Castro's Consolidation of Power
Purpose of Art in Cuba
It was dictated by the needs of the revolution. An artist had to be a revolutionary first. He could not paint or write about what he wanted, he had to do it in such a way that the masses would receive a clear message.
Expropriation
The action by the state or an authority of taking property from its owner for public use or benefit. Castro expropriated alls privately owned enterprises under the Revolutionary Offensive
Moncada Barracks
The attack on this location by Castro and his followers took place on July 26, 1953. It is a failure as about half of Castro's men are killed or tortured and killed that day, and Castro is later imprisoned. However, this shows the people that Castro is a man of action and makes him a nationwide figure.
Fulgencio Batista
The corrupt dictator who led Cuba prior to Castro's revolution. Under his reign, corruption and prostitution flourished. The US provided aid to him. His regime was also very brutal and oppressive and publicly killed or imprisoned and tortured those even suspected of opposing it. He flees the country on January 1, 1959.
Castro's immediate actions to improve the economy
(1) Agrarian Reform Law, (2) Reduce rents in cities, (3) Outlawed prostitution and gambling (gets rid of corruption), (4) Builds hospitals (leads to free healthcare), (5) Creates a school system: free school for peasants who often didn't have schooling, (6) Infrastructure: builds roads and improves indoor plumbing/water system
Responsibilities of artists in times of revolution (according to Castro's "Words to the Intellectuals")
(1) Intellectuals were no longer free to create what they wanted, (2) They were at the service of the revolution and had to work to strengthen its values.
Positive impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on Castro
(1) JFK secretly agrees to not invade Cuba after the Cuban Missile Crisis so the Revolution is safe. (2) USSR gives more military and economic support.
Problems of the Cuban economy
(1) Lack of specialized workers. Many had left the country since the revolution. Thus the assessment of problems and the implementation of solutions was limited. (2) Moral incentives lead to decreased production and productivity. Not efficient in raising productivity levels and tackling poor-quality work and absenteeism. (3) Switched US dependence for Soviet dependence. The government continued to buy machinery from the USSR (and Eastern European nations) and increased its debt. Cuba was again trapped in trade relations of subsidized sugar in exchange for goods. By 1964, they had to rely on sugar to reduce debt.
Actions that increased tensions between the state and many religious leadres
(1) Nationalization of schools, (2) The government's decision that religious education could only take place in churches. (3) Constitution of 1976: reinforces that religion should not come before the revolution
Bay of Pigs Invasion
(1) On April 15, 1961: US starts the invasion with the orders to bomb a Cuban airport. (2) April 17, 1961: American-trained exiles land. They are surrounded by the Cuban army and surrendered in 72 hours.
Division in Cuban society
(1) People who lived through Batista always support Castro, (2) People who didn't live through Batista don't necessarily understand how Castro was making their lives better
Cubans that left when the US broke relations
(1) Politicians from the provisional government, (2) Middle class, (3) Upper class
Revolutionary offensive changes
(1) Privately owned enterprises were expropriated: family stores, restaurants, handicraft stores, grocers, service shops, and street vendors. (2) Farmers' markets were eliminated, (3) self-employment was banned, (4) Castro nationalizes all business
The "militarization" of labor during the Year of the Ten Million
(1) Appeals to voluntarism and solidarity hadn't worked in the past, (2) Students, conscripts, law breakers, emigrants awaiting their turn to leave the island—all worked cutting cane side-by-side as "volunteers", (3) Armed forces ran the sugar mills and occupied sugar-producing regions, (4) Castro himself was seen cutting cane in street posters to motivate people to work, (5) to increase productivity: (a) bars and theaters were closed, (b) Christmas and New Year celebrations were cancelled
Chronology
(1) Batista flees Cuba/Castro takes power; (2) Castro establishes formal diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union; (3) Bay of Pigs; (4) Cuban Missile Crisis; (5) Revolutionary Offensive is launched; (6) Year of the Ten Million; (7) New constitution passed; (8) Mariel Boatlift; (9) Rectification campaign announced; (10) Castro declares a "Special Period in Peacetime"
Negative impact of the Cuban Missile Crisis on Castro
(1) Castro is not involved in the decision-making process at the resolution, which hurts his ego. Cuba will still be treated as a minor power by the USSR, like how the US treated Cuba.
Significance of Castro's immediate reforms
(1) Castro is taking all the power so the provisional government leaders resign and many leave Cuba. There are no elections and the people are unsure if he will have them. (2) Castro's popularity goes up and the Cuba people turn over control to him. They put all their faith in Castro and essentially allow him to become a dictator
Controlling Corruption
(1) Castro made stealing from the government punishable by death, for example: selling government property, taking bribes, etc. (2) Outlaws prostitution and gambling. He strictly enforces it and forces the American mafia out of Cuba
Castro's support for foreign revolutions
(1) Castro personally wants to create a world-wide movement of communism/revolution. Because he takes down the US, he becomes the most famous revolutionary in the world. (2) Castro sees an opportunity to make Cuba more important on the world stage than their size would normally dictate. With the Soviets' military aid, he begins to back communist revolutions throughout the world. (3) Castro makes Cubans feels like they are a legitimate power, and an important country. They see Castro as turning Cuba from a small country under US power to a world power of its own.
Rents in Cities (First Reduction)
(1) Castro reduced rent by 50% almost immediately. (2) Most people don't own their own home, so therefore, it was very popular. (3) Many land owners would move to the US (Florida). The wealthy and dissenters began to leave the island when they realized what the revolution truly was.
Reforms swiftly implemented by Castro
(1) Controlling corruption, (2) Rents in Cities, (3) Agrarian Reform Law, (4) Massive Building Projects, (5) Adult Literacy Program
Cult of Personality
(1) Cubans begin to see Castro as the country. (2) Although Cuba is a small community, Castro is always out there with the people. His individual personality wins over tons of people , for example, he struck out while playing baseball with peasants. (3) Castro keeps his girlfriend and second wife secrete as he wants to remain an alluring, mythical, and distant figure for women.
How Castro did not achieve his economic goal
(1) Dependent on USSR, (2) Diversity fails, (3) Absenteeism, (4) Lack of highly skilled workers, (5) Cuban economy becomes less efficient, (6) Collectivization: isn't incentivizing people and is making the economy less efficient
Effects of the Revolutionary Offensive
(1) Did not achieve an increase in productivity, (2) Produced administrative chaos: the number of government agencies needed to organize the fields of production and sales grew, (3) High levels of absenteeism and vagrancy
Significance of the Mariel boatlift
(1) Diffuses tension. This is good for Castro as he gets rid of all the people who oppose him. (2) Average workers are leaving, which shows that Castro's revolution is failing. (3) This event showed levels of discontent that had been unheard of in Cuba before. It seemed that the readiness to tolerate hardship in the name of the revolution was coming to an end.
Who was sent to UMAP labor camps
(1) Everyone opposing military service on whatever grounds, (2) children of political prisoners, (3) youth imitating US dress codes and tastes, (4) homosexuals, (5) political dissenters
Communist ideas enforced by the rectification campaign
(1) Farmers' markets banned, (2) Bonuses and extra pay abolished, (3) Self-employment discouraged, (4) Farm cooperatives were emphasized and a new Agrarian Reform Act passed (independent farmers managed only 2% of the land), (5) Labor discipline was enforced and workers lost many union rights.
Economic changes after the Year of the Ten Million
(1) Farmers' markets were reinstated, (2) State-owned companies were given enough autonomy to make some daily decisions without having to go through the state bureaucracy: (a) material incentives, such as pay for overtime work were introduced
American view of Soviet visit in February 1960
(1) Feared the USSR would take advantage of Cuba. (2) Cuba's revolution would strengthen Soviet power in Latin America.
Significance of the Bay of Pigs
(1) Fidel Castro emerges more powerful and it reinforces the credibility of the revolution as Castro's victory against the US made many Cubans concluded that Castro was strengthening the country. (2) Can crack down on internal dissidence by saying that any opposition is pro-American. (3) Added to Castro's hero worship and the Cult of Personality. (4) Reinforced Cuban nationalism. (5) Gave Castro an excuse to demanded increasing commitment to the revolution: a visible enemy. (6) Tempted the USSR to establish stronger military ties with Cuba, and a military presence within Cuba itself
Significance of the diminishing US-Cuban relations
(1) From the US Cold War perspective, losing Cuba to communism was unacceptable. This was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to side with the USSR. President Eisenhower ordered the CIA to create a plan to stop this.
Communistic economic reforms
(1) In 1962, Cuba changed the national currency. Anyone with savings in non-state banks lost them immediately. (2) In cities, rents were abolished. Thus tenets virtually became property owners. (3) Second Agrarian Law
Effects of the Rectification Campaign
(1) Productivity fell, (2) Absenteeism at work increased, (3) Reduced supplies of milk, oil, textiles, and sugar led to an increase in their prices (black markets formed to steal hard-to-find or rationed goods), (4) Transport and electricity rates increased and affected the population's living standards.
Eliminate Opposition
(1) Show trials, (2) Vigilante justice: "To the Wall" chant, (3) Huber Matos
Maintain Power
(1) Solve problems, (2) Gain support, (3) Cult of personality, (4) Eliminate opposition, (5) Force/fear
Response of the church to the triumph of the revolution
(1) Some sectors of the Catholic Church welcomed the opportunity to achieve social justice. (2) Others regarded it with suspicion, especially as the revolution began to move to the left.
Examples of Castro raising nationalism
(1) Supporting the communist revolution in Angola over economic improvements. He gets more from international prestige than economic improvements. (2) Cuba is currently the only Communist country in the Western Hemisphere, but Castro helps Nicaragua become communist as he directs the war. (3) Non-aligned movement
Factors that limited the Cuban economy
(1) The Cuban economy was linked to the decisions and policies of other nations: (a) US embargo, aim: to bring democracy to Cuba by forcing the collapse of Castro's regime, (b) Economic dependence on the Soviets, (c) Impact of the subsequent collapse of the USSR. (2) These factors helped shape Castro's economic policies.
How the Year of the Ten Million hurt the economy
(1) The agricultural machines had been over-used, (2) Agricultural production of crops (other than sugar) had suffered, (3) other economic areas such as forestry and fishing had seen important losses
Second half of 1960
(1) US oil companies refuse to refine Soviet oil. So on June 29, Castro nationalizes the US oil companies. (2) At the UN, Castro degrades the US and takes a photo with Khrushchev. (3) US responds by eventually stopping all sugar imports from Cuba. (4) Castro responds by nationalizing all US business
University of Havana
A college in Cuba with a very political atmosphere. There were gangs and it was acceptable to use violence/force. Castro attended this college.
Nikita Khrushchev
A leader of the Soviet Union who was involved with the Cuban Missile Crisis. He distanced Cuban and USSR relations after Castro sent him a message saying that it would be ok if the USSR had to blow up Cuba in the process of creating a Communist world. He would resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis with the US, without the input of Castro. His actions showed Castro that the USSR will treat Cuba like the US treated Cuba, as a minor power.
Herberto Padilla
A poet who received a poetry prize for his work Fuera del juego, which contained poems critical of the revolution. He was put under arrest and tortured. He was give a confession that he had to learn and deliver in a staged public trial, in which he had to admit to being an enemy of the revolution and accuse his wife and friends of being counter-revolutionaries. There was a worldwide response from intellectuals and artists who asked Castro to respect freedom of expression.
Socialist emulation
A term used in the USSR to refer to a competition among workers as a method to achieve the set targets.
Racism in Cuba
Afro-Cubans made up about 50% of the population Supporters of the revolution claimed that it had eradicated racial discrimination. However, the evidence of racial inequality was shown by the limited number of non-whites who occupied positions of power within the PCC or decision-making posts in the Cuban government.
Granma
After this expedition fails, the Cuban government announced that their forces had destroyed Castro's army and killed Castro. However, Castro survived and gathered a group of 18 men and retreated to the Sierra Maestra. This contributes to Castro's depiction as a man of destiny with an aura of invincibility. Castro was an exile in Cuba, however he returned on a small yacht named this. When Castro landed there was supposed to be uprisings throughout Cuba, but Castro lands late, and by the time they land, Batista's army is waiting and they are immediately attacked
United Fruit Company
American business dominated the Cuban economy. This business in particular, controlled the sugar industry.
Cuban Revolutionary Council
An anti-Castro group led by former Prime Minister Miró Cardona. They were ready to take over and form a provisional government after Castro fell in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Peruvian Embassy
April 1980. A bus full of Cubans crashed through the gates outside the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking asylum. When the embassy wouldn't turn over the asylum seekers, Castro withdrew all the guards from the embassy. Soon 10,000 Cubans forced their way in, demanding asylum.
Castro's economic struggle
Castro aimed to make Cuba an economically independent and industrialized nation. However, he can never take the Cuban economy to the next level, although he previously took it from bad to ok.
Rectification Campaign
Castro blamed the more liberal measures adopted in the past for the present economic problems. He advocated for a return to solidarity and voluntarism. His aim was to "rectify errors and negative tendencies" linked to the relaxation of communist principles after 1970.
Castro in the Provisional Government
At first, he was only the commander of the armed forces. However, although he was not officially in government, he was operating his own government
Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP)
Between 1965 and 1968 about 25,000 young men were sent to UMAP labor camps. hey were sent to be "re-educated through the liberating effects of collective work." The camps were closed in 1968 as a result of domestic and international pressure on Castro.
Soviet Visit in April 1989
Castro declares the proposed openness and reform dangerous. He believes that the US will fall economically and Cuba will be the breeding ground for Communism
Massive Building Projects
Castro has roads, hospitals, schools, and homes built all throughout Cuba, but particularly in the rural areas.
Prime Minister
Castro is appointed to this role on February 16, 1959 because he wants to and he is already making all the decisions. He know he has to get rid of the US slowly as they still had the power to send in the military and end his rebellion.
Background of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Castro is fearful that the US will send its military to take Cuba after the failed Bay of Pigs. He asks the Soviets for military support (tanks, Soviet troops, short-range missiles). The Soviet Union sends nukes.
Adult Literacy Program
Castro sends young, educated people into the rural areas to teach people to read and write. These teachers were known as "alphabetizers"
Soviet Union falls
Castro told Cuban that they must preserve socialism, but to do so, they must revert to a primitive lifestyle. He made it legal for anyone to leave Cuba and he opened Cuba to foreign investment and tourism.
Cuba background on Cuban-American relations
Castro wants to have power. His power depends on the support of the lower classes and he would undermine his support if he was seen as sympathetic to the US. Therefore, Castro needs to break from the US to (a) retain power, (b) improve the economy, (c) have more control for Cuba
Castro's support
Castro's immediate actions to improve the economy create a group of people that will support Castro no matter what. These are the people who lived through the corruption and discrimination of Batista
Elimination of Che Guevara
Che realizes that Castro is simply running Cuba, but he personally wants a large revolution in Central America. Castro encourages him to go. Che goes to Bolivia (Andes Mountains) to start a revolution similar to the Sierra Maestra in Cuba, and Castro promises to help Che and send supplies. The Soviets tell Castro to stop supporting revolutions as they are trying to have a reduction of power with the US, who will only do so if the Soviets stop supporting Cuban expansion. The new Soviet leader tells Castro that if they don't control the movements, the Soviets will allow the US to invade Cuba. Castro supports the Soviets and cuts off communication and support to Che.
Communism and religion
Communism believed religion should be destroyed as it helped the government control the public. And as a single party leader, you want people to be loyal to the state. However, Castro couldn't destroy region as Cuba is a Catholic country.
Collectivization
Grouping property and giving ownership to the state so they can provide equipment
Castro's visit to the USSR
He daydreams of killing the premier. An agreement is made that Castro would get military supplies for free and the Soviets would buy sugar at inflated prices.
Castro's management
He is too hands-on. He tried to do everything, but couldn't be everywhere at once. He does not empower people, so everyone else felt that they couldn't make decisions
Pope John Paul II
He visited Cuba in 1998. He was a strong anticommunist and mentioned the lack of political freedom in Cuba and criticized the US economic embargo.
Sierra Maestra Manifesto
It called the Cuban people to join in the movement against Batista and to oppose compromise with Batista's forces. Additionally, it advocated for the unification of the opposition movement under Castro's leadership. Castro released this document on July 12, 1957. It was also signed by Raúl Chibás and Felipe Pazos. The Manifesto called for democracy, a free press, and land reform.
Year of the Ten Million
In 1969, Castro announced that he intended Cuba to break its previous sugar production record and reach a 10 million ton output in 1970. The campaign aimed to obtain from the harvest enough money to pay off Cuban debts to the USSR and by selling surplus sugar, make investments to achieve economic diversification. The campaign became a crusade the mobilized the entire population. However, it ultimately harmed the economy and lowered the morale of Cubans. Only 8.5 million tons were reached. Castro publicly acknowledged that the failure was due to the administrative apparatus and accepted greater economic dependency on the USSR.
Castro establishing formal diplomatic relations with the USSR
May 1960. No other country in South or Central America had these relations. It was very significant in the Cold War era as often no country siding with the US would have formal diplomatic relations with the USSR
Huber Matos
One of Castro's fellow rebel leaders. He was a rebel general and a friend of Castro's. He disapproves of Castro's actions, namely that communism was becoming more influential. Therefore, he is sent to jail for 20 years.
Agrarian Reform Law
One of the reforms implemented upon Castro obtaining power. It limited land ownership to 1,000 acres. It divided up the land and gave it to poor peasants. The first to be divided up was Castro's family's plantation. The exception was the largest plantations, which were mostly owned by the US, which could intervene if he broke them up. Creates the long-run problem of efficiency going down
Second Agrarian Law
Passed in 1963. Reduced the amount of land that a single person or entity could own to prevent "rich" peasants from existing. After 1963, the state owned 70% of the land. The rest were small farms, which were expropriated in 1968.
Angola
President Ford tries to normalize relations with Cuba. The US agreed to help economically if Cuba stops supporting communist revolutions around the world. The two countries begin an official dialogue in the fall, but Castro is preparing for a war here as he's been asked for military aid. When Cuban troops land there on Nov. 7, negotiations are derailed.
Civil Rights and the UN
President Reagan tries to form a civil rights case against Castro at the UN and Castro invites the UN delegation to come. Cubans testify against all articles of the statement of human rights. There were torture and assassinations in the prisons. UN commission condemns Cuba: (a) Castro's international prestige is being damaged and he is no longer an important international figure.
The PM affair
The PM was a short film documenting Afro-Cubans dancing and enjoying themselves. It was considered to show a decadent aspect of Cuba and was accused of being counter-revolutionary and was eventually censored. The censorship angered many artists, as they feared the government and Castro would dictate culture by controlling their work. In response, Castro organized the First Congress of Cuban Writers and Artists.
John F. Kennedy
The President of the US who inherits the plan from Eisenhower's administration to stop Castro. The plan was to hold an invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles (not US forces). It was called the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the US would train Cuban exiles to take over Cuba again. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, he would secretly agree to not invade Cuba as he no longer wanted to deal with the island. He promised to have a tough attitude against the penetration of Marxism in Latin America
Special Period
The Soviet Union fell in 1991, and the 30-year period in which the USSR had become central to Cuba's economy and social development ended suddenly and unexpectedly. Hundreds of projects were abandoned as Soviet technicians left Cuba. Furthermore, subsidized goods, oil, access to international loans, and everything the USSR had provide to Cuba were finished. Cubans faced new levels of rationing as basic goods disappeared from the market. With Soviet oil gone, the need to save energy limited the working hours of the population, imposed long black-outs, and restricted public transport.
Bay of Pigs
The US (CIA)-trained Cuban exiles in Guatemala and Nicaragua, although US troops were not to be directly involved in the invasion. They planned to invade Cuba using Cuban exiles, trained as a paramilitary forces, who returned to Cuba and overthrew Castro. This event occured from April 17-19, 1961. the operation was a failure on many levels. The Cuban forces led by Castro himself defeated the troops and imprisoned more than 1,000 participants. Showed the incomplete understanding Washington held of Castro's reforms.
Embargo
The US instituted an this against Cuba, which officially banned trade with Cuba. The Cuban economy was prevented from advancing to the next level largely due to this. The US aim was to bring democracy to Cuba by forcing the collapse of Castro's regime. However, it negatively affects the living conditions of the Cuban people and gave Castro a scapegoat for all the economic and social problems.
Jose Marti
The first revolutionary in Cuba. He was a revolutionary against the Spanish government. Castro saw his movement as a continuation of this man's efforts
Fidel Castro
The leader of the 26th of July Movement and later Cuba. He was appointed Prime Minister on February 16, 1959. He removed US influence from Cuba and established diplomatic relations between Cuba and the USSR. Often during his consolidation of power, he was more concerned with his international prestige and supporting communist revolutions around the world, as opposed to fixing the Cuban economy. He actively led his country and was constantly out with the Cuban people. His individual personality won over tons of people. By elevating Cuba to a more important power on the world stage, he inspired nationalism within the Cuban people as they felt he had transformed Cuba from a small country under US power to a world power of its own.
Pact of Caracas
The leaders of the opposition (to Batista's government) meet in the Sierra Maestra and sign this to acknowledge Castro as the leader of the opposition movement in the struggle to overthrow Batista. This is a heavy blow to Batista as it openly exposed his political isolation. The leaders agree to form a coalition government after Batista is overthrown and eventually have free elections and democracy in Cuba.
26th of July Movement
The name given to Castro's supporters. It was named after the date of the failed Moncada Barracks attack
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
The only other person that is as popular as Castro in Cuba. Castro has him eliminated by cutting off communication and supplies to Che's group that was trying to start a revolution in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia. He is captured along with his group on October 8 by US forces and is killed on October 9. He was President of the National Bank of Cuba, and Minister of Industries. He believed that since the revolution held power, it was time to adopt communism. He favored a centrally-planned economy with an emphasis on moral incentives and self-sacrifice. He created the "New man" campaign.
Radio Rebelde
The radio station made by Castro and the 26th of July Movement while they were in the Sierra Maestra. It became a major form of propaganda as many Cubans trusted it more than the government radio stations. Castro himself address the people on this platform in a style that everyone understood.
Grey Period
The time following the Padilla affair. Artists were afraid to produce anything that could be interpreted as counter-revolutionary. The state held closer surveillance of artistic actions and extended to other forms of academic and scientific activities.
USA background on Cuban-American relations
They want to retain their interest in Cuba. Therefore, they re-negotiate with Castro as they realize that they cannot continue to dominate the economy.
Mariel Boatlift
This location was one of Cuba's emigration ports. It was an important deep-water port and integral to the country's economy. This event occurred in 1980, and was partially motivated by growing discontent over the economic recession. Hundred of boats rented by the Cuban exile community in Florida arrived to assist in the emigration of 125,000 Cubans. The people that left were opponents to Castro, people who sought to be reunited with their relatives, and thousands of prisoners and mentally ill people who were released by the government and forced to board the arriving boats.
Non-Aligned Movement
This was a group of mostly third world countries. They decided to be neutral in the Cold War, and didn't want to be associated with the US or the USSR. They elect Castro as their president. However, Castro loses credibility with these nations when he refuses to denounce the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a member state.
"New Man" Campaign
This was created by Che Guevara to shape a new consciousness and a man prepared to sacrifice himself for a higher good. It was forming a society ruled by the principles of the revolution. The plan focused the economy upon moral incentives such as Socialist emulation, party membership, and state recognition. Workers would all receive equal pay and overtime would be the unpaid voluntary work of the laborers.
Committee for the Defense of the Revolution
This was established in 1960. The primary role was to report counter-revolutionary activity. By the end of its first year, the CDR had over 800,000 members and had become an important tool in government surveillance. By 1963, 1/3 of the Cuban population worked for the CDR. The level of peer surveillance was very high, which intimidated people. However, many Cubans felt it was a way to contribute to the revolution.
Revolutionary Offensive
This was launched by Castro in March 1968. The goal was to move Cuba farther towards a communist state and remove the last vestiges of capitalism. It emphasized the ideas of Che's "new man" and that work was a social duty rather than a way to achieve personal aims. Under this, Castro order the expropriation of all remaining privately owned enterprises, which were to be owned and managed by the state and put at the service of a centrally planned economy. He also nationalizes all business.
Platt Amendment
This was part of the Cuban constitution that the US forced them to include. It gave the US the right to intervene in Cuba for almost any reason and gave the US a naval base. American style "independence" for Cuba was a sham, and this was used manny times in Cuba.
January 3, 1961
US breaks relations with Cuba, and large numbers of Cubans moved to the US. Eventually they start an embargo against Cuba
Soviet Visit to Cuba in February 1960
US govt. official came to try and minimize the visibility of American corporations, but instead Castro gives a speech against American imperialism. Castro signed an agreement with the Soviets, that Soviet oil, steel, and iron would be traded for Cuban sugar. Also many skilled workers from the USSR would travel to Cuba, as many Cuban skilled workers had fled to the USA
Che Guevara's economic influence
Under his new man campaign and centrally-planned economy, he meant that people should work for the ideals and values of the revolution, rather than for personal gain. Trying to give labor the status of social duty, and voluntary work is based upon the Marxist principle: man truly reaches a full human condition when he produces without being driven by the physical need to sell his labor as a commodity.
Havana Sports Stadium
Where they held the show trials for the leaders of Batista's supporters