army as a private in April that year. After learning shorthand and typing, Batista left the army in 1923, working briefly as a teacher of stenography before enlisting in the Guardia Rural (rural police). He transferred back to the army as a corporal, becoming secretary to a regimental colonel. In September 1933, he held the rank of sergeant stenographer and as such acted as the secretary of a group of non-commissioned officers who led a "sergeant's conspiracy" for better conditions and improved prospects of promotion. In 1933, Batista led an uprising called the Revolt of the Sergeants, as part of the coup that overthrew the government of Gerardo Machado.[25] Machado was succeeded by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, who lacked a political coalition that could sustain him and was soon replaced. A short-lived five-member presidency, known as the Pentarchy of 1933, was established. It included a representative from each anti-Machado faction. Batista was not a member, but controlled Cuba's armed forces. Within days, the representative for the students and professors of the University of Havana, Ramón Grau San Martín, was made president—and Batista became the Army Chief of Staff, with the rank of colonel, effectively putting him in control of the presidency. The majority of the commissioned officer corps were forced to retire or, some speculate, were killed. Batista, supported by the Democratic Socialist Coalition which included Julio Antonio Mella's Communist Party, defeated Grau in the first presidential election under the new Cuban constitution in the 1940 election, and served a four-year term as President of Cuba, the first non-white Cuban in that office. Although Batista supported capitalism and admired the United States, he was endorsed by the old Communist Party of Cuba. In 1952, Batista again ran for president. In a three-way race, Roberto Agramonte of the Orthodox Party led in all the polls, followed by Carlos Hevia of the Authentic Party. Batista's United Action coalition was running a distant third. On March 10, 1952, three months before the elections, Batista, with army backing, staged a coup and seized power. He ousted outgoing President Carlos Prío Socarrás, canceled the elections, and took control of the government as "provisional president." After he fled to Portugal, Batista lived in Madeira, then later in Estoril, outside Lisbon. He was the Chairman of a Spanish life insurance company that invested in property and mortgages on the Andalusian Costa del Sol. He died of a heart attack on August 6, 1973, at Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain, two days before, allegedly, a team of assassins from Castro's Cuba were to carry out a plan to assassinate him.

National Association of Small Farms

Also known as ANAP (Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños), it was formed in 1961 and its membership was limited to farmers whose land holdings were less than 67 hectares. The Cuban government supported ANAP by providing interest-free loans to its members. Second Agrarian Reform Law of October 1963, introduced the State control over medium and large (over 67 hectares) agricultural estates. While medium and large farms accounting 11.4 million hectares of land were put under control of INRA, small farmers, owning 7.2 million hectares of land, were organized in ANAP association. ANAP provides training, agricultural extension and other services to its members. Federation often negotiates with Cuban government on prices of agricultural production, credits, and other farmers' interests.

Raul Castro

Born in Birán, Cuba, the son of a Galician immigrant father, Ángel Castro, and a Cuban-born mother of Canarian parentage, Lina Ruz, Raúl is the youngest of the three Castro brothers: Ramón, Fidel, and himself. He also has four sisters. As children, the Castro brothers were expelled from the first school they attended. Like Fidel, Raúl later attended the Jesuit School of Colegio Dolores in Santiago and Belen Jesuit Preparatory School (Spanish: Colegio Belén) in Havana. Raúl, as an undergraduate, studied social sciences. Whereas Fidel excelled as a student, Raúl turned in mostly mediocre performances. Raúl became a committed socialist and joined the Socialist Youth. In 1953, Raúl served as a member of the 26th of July Movement group that attacked the Moncada Barracks; he spent 22 months in prison as a result of this action. During his exile in Mexico, he participated in the preparations for the expedition of the boat Granma to Cuba. When the Granma landing failed and the 82 expeditionaries were detected by government troops soon after, Raúl was one of only 12 fighters who managed to reach a safe haven in the Sierra Maestra mountains, forming the core of the nascent rebel army. Raúl Castro Ruz was a member of the national leadership of the Integrated Revolutionary PO Organizations (established July 1961; dissolved March 1962) and of the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba (established March 1962; dissolved October 1965). He served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and as the Second Secretary of its Politburo from the Party's formation in October 1965; also as the First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State, of the National Assembly of People's Power, and of the Council of Ministers when these were established in 1976. He was appointed Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces when the Ministry was founded in October 1959 and served in that capacity until February 2008. On 31 July 2006, Fidel Castro's personal secretary Carlos Valenciaga announced on state-run television that Fidel Castro would provisionally hand over the duties to Raúl Castro while Fidel underwent and recovered from intestinal surgery to repair gastrointestinal bleeding. After assuming what was envisioned as a temporary control over the presidency, Raúl Castro was elected as the new President of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers during a legislative session held at Cuba's Palace of Conventions in Havana. The 597 deputies unanimously elected a 31-member Council of State for a term of five years, which in turn elected Raúl as president.

Eduardo "Eddie" Chibas

Eduardo René Chibás Ribas (born 1907 in Santiago de Cuba of Eduardo Justo Chibás Guerra and Gloria de Ribas Agramonte, died August 16, 1951 in Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban politician who used radio to broadcast his political views to the public. He primarily denounced corruption and gangsterism rampant during the governments of Ramón Grau and Carlos Prío which preceded the Batista era. He believed corruption was the most important problem Cuba faced. Chibás is considered to have had influence on Fidel Castro's views but his name is not mentioned in today's Cuba because he was avowedly anti-communist. However, Fidel Castro wrote an essay praising him, published in the Communist Youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde on August 26, 2007. In 1947 he formed the Ortodoxos party which had the goal of exposing government corruption and bringing about revolutionary change through constitutional means. Castro also joined as he considered Chibás as his mentor. Chibás lost the 1948 election for president, coming in third place. He was an extremely strong critic of that election's winner, Carlos Prío Socarrás. On August 5, 1951, Eduardo Chibás walked into radio station CMQ in Havana, for his weekly radio broadcast. That day he had promised to furnish the evidence supporting his claim that education minister Aureliano Sanchez Arango was embezzling money. Instead, he talked about other topics, warned that Fulgencio Batista might attempt a military coup, and made a farewell statement. Chibás, who was also a senator, was supposed to present evidence from congressmen supporting his claim, who ultimately refused to do so, and Chibás believed that killing himself was the only way he could apologize for his inability to keep his promise. Chibás shot himself during his weekly radio show; however, he had forgotten that his allotted radio time was only 25 minutes. The shot took place while a commercial advert for "Cafe Pilon" was running, thus eliminating the planned effect of "his grand finale". Chibás was initially expected to survive, but after eleven days of intensive care, he died in the hospital of his wounds. The whole country grieved his death. He is buried in the Colon Cemetery, Havana. His funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands, and it has been speculated that he might have been a contender for the 1952 presidential elections. Batista took the government by force on March 10, 1952.

National Institute of Agrarian Reform

Following the Agrarian Reform Law of 1959, a new government agency, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria, INRA), was established to administer this law, and it quickly became the most important governing body in the nation. Che Guevara was appointed the first leader of this institute, and Antonio Núñez Jiménez, one of Fidel's small group, was named as its Executive Director. INRA also implemented the Second Agrarian Reform Law of 1963, and it oversaw the development of the rural infrastructure. It was only answerable to Castro. Within months, the INRA had absorbed the ORPC, becoming Cuba's real government and superseding Urrutia's provisional government.

Batista 1952 Coup

In 1952, Batista once again ran for president. Election was between Batista, Roberto Agramonte of the Orthodox Party, and Carlos Hevia of the Authentic Party. Agramonte was first in the running, while Batista's United Action coalition was third. On March 10, 1952, Batista staged a coup and seized power. He ousted outgoing President Carlos Prío Socarrás, canceled the elections, and took control of the government as "provisional president." Shortly after the coup, the U.S. government recognized his government. Again in power, Batista did not continue the progressive social policies of his earlier term. He wanted recognition by the upper class of Cuban society and worked to increase his personal fortune.

Gerardo Machado

Machado was born in the central Province of Las Villas (now Villa Clara). He had two younger siblings, a brother Carlos and a sister Consuelo. He married Elvira Machado Nodal (28 October 1868 in Villa Clara - 1968) and they had three daughters: Laudelina (Nena), Ángela Elvira and Berta. He spent his childhood on his family's cattle farm and in his early 20s engaged in growing and selling tobacco. During Cuba's Ten Years' War against Spain (1868-1878), Machado's father joined the Cuban rebels and attained the rank of major. When the Cubans launched their war against Spain in 1895, Machado joined the rebel forces and rose to the rank of brigadier general. General Machado was one of the youngest Cuban generals in the Cuban War of Independence of 1895 to 1898. He fought in the middle provinces. After the war ended, Machado turned to politics and business. He became mayor of Santa Clara and during the administration of José Miguel Gómez (1909-1913), he was appointed inspector of the armed forces and later secretary of interior. Soon after, he engaged in farming and in business investing in public utilities. He grew wealthy and returned to politics in the early 1920s. A political figure, he served as Interior Minister under José Miguel Gómez. Allied with his predecessor outgoing president Alfredo Zayas and running as a Liberal Party candidate, he defeated Mario García Menocal of the Conservative Party by an overwhelming majority to become Cuba's fifth president. He campaigned with the slogan, "Water, roads, and schools". Machado took office as President of Cuba on 20 May 1925, and left office on 12 August 1933. He is noted for stating that at the end of his term he would ask for the abrogation of the Platt Amendment. Elected at the time of a fall in world sugar prices, he was a Cuban industrialist and member of the political elite of the Liberal Party. Machado's first term (1925-1929) coincided with a period of prosperity. Sugar production expanded, and the United States provided a close and ready market. Machado embarked on an ambitious public works program. He determined to make Cuba the "Switzerland of the Americas." Machado survived several attempts on his life. In Cuba, Machado engaged in a long struggle with diverse insurgent groups, from the green shirts of the ABC to Blas Hernández to the conservative veterans of the Cuban War of Independence to the radical Antonio Guiteras group, and he clung on for several years. In 1933 he was finally toppled in a bloodless coup engineered in part by U.S. Ambassador Sumner Welles. Machado died in Miami Beach in 1939 and was entombed in Miami at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum

Agrarian Reform Law 5/1959

On May 17, 1959, the Agrarian Reform Law crafted by Che Guevara went into effect. It limited the size of farms to 3,333 acres and real estate to 1,000 acres. Any holdings over these limits were taken away by the government and either redistributed to peasants in 67 acres parcels or held as state-run communes. The law also enforced that sugar plantations could not be owned by foreigners. A new government agency, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), was established to administer this law, and quickly became the most important governing body in the nation, with Guevara named Minister of Industries.

Nationalization Campaign of 1960

Once Castro came into power, he tried to reduce the influence that American businesses had in Cuba. Castro nationalized American-dominated industries such as sugar and mining, introduced land reform schemes and called on other Latin American governments to act with more autonomy. In May 1960, Castro established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. The United States responded by prohibiting the importation of Cuban sugar. The U.S. comprised 80 percent of Cuba's total exports, so to prevent the Cuban economy from collapsing, the USSR agreed to buy the sugar.

Communist Party of Cuba

Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC. On 26 March 1962, the ORI became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC) which, in turn, became the Communist Party of Cuba on 3 October 1965. The Communist Party is the only recognized political party in Cuba. Other parties, though not illegal, are unable to campaign or conduct any activities on the island that could be deemed counter-revolutionary. The Communist Party of Cuba retains a stricter adherence to the tradition of Marxism-Leninism and the traditional Soviet model. Is deeply committed to the concept of socialism than other ruling parties. More reluctant in engaging in market reforms though it has been forced to accept some market measures in its economy due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the resultant loss of economic subsidies. Despite the end of the Cold War, the party maintains a policy of sending thousands of Cuban doctors, agricultural technicians, and other professionals to other countries throughout the developing world. More recently the party has sought to support left wing leaders such as Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia. Raúl Castro is current leader, campaigning to "renew" Cuba's socialist economy.

Literacy Crusade

The Cuban Literacy Campaign (Campaña Nacional de Alfabetización en Cuba) was a year-long effort to abolish illiteracy in Cuba after the Cuban Revolution. Began on January 1 and ended on December 22, 1961. Before 1959 the official literacy rate for Cuba was between 60% and 76%, largely because of lack of education access in rural areas and a lack of instructors. The Cuban government of Fidel Castro called 1961 the "year of education" and sent "literacy brigades" out into the countryside to construct schools, train new educators, and teach the predominantly illiterate peasantry to read and write. 707,212 adults were taught to read and write, raising the national literacy rate to 96%.

Movimiento Esudantia

Was a Cuban student group in opposition to Batista from 1954 to 1957. It played a role in the Cuban Revolution, which came to power in 1959. In 1960, was relaunched in opposition to Fidel Castro and moved its base to the United States, where it soon developed links with the CIA. In August 1962, it carried out an attack on a Havana hotel. As of 1963, it was the largest anti-Castro student group in Miami. After the November 22, 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, it launched a campaign asserting that Lee Harvey Oswald had been acting on behalf of the Cuban government. It lost its CIA support in December 1966.

Revolt of the Sergeants

Was an uprising on September 4, 1933. Batista took over the Cuban government and overthrew Gerardo Machado. Batista organized a group of NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and had them arrest their own officers. They also supported the student protesters and encouraged them to nominate a pentarchy, or five-man government. This revolt marked the beginning of the army's influence as an organized force in the running of the government. It also signaled Batista's emergence as self-appointed chief of the armed forces and his favorable appearance in the U.S.

Committee for the Defense of the Revolution

Also known as CDR, it was a system formed by Fidel Castro on September 28, 1960, following the 1959 Cuban Revolution. The slogan of the CDR is, "¡En cada barrio, Revolución!" ("In every neighborhood, Revolution!"). The organizations were described as the eyes and ears of the Revolution, and that they exist to promote social welfare and report on counter-revolutionary activity. CDR officials have the duty to monitor the activities of every person on their respective blocks. There is an individual file kept on each block resident, some of which reveal what happens inside the household. As of 2010, 8.4 million Cubans of the national population of 11.2 million were registered as CDR members. It is considered to be a secret police organization.

Partido Ortodoxo

Also known as the Orthodox Party. It was a socialist, nationalist, anti-imperialist/anti-U.S., populist party. It was founded in 1947 by Chibás in response to corruption, demands for social justice and lack of reforms of the Batista and Grau governments. It adopted a strongly anti-communist outlook c. 1947-1948. Fidel Castro was a prominent member from 1947. The party looked likely to win the 1952 election before Batista's coup. Its primary aims were the establishment of a distinct national identity, economic independence and the implementation of social reforms. The Orthodox Party was open to the all that wanted join to it. Like a populist party, there weren't internal factions or organizations, but only the support to the Eduardo Chibás' goals and ideals. Membership included former communist soldiers, several nationalists, young socialists, great landowners and reactionary bourgeoises, and Catholics with conservative views.

Camilo Cienfuegos

Born 1932 and died 1959. He was artistically inclined: he even attended art school, but was forced to drop out when he could no longer afford it. He went to the United States for a time in the early 1950's in search of work, but returned disillusioned. As a teenager, he became involved in protests of government policies, and as the situation in Cuba worsened, he became more and more involved in the struggle against president Batista.He was a leading figure of the Cuban Revolution, along with Fidel Castro and Ché Guevara. He was one of a handful of survivors of the Granma landing in 1956 and soon distinguished himself as a leader. He defeated Batista forces at the Battle of Yaguajay in December of 1958. After the triumph of the Revolution in early 1959, Cienfuegos took on a position of authority in the army. He disappeared during a night-time flight in October, 1959 and is presumed to have died.

Major Hubert Matos

Born 26 November 1918 in Yara, Oriente Province and died 27 February 2014. He became a school teacher in Manzanillo, while also owning a small rice plantation. He joined the Cuban nationalist party, Partido Ortodoxo. Following Batista's coup of 10 March 1952, Matos became involved with the resistance movement. He moved to Costa Rica for several years, maintaining contact with the M-26-7 revolutionaries stationed in Sierra Maestra hills and helping them with logistical and organizational support. He developed contacts with President José Figueres of Costa Rica who supported Cuban rebel aims and helped Matos obtain weapons and supplies. On 31 March 1958, Matos flew a with ammunition and weapons to Castro's rebels. On 8 August 1958 Castro awarded Matos the rank of combat commander and put him in command of the rebel army's ninth column, the Antonio Guiteras group. Matos led his column during the final assault on Santiago de Cuba that brought the revolutionary movements military operations to an end. In January 1959, he rode into Havana atop a tank in a victory parade alongside Castro and other revolutionaries. Following the success of the Cuban Revolution, he criticized of the regime's shift in favor of Marxist principles and ties to the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Convicted of treason and sedition by the post-revolutionary government, he spent 20 years in prison before being released in 1979. He spent time between Miami, Florida, and Costa Rica while continuing to protest the policies of the Cuban government.

Nikita Krushchev

Born April 17 , 1894, Kalinovka, Russia and died September 11, 1971, Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union. Khrushchev was the son of a coal miner, and his grandfather had been a serf who served in the tsarist army. After a village education, Khrushchev went with his family to Yuzovka where he began work as a pipe fitter at age 15. Before the Russian Revolution of 1917, he had become active in workers' organizations, and in 1918 he became a member of the Russian Communist Party. In January 1919 joined the Red Army and served as a junior political commissar. In 1922 Khrushchev secured admission to a new Soviet workers' school in Yuzovka, where he received a secondary education along with additional party instruction. He became a student political leader and was appointed secretary of the Communist Party Committee at the school. He became Premier of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953. In a 1956 "secret speech," he discussed Stalin's crimes for the first time, starting a process called "de-Stalinization." He also visited the West, putting his face on his brand of "Reform Communism," though also known to have an abrasive persona. Khrushchev was one of the primary players in the Cuban Missile Crisis and oversaw the building of the Berlin Wall. After being pushed from power and retiring, he died several years later on September 11, 1971 in Moscow.

Juan Almeida

Born Feb. 17, 1927, Havana, Cuba and died Sept. 11, 2009, Havana. Almeida was born in Havana. He left school at the age of eleven and became a bricklayer. Studied law at the University of Havana in 1952, he became close friends with Fidel Castro and in March joined the anti-Batista movement. In 1953 he joined Fidel and his brother in the assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago. He was arrested and imprisoned with the Castro brothers. During the amnesty of May 15, 1955, he was released and transferred to Mexico. Almeida returned to Cuba with the Castro brothers, Che Guevara and 78 other revolutionaries on the Granma expedition and was one of just 12 who survived the initial landing. Almeida is often credited with shouting "Here, nobody surrenders!" to Guevara, which would become a slogan of the Cuban revolution. Also fought in Sierra Maestra mountain range. During the revolution, as a black man in a prominent position, he served as a symbol for Afro-Cubans of the rebellion's break with Cuba's discriminatory past. Was later named a member of the powerful Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. He also served as vice president of the Council of State and held a number of important military posts. In 1998 Castro gave Almeida the honorary title Hero of the Republic of Cuba. Almeida was largely inactive politically after suffering heart problems in 2003.

Fidel Castro

Born August 13, 1926, near Birán, Cuba and died November 25, 2016, Cuba. He was the third of six children. His father, Ángel, was a wealthy sugar plantation owner originally from Spain who did most of his business with the American-owned United Fruit Company. Educated in private Jesuit boarding schools, Castro grew up in wealthy circumstances amid the poverty of Cuba but was also imbued with a sense of Spanish pride from his teachers. From an early age, Castro showed he was intellectually gifted. He attended Colegio Dolores in Santiago de Cuba and then El Colegio de Belén in Havana, where he pitched for the school's baseball team as well as played basketball and ran track. After his graduation in late 1945, however, Castro entered law school at the University of Havana and became immersed in Cuban nationalism, anti-imperialism and socialism, focusing on politics. In 1958 Castro and his forces began a campaign of guerrilla warfare which led to the overthrow of Cuban dictator Batista. As the country's new leader, Castro implemented communist domestic policies and initiated military and economic relations with the Soviet Union that led to strained relations with the United States that culminated in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Under Castro, improvements were made to health care and education, while he maintained a dictatorial control over the country and brutally persecuted anyone thought to be enemies of the regime. Thousands of dissidents were killed or died trying to flee the dictatorship. Castro was also responsible for fomenting communist revolutions in countries around the world. However, the 1991 collapse of communism in the Soviet Union and its negative impact on Cuba's economy led Castro to relax some restrictions over time. In failing health, he officially handed over power to his brother Raúl Castro in 2008, but still wielded some political influence in Cuba and abroad. He died at age 90.

Carlos Prio

Born July 14, 1903, Bahía Honda, Cuba and died April 5, 1977, Miami Beach, Fla., U.S. He became politically active while a law student at the University of Havana, spending two years in prison for his anti-government activities. He took part in the coup that deposed Gerardo Machado's dictatorship in 1933 and helped organize the Partido Revolucionario Cubano Auténtico. He went into exile in the United States when party was outlawed, returned to Cuba in 1939, and was elected to the National Assembly. In 1940 he became leader of his party and was elected senator in that year and again in 1944. He served as prime minister from 1945 to 1947 and labor minister from 1947 to 1948. As labor minister he opposed the Communists, ending their control of the unions. Elected president in 1948, Prío continued the centrist policies of Ramón Grau and pursued programs of agrarian reform and establishment of low-cost housing, a national bank, civil service, and labor courts. In spite of efforts to increase foreign trade and restore public order, Prío was unable to solve Cuba's economic problems. In the face of growing labor unrest, he did little to fight corruption and gang violence. In 1949 he tried to organize a bloc of Latin American countries committed to democratic government in order to combat internal and external antidemocratic elements. Prío was deposed by Batista in 1952 and went into exile in the United States until 1959, when he returned to Cuba to support Fidel Castro. He returned to Miami in 1961, becoming a spokesman for the Cuban community in exile. Death was considered a suicide.

Melba Hernandez

Born July 28, 1921, Las Cruces, Cuba and died March 9, 2014, Havana, Cuba. Was a Cuban revolutionary who joined Fidel Castro in his crusade to overthrow dictator Batista, and she remained a trusted member of Castro's inner circle after he defeated Batista on Jan. 1, 1959, becoming one of the first four members of his general staff. She was one of three top Castro confidantes who helped engineer the 26th of July Movement. Hernández secured more than 100 uniforms to serve as disguises for the advancing rebels, but the attack on the Moncada barracks was repulsed. Hernández and Haydée Santamaría, who also took an active role in the attack, were captured and sentenced to seven-month prison sentences, of which they each served five months. After her release Hernández helped publish "History Will Absolve Me," Castro's revolutionary courtroom speech, and she pushed for his release from prison. Following Castro's discharge in May 1955, she and other amnestied prisoners joined him in Mexico, where they continued to make plans for their struggle. After their triumph over Batista, Hernández was hailed as a heroine and was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Cuba. She was given a series of important government posts and served in the parliament and as secretary-general of the Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, a homegrown movement to promote socialism in the Third World.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Born June 14, 1928, Rosario, Argentina and died October 9, 1967, La Higuera, Bolivia. Was the eldest of five children in a middle-class family of Spanish-Irish descent and leftist leanings. Completed medical studies in 1953. His observations of the great poverty of the masses contributed to his eventual conclusion that the only solution lay in violent revolution. He came to look upon Latin America not as a collection of separate nations but as a cultural and economic entity, the liberation of which would require an intercontinental strategy. December 1951, travelled from Argentina through Chile, Peru, Colombia, and on to Venezuela, Miami, then Argentine. Kept a journal that was posthumously published under his family's guidance as The Motorcycle Diaries. In 1953 Guevara went to Guatemala, where Jacobo Arbenz headed a progressive regime that was attempting to bring about a social revolution. The overthrow of the Arbenz regime in 1954 in a coup supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) persuaded Guevara that the United States would always oppose progressive leftist governments. This became the cornerstone of his plans to bring about socialism by means of a worldwide revolution, became dedicated Marxist. By 1955, Guevara was married and living in Mexico, where he met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, who were planning the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's government. When their small armed force landed in Cuba on December 2, 1956, Guevara was with them and among the few that survived the initial assault. Over the next few years, he would serve as a primary adviser to Castro and lead their growing guerrilla forces in attacks against the Batista regime.

Ramon Grau San Martin

Born Sept. 13, 1887 in Pinar del Río Province and died July 28, 1969 in Havana. His father, a prosperous tobacco grower, wanted him to continue in the business, but Grau wanted to become a doctor. Despite family opposition he entered the University of Havana, receiving his degree of doctor of medicine in 1908. He then traveled to France, Italy, and Spain to round out his medical training. He returned to Cuba and in 1921 became professor of physiology at the University of Havana. He wrote extensively on medical subjects, including a university textbook on physiology. Late 1920s he supported student protests against dictator Gerardo Machado and in 1931 was imprisoned. After his release he went into exile in the United States. With the overthrow of the Machado regime, Grau was thrown into national prominence. When, on Sept. 4, 1933, students and the military led by Batista deposed the provisional government of President Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and appointed a pentarchy to rule Cuba, Grau was selected as one of its members. The pentarchy, however, was short-lived, and the students soon chose their old professor as provisional president. He faced American hostility, and the United States government refused to recognize him. Jan. 14, 1934, Batista, now army chief, forced Grau to resign. In exile, he was appointed president of the Auténtico party. Returned to run again, was elected, but faced governmental corruption.

Richard Bissell

Born September 18, 1909 Hartford, Connecticut and died February 7, 1994. He studied history at Yale University, turning down membership in Skull and Bones, and graduating in 1932, then studied at the London School of Economics. He returned to Yale where he was granted a Ph.D. in economics in 1939. His brother, William, also attended Yale and became a member of Skull and Bones. He worked closely with the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), which had helped to organize guerrilla fighting, sabotage and espionage during World War II. In July, 1947 Bissell was recruited by W. Averell Harriman to run a committee to lobby for an economic recovery plan for Europe. The following year he was appointed as an administrator of the Marshall Plan in Germany and eventually became head of the Economic Cooperation Administration. Bissell moved to Washington, D.C., where he associated with a group of journalists, politicians, and government officials that became known as the Georgetown Set. He worked for the Ford Foundation for a while but Frank Wisner persuaded him to join the CIA. In March 1960, Eisenhower approved CIA plan to overthrow Castro formulated by Bissell. Had major involvement in Bay of Pigs invasion, and was ultimately blamed for it.

Partido Autentico

Commonly referred to as the Authentic Party. The Partido Auténtico had its origins in the nationalist and anti-liberal Revolution of 1933. It was a conservative/nationalist party set up by Dr. Ramón Grau San Martín during his exile in the U.S. from 1934 to 1940. Its support base was primarily middle class and it opposed Batista's government. Once it came into power in 1944 to 1948, used armed political gangs to deal with opposition and had close ties to American Mafia organizations. It was the most nationalistic of the major parties that existed between the 1933 and the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Its electoral program contained socialist and corporatist elements. For instance, it supported numerous efforts to strengthen the power of the labor unions, some of the party's biggest supporters. Also, some of its members supported the management of the economy through tripartite commissions with businessmen, labor leaders and government bureaucrats as well as a second chamber with labor and business groups.

Fundamental Law of the Republic 2/1959

On February 7, 1959, Castro's government passed the Fundamental Law of the Republic, reinstating but modifying the Constitution of 1940. Among the changes was giving the Council of Ministers the legislative power and constitutional authority. It also gave all political power to the cabinet. It did not fulfill the promises in the Manifesto of Montecristi because Castro's government did not restore the constitution in total and failed to call elections within the 18-month period that the manifesto required.

Bay of Pigs Invasion

Officials at the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wanted to remove Castro from power, and a full scale invasion of Cuba was planned. U.S. wanted to destroy Castro's air force so it would be impossible to resist the invasion. On April 15, 1961, a group of Cuban exiles took off from Nicaragua in American B-26 bombers, painted to look like stolen Cuban planes, and conducted a strike against Cuban airfields. However Castro and his advisers knew about the raid and had moved his planes. Kennedy realized that the plan may not be successful. On April 17, the Cuban exile brigade began its invasion at an isolated spot on the island's southern shore known as the Bay of Pigs. Ultimately the invasion was a disaster, and the U.S. planes evacuated, leaving the Cuban exiles stranded. The CIA wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but a radio station on the beach broadcast every detail of the operation across Cuba. Castro's troops had pinned the invaders on the beach, and the exiles surrendered after less than a day of fighting. 114 were killed and over 1,100 were taken prisoner.

Attack on Moncada Army Barracks

On July 26, 1953, Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl led a group of approximately 120 rebels in an attack on the second largest military garrison in Cuba under the control of President Batista. The group formed a sixteen-automobile caravan in disguise. The attack began poorly. The rebels lost their possibility of surprise when Castro lost control of his car, crashed, and someone from the rebels opened fire to cover him. They were outnumbered more than 10 to 1. Fifteen soldiers and three policemen were killed and 23 soldiers and five policemen wounded during the attack. Nine rebels were killed in combat and eleven wounded. At trial, Castro admitted to the attacks. He was given 15 years in prison, and his brother Raúl was given 13 years.

1958 Pastoral Letter

The Catholic Church was hesitant in taking a firm, public position against the communist-totalitarian orientation of the Revolutionary Government. This was due in part to timidity of some of the bishops but also to a realistic assessment that given the degree of popularity which Castro has enjoyed and the relatively little political influence which the Church has traditionally been able to exercise, unwise for church to attack the regime. Clergy as a whole opposes the government. One general pastoral letter pointing out the dangers of communism and admonishing the Revolutionary Government was issued in August 1960. More bishops have taken firm public stands in pastoral letters, statements, and editorials in religious publications. Some very active in Church-oriented opposition groups, with high positions in the directorates.

1933 Revolution

The Revolution was caused by Gerardo Machado's brutal and corrupt dictatorship. Many students formed protests against Machado's police brutality. The Great Depression also had an impact on the Cuban economy, which caused strikes and protesters by workers. These strikes gave even more support for the student protesters. The "Sergeant's Revolt" led by Fulgencio Batista in 1933 was the turning point of the revolution. They formed a pentarchy, but it dissolved on September 10, and Dr Ramón Grau San Martin became the revolutionary provisional president. He promised a "new Cuba," with a democratic government, an end to social inequities, higher wages, lower prices, and voting rights for women. U.S. was against changes, so supported Batista and struck down the social and economic reforms. Showed how Batista used "puppet presidents" and eventually led to his presidency in 1940.

3-1958 Arms Embargo

The United States imposed an arms embargo on Cuba on March 14, 1958 during the armed conflict between rebels led by Fidel Castro and the Batista regime. The conflict violated U.S. policy which had permitted the sale of weapons to Latin-American countries that were apart of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance as long as they were not used for hostile purposes. The embargo had more of an impact on Batista than the rebels. After the Castro socialist government came to power on January 1, 1959, Castro made overtures to the United States, but was rebuffed by the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration, which by March began making plans to help overthrow him.

26th of July Movement 7-26

Was a revolutionary organization led by Fidel Castro, also known as M-26-7. It was formed after the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba, on 26 July 1953. Castro reorganized the movement in 1955 with several other exiled revolutionaries including Raúl Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Juan Almeida Bosque. The Movement fought the Batista regime on rural and urban fronts. Main objectives were distribution of land to peasants, nationalization of public services, industrialization, honest elections, and large scale education reform. After a failed attack in December of 1956, they regrouped in the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Gained support of many middle-class and professional persons due to Batista's corrupt treatment. They won a few battles against the Cuban army, and were victorious in 1959 after Batista fled Cuba for Spain and the Movement marches into Havana.