On October 11th, 1960, while denouncing the ideals of imperialism and colonialism at the United Nations General Assembly, Fidel Castro broadcasted his plan for Cuban reform, asserting education as one of his key focuses when stating “The Cuban Revolution is changing what was yesterday a land without hope, a land of poverty and illiteracy, into one of the most advanced and developed countries in this Continent.”. This speech foreshadows Castro’s upcoming campaign centralized on Cuban education. In 1959, the year Castro took power, 24% of Cubans were illiterate. Castro’s goal when creating his policies on education was boost the literacy rates in Cuba and spread his beliefs about the new Cuban culture after the revolution, a culture built …show more content…
As a result, the number of participants in the campaigns workforce increased, the main requirement needed to become a volunteer for the workforce was that participants had to have at least completed the sixth grade. The official workforce of the campaign included: 121,000 alfabetizores (volunteer teachers), 15,000 workers from the worker brigade, 35,000 professional school teachers, and 100,000 Colorado Benitez students, the literary workers were called “brigadistas”. With a growing workforce of literacy workers, there was an increasing requirement for more schools to be built. To build more schools, the Cuban government had to know which areas required more schooling. Their approach was to focus on the areas with the greatest number of illiterates and increase the amount of schools and teachers there. Illiteracy rates were greater in poorer areas of Cuba so many teachers were sent to those areas. In wealthier areas of Cuba literacy rates were around 9% whereas in the poorer areas of Cuban, illiteracy rates averaged around 31%. In the literacy campaign, problems began to rise as “the identification of illiterates was a problem because people tend to hide the fact that they cannot read or write.” With the help of mass organizations and census’, this problem was temporally solved but
The Cuban "destiny," according to Castro, is the creation of an independent nation with the conditions of territorial sovereignty, an independent political structure, a national economy, and a differentiated culture 4. These four conditions mentioned by Castro in his manifesto simply reiterate the frustrations of the Cuban people who although were liberated from colonial oppression continued to remain the subjects of foreign sovereignty. Foreign influence and sovereignty this time around in the 20th century was not wielded by the Spanish crown, but rather by the "friendly neighbor" from North America, the United States. Therefore, intimately related to the notion of Cuba’s destiny is the desire to stray away from dependency on any foreign nation for economic purposes. Harleigh Leach, in her essay concerning this particular matter, also defines the essence of the revolution in more economic detail as she states:
My cultural ancestry comes from a Cuban and Mexican decent. I have chosen to write about my Cuban side because I can relate to them more than I could with my Mexican side. I was raised around my Cuban family and would occasionally see my Mexican side due to them living so far away. I have spent a lot more time associating with Cubans and have adapted to more of their habits.
The defining characteristic of the state is the ability to wield power. The use of power, both inside and outside of one’s border, directly speaks to the sovereignty of the nation. If a nation is incapable of disciplining or punishing its citizens it will invariably become a failed state. Moreover if a country isn’t recognized as powerful in the global political arena, that country stands a very good chance of being dominated by a nation who has the capacity to enforce its own will. The use, or at least the perception, of power is so fundamental in nationhood that those who wield the most power can easily dictate world events.
In 1959, Fidel Castro led a group of rebel forces to end and overthrow Fulgencio Batista’s regime in an effort to free the Cuban people from his tyrannous rule. For very many different political reasons this has been portrayed as an act of great injustice and hypocrisy in the modern world. A lot of this has of course been advocated primarily by the US due to the high level of political tension between the two nations that developed in the mid 1950s. Believing this conventional wisdom that Castro was simply an evil communist who oppressed his people and stripped them of their human rights is very dangerous because it
economic growth comes from agriculture and exports to and from Europe. Since America has had an embargo on Cuba since 1962 neither countries trade with each other because of many disagreements about governing techniques and Fidel's unwillingness to comply with U.S. instructions. Cuba’s long history and culture has contributed to many economic and social growth through out the world, but Cuba is still struggling to try to stable their economy.
After the revolution, health care and education improved enormously. While before the revolution only 30% of rural children had teachers, primary education became compulsory under Castro. However the education was often biased, and information which would undermine Castro’s regime was not taught, and was also kept out of the media, books and newspapers. Half a million Cubans fled Cuba to work in America, and appeared to enjoy a much better life there. The
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.
In the year 1959 a politician named Fidel Castro led a revolution against the Cuban government under Fulgencio Batista.
In the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain relinquished all sovereignty over Cuba. For a time, the policy of the United States toward Cuba was somewhat ambivalent. The Teller Amendment at the beginning of the Spanish-American War had pledged the restoration of Cuba to the Cubans. However, at the same time the United States was determined that it would not be placed after the war with Spain in a worse position in regard to its vital interests in Cuba than it had been when Cuba was a Spanish possession.
Dreaming in Cuban is a novel by Cuban American author Cristina Garcia. This essay focuses on the impact of the Cuban revolution and its effect on identity within the Cuban diaspora. This essay argues that Dreaming in Cuban illustrates the impact of the Cuban revolution on women and how it has affected their identities as Cuban women. Therefore, this essay will assess the structure of the novel, it will identify key historical, and geographical contexts in which these events took place. The essay will examine the use of characters and how they represent the different experiences of the Cuban revolution. To conclude, this essay will discuss the significance of focusing on the experiences of women, and how gender may have shaped their
A revolution is known as being an activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation. Cuba during the decade of the 1950's experienced this type of rebellion in search for an enhanced and better-developed society, independent of all outside domination. Cuban citizens were at a point where they needed to be free and be able to enforce the constitution established in 1940, which included amendments stating that Cuba should be a "democratic republic shall not conclude or ratify pacts or treaties that in any form limit or menace national sovereignty or the integrity of the territory," and such. I chose this topic because there has been so much controversy
In the early 1900’s, Cuba was a stomping ground for many of the rich and famous from the United States. Many famous movies stars and wealthy business entrepreneurs spend their vacations there along with a substantial amount of money. Trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba flowed freely and abundantly. Even with the Dictatorship-like regime of Batista, the countries benefited from the economic trade between them. This was all about to come crashing down as revolts against Batista occurred and Fidel Castro came to power within Cuba.
From the time, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba tensions ran high between the Cuban government and the United States government. Relations between Cuba and the United States grew during Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. Not as much during the Eisenhower administration as the Kennedy administration did tensions between between the two countries intensify. Kennedy faced many a different situations as President. He faced such situations like the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Tensions have mounted high for a long time between Cuba and the United States.
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.
So, for example, all 8th graders would wear green or blue etc; and all 9th graders would wear white, red, purple, etc. Even though it may seem hard to believe, in 1959, most Cubans that lived in rural areas didn’t have more than a third grade education. Some even had less than that, until the Cuban Revolution. After the Cuban Revolution, the government wanted to reconstruct the education system. In fact, it was their top priority. With the new government, elementary school was more important and more available for children. Once they were done with that, they set out to teach Cubans how to read. The whole country faced that problem. Over 800 literacy centers were opened by 1959 according to Wikipedia. Also, children living in poverty could now get a free education because of the government’s actions.