The Cuban Revolution

Causes of the revolution in Cuba

- 1902 - 1959 Cuba was ruled by a series of elected leaders who struggled maintaining a stable government - Regular changes in the price of sugar - led to large scale unemployment and rebellion, and managing American investments like casinos and hotels presented a number of challenges - As a series of leaders who could not bring about stability, army general Fulgenico Batista came to power and was elected president in 1940 - Batista was in power from 1940 - 1944 and then returned to power in 1952 after a successful military coup - Batista overthrew US backed dictator Machado and installed multiple puppet governments in 1933 - Cuba was deeply corrupt, the economy was run and influenced by Batista, the local police, and by criminal American interests such as the Mafia crime families - Casinos, gambling, drugs, and prostitution were widespread - The American government supported the corrupt Batista regime

The course of the revolution: - Early attempts to overthrow batista: The July 26th movement

- After Batista took power in 1952 - Castro and the radical nationals attempted to attack an army outpost at the Moncada Barracks on the 26th July 1953 - The attack failed with most attackers killed - A positive outcome was the attention Castro and his followers gained as symbols of a new revolutionary movement

Political, economic and social conditions in Cuba under President Batista: - Economic

- America influence left the country in debt - Many sugar plantains belonged to American businessman - Cuba not making money - Sugar accounted for 80 per cent of Cuban exports (reliance on one crop) - Reliance on sugar meant unemployment varied depending on the season. - The U.S. controlled 90% of Cuba's tobacco industry, mines, railway, electricity and telephone systems.

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - Bolivia

- Guevara spread his marxist values here. - Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and summarily executed.

Aftermath of the revolution: - Decrease in Castro's support

- At odds with the multitude of differing political parties in Cuba - Totalitarian government - Political positions filled with Castro's associates - When the Cold War ended in 1991 the Cuban's found themselves ideologically and economically isolated as it lost the support of the Soviets - The population took to the streets in protest as they felt the full brunt of the country's economic collapse - Thousands left the country with the U.S. opening its borders to Cuban immigrants, a move that only helped Castro retain power as the most vocal dissidents left leaving the little opposition left

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - Nicaragua

- By 1970 the Cuban Dirección de Inteligencia (DGI) had managed to train hundreds of Sandinista guerrilla leaders. - Whilst Nicaragua developed towards socialism, Cubans would have liked to help but it became increasingly difficult to counter the United States' power and influence in most of Central America. - Due to the increasing pressure from the US, Cuba didn't want The US to take powerful action towards Nicaragua. - Nicaragua has a revolution and they publicly expressed their gratitude to Cuba, who gave military advice, and aid in education, health care, vocational training and industry building.

The creation of the communist state: - Cuba becoming communist

- Castro declared himself a Communist by 1961 - 1965 the Communist Party of Cuba was formally created, but was quickly dominated by those loyal to Castro - 1976 Cuba introduced its first constitution which formalised the dominance of the Communist Party

The creation of the communist state: - During the revolution

- Castro was not communist - The revolution combined elements of nationalism, populism and communism - Castro visited the U.S. during April 1959, a few months after the revolution on an invite by the U.S. Press - Publicly declaring "I know what the world thinks of us, we are Communists, and of course I have said very clearly that we are not Communists; very clearly"

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - Chile

- Chile broke diplomatic relations with Cuba, due to the response of the Organization of American States for politics and economic sanctions against Havana. - Chile joins with other countries of Latin America in trying through engagement to bring Cuba around to a more open political system.

Aftermath of the revolution: - Reforms

- Economic and social reforms - Schools were built - By 1970 illiteracy was reduced to 4% - Redistribution of Doctors (poorer areas) - New training schools were built - Decrease in infant mortality rate due to free health services - Infant mortality was 60 deaths for 1000 live births in 1959 to 15 deaths per 1000 live births in 1980 - Abolishment of: - Segregation - Gamabling - Drugs - Prostitution - Distribution of wealth and land (mixed responses) - Nationalisation of key industries (American owned)

The course of the revolution: - Why the Revolution began - Castro's aims and views

- Governments' failures - US involvement (remove US dominance over Cuba) - Legacy of Spanish rule - Corrupt political system - Cuba was in turmoil - Nationalise industries - Rise in groups opposing Batista's rule - Wanted educational and social reforms - Wanted civil rights (freedom of speech and to protest)

Nature of guerrilla warfare and the activities of revolutionaries

- Guerilla: A member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces. - The men who joined the revolution became known as the Barbudos (bearded ones) - They vowed never to shave their beards until they had succeeded in taking power in Cuba and lived by the motto ​Patria o Muerte ​(Fatherland or Death) - Wherever the revolutionaries went they introduced new policies that aided the poor peasants, thus attracting more people - The revolutionaries helped build schools and educated the poor, even teaching them about their basic rights - Their tactics comprised of three core elements: 'constant mobility, constant distrust, constant vigilance' - All soldiers that joined the cause had strict rules of engagement with the people of Cuba and breaches would result in beatings or even execution - This enabled the rebel forces to hide in villages, traverse rough terrain and gain additional supplies through the good will fostered amongst the people - If Castro and his forces captured these enemy soldiers they would release them after taking their supplies, which in turn not only armed his own forces, but also won more to his cause - Batista retaliated with heavy-handed force by arresting possible rebels and raiding towns and villages across Cuba, driving more to support Casto's cause - 1958 Castro had acquired a Robin Hood like quality in the U.S. whilst the American Government placed pressure on Batista to step down.

International reactions and foreign policy, including relations with the USA: - The Bay of Pigs invasion

- In April 1961 - 1000 anti-Castro Cubans living in exile in the U.S. and trained by the CIA invaded Cuba - Landed on Cuba's southern Coast at the Bay of Pigs - Fought for three days against Castro's forces before being captured - Castro announced that Cuba was a Marxist-Lenist state - There would be no more formal elections since the revolutionary government expressed the will of the people

The course of the revolution: - Operation Verno (operation summer)

- In May 1958 Batista attempted to drive the rebels out of the Sierra Maestra Mountains - Over 5000 of Batista's troops, as well as Air and Naval support, were sent to find and destroy the rebellion, which numbered only a few hundred - After 3 months the operation was a failure - Castro used Batista's failure as propaganda

Political, economic and social conditions in Cuba under President Batista: - Political

- Lack of freedom of speech - Lack of freedom of the press - Banned elections - Opposition parties were banned - US intervention: lack of freedom and complete political control - CORRUPT GOVERNMENT - No experience of stable democracy Power in the hands of - America or Cuban-elitists - Police state and police brutality - America controlled Cuban affairs - Drugs - Prostitution - Public beatings - Prisoners tortured

Ideology of Fidel Castro: - History Will Absolve Me The central tenets of the manifesto were:

- Land reform was required to support the poor farmers who had no land security. - Cuba needed to be industrialised along with improved infrastructure to improve the living standard of two million Cubans living without electricity. - More housing was required to address the severe housing shortage along with better sanitation. - Better education for those in rural areas. - Quality medical care for all, not just the rich

Ideology of Che Guevera

- Marxist and an admirer of the political developments in the Soviet Union - Appointed as finance within Castro's Government enabling him to experiment with social justice initiatives - Considered idealistic rather than economically prudent - Saw Soviet Communism as failed communism as it had become imperialistic much like the U.S. and he remained staunchly Marxist - Castro saw this as a possible threat to his dictatorship and in the end Guevera was fired and left Cuba - He remained committed to spreading the communist revolution throughout Latin America and Africa - In 1967 he was executed in Bolivia after trying to organise guerrilla forces there

International reactions and foreign policy, including relations with the USA: - The Cuban Missile Crisis: 1962

- Nikita Khrushchev placed Soviet missiles in Cuba to protect it from the U.S. and to serve as Soviet retaliation for American missile placement in Europe - Cuban Missile Crisis, a 13 day standoff between the U.S and the Soviet Union that took the world to the brink of nuclear war - To stop the missiles from reaching Cuba, President Kennedy set up a 'quarantine' naval blockade to stop any Soviet shipments - President Kennedy and Soviet leader Khrushchev came to an agreement without Castro - The U.S. pledged to never invade Cuba and would remove its missiles in Turkey - Khrushchev removed weapons in Cuba and stopped the shipment of nuclear weapons

Ideology of Fidel Castro

- Populist ideologies - fought for the people - Anti-imperialism and socialism underpinned Castro's government - Anti-imperialism drove the initial revolution against Batista and the new regime wanted to ensure that Cuba would not again be controlled by a foreign power such as the U.S - Studied law at the University of Havana - Under Batista the courts were corrupt and there was no chance of free elections leading Castro to the conclusion that an armed revolution was the only way to end the regime - After the failed attack on the Moncada barracks on 26 July 1953 Castro stood trial and delivered a four hour speech later published as ​History Will Absolve Me, ​a manifesto justifying his actions and setting forth grievances against the Batista led government

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - Organisation of American States

- Promotes democracy - Cuba is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that is not a member of the OAS. - The Organisation suspended Cuba in 1962 on the grounds that its self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist government was "incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system." - The aim of the OAS was to stop Cuba from becoming a communist country to prevent the Domino Theory from occurring and minimise the threat of international communism. - This was done through supporting the quarantine against the shipment of the Soviet missiles to Cuba, ordering trade sanctions and the breaking of diplomatic ties with the nation from 1964 to 1975.

Political, economic and social conditions in Cuba under President Batista: - Social

- Racial divide - Urban/rural divide - POVERTY - Gap between rich and poor - Inequality

Context

- Spanish colony from 1492-1898 - A protectorate of the United States from 1902-59 - Revolution in 1959 - Small group of rebels successfully overthrew a corrupt American backed military dictatorship in Cuba - They eventually replaced it with a Soviet Union backed Communist dictatorship. - Fidel Castro, led a small band of rebels and attempted to create a popular uprising. - A three- year guerrilla war led by Castro, along with his close friend Ernesto "Che" Guevara won the support of the rural population and they took the capital, Havana in January 1959 - Cuba became a communist government - The new government took control of the lucrative sugar plantations, expanded health and education services making them immediately popular with the poor of Cuba who had a long history of being ignored. - Thousands of critics of this new regime fled to America and other neighbouring countries in protest - Castro led the country as a communist state for 49 years before retiring in 2008 - He began a rivalry with the USA, which almost ended with nuclear war in 1962

The course of the revolution: - Batista's response during the revolution

- Strikers were threatened with permanent unemployment - Constitutional guarantees were suspended - Election was postponed - Innocent people were arrested and tortured and suspects were executed and left hanging in the streets - even children - Batista's regime lost the support of Cuba due to how he was treating the population and Castro rose to power - The U.S. had lost faith in Batista and during 1958 an arms embargo was declared - Batista fled to the Dominican Republic on New Year's Eve while Castro took over on the 8th of January, 1959

The creation of the communist state: - Communist influence from inside Cuba

- The Communist Party - Influential leaders like Che Guevara - Made the U.S. increasingly mistrustful - relationship between Cuba and the U.S. deteriorated during 1959 and 1960 - Cuba became close with the USSR (The U.S. also reduced its sugar quota, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev stepped in with the Soviets guaranteeing to purchase of Cuban sugar)

International reactions and foreign policy, including relations with the USA: - America

- The Cuban Revolution took place at the height of the Cold War and would upset the U.S. sphere of influence in Latin America - Concerned with Cuba developing ties with Communism - Cuba started taxing imports and aligning itself with the Soviet Union - caused a deterioration between US and Cuba - U.S. undertook covert actions to overthrow the Cuban Government and in response to increased seizures of American owned interests in Cuba they placed a full economic blockade and in 1961 ceased all diplomatic relations

The course of the revolution: - Castro during the revolution

- The Revolution began 3 years after Fidel Castro's arrest attempting to overthrow Batista's government - Fidel Castro, Raul Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara organised a group of rebels and bought a boat called the Grama attempting to invade Cuba - The rebels arrived on the eastern coast of Cuba on 2nd December 1956 being ambushed and killed or arrested - only 12 out of 81 men survived - In August 1958 Castro began his major offensive - Attacking towns and military points in the province of Oriente - Set up his own newspaper ​El Cubano Libre ​(the Free Cuban). Propaganda gaining public support

Fidel Castro and Che Guevera's influence across Latin America: - Venezuela

- The Venezuela government had secretly supported Castro - providing funds and weapons to assist their overthrow of leadership. - After Castro had assumed power, he requested a loan of $300 million dollars worth of oil, which Castro told then-president Venezuelan president Rómulo Betancourt that the oil shipments would be "a master trick on the gringos," - This scheme would cease Cuba's economic dependence on the US, but Betancourt insisted that Castro purchase the oil on the open market, so as to not upset Washington.

Castro and Guevara became increasingly aligned to communist ideals

- The wealthy should not dominate society - Industrialisation could be used to the benefit of all in society rather than profiteering factory owners and merchants - Throughout the 1960s Latin America saw an uptake of guerrilla movements - Cuba vocally supported this as the key aspect of internationalism within the Marxist ideology was necessary as no revolution could stand on its own

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - Organisation of Latin American Solidarity

- Waged for the total national and social liberation of Latin America. - Their conferences' intentions were to unite anti-imperialist parties in Latin America to work together toward a continental revolution. - They were comfortable with rebelling against authority which in this case is American imperialism

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara's influence across Latin America: - El Salvador

The central role played by Cuba and Communist countries which began in 1979 in the military direction and arming of insurgent forces in El Salvador.