Cuba is a very small country located in South America, right under the mighty United States of America. During the 1950s, Cubans were undergoing the first mission of trying to overthrow the current government which was led by Batista (Source 6). Ultimately success of the Cuba Revolution, in 1959, came about. In a way to govern the country and make sure it runs smoothly “The Provisional government [was put into place] from the 1st of January 1959” (Source 6). Fidel Castro seized the position of Prime Minister in Cuba and would stay in charge for approximately 49 years. Before the Cuba Revolution, Fidel Castro envisioned a way to improve and drastically change the way people in Cuba were living. Fidel Castro looked to improve conditions of living …show more content…
These transitions can be closely associated with Fidel Castro’s economic policies, like almost making Cuba a “two-tier economy” (Source 2). One of the changes were the means of production, Fidel Castro’s goal was to “adhere to socialist principles” (Source 1) by making the government run and own all the production that was inside Cuba. This was Fidel Castro’s strategy to improve the country as a whole which meant the government had money to provide for the poor. The agricultural platform was utilized in respects of “boosting food production”, this was accomplished in one of the policies they called reforms. Adapting to this sort of way, would have negative and positive effects on the conditions of living in Cuba. Since Cuba was now providing their own means of food through this reform, people in Cuba could now afford basic foods. However on the other hand, this reform put most of the people at an uncomfortable position, as now starting such a reform requires millions if not billions. Cuba was “dependent on credit accounts” from multiple countries just to start such a reform (Source 1). This would inevitably become an “atrocious destruction of the [economy]” (Source 4). Fidel Castro’s reform destroyed what was left on Cuba, doing more negative than the intended positive. The conditions of living in Cuba from 1959 were very questionable, proving that the decline was
Cuba’s government is a totalitarian-socialist regime from a communist state. Fidel Castro is Cuba’s leader by default, but many Cuban’s dislike Castro’s ruling and cannot wait till the end of Castro’s rein. Castro also has his own army, which help him keep everything in order in and around the country. Fidel’s army is also known for brutal attacks on its citizens. Cuba’s religion is 85% Roman Catholic and many take their religion seriously.
To begin, it is important to know about the history of Cuba to fully comprehend how things came to be as they are today. Since the Conquest and Colonization Era (1492-1898), many of the prominent European countries and the powerful neighbor to the north of Cuba, the United States of America, have attempted to take control of the land. It first began with the Spanish conquistadors, specifically Diego Velázquez, who was the first to explore and settle the land. Up until the end of the 19th century, the Spanish monarch was the authoritative figure overseeing the land and
In the 1950’s, tourists visited the island of Cuba for its warm beaches, culture and Spanish colonial architecture. But underneath the surface, was a revolution ready to burst through the Cuban people they just needed the right person to lead them. Cuba at this time was run by a Political Dictator named Fulgencio Batista.
Until sugar production made Cuba the wealthiest agricultural region on earth in the nineteenth century, the island was considered relatively diverse, compared to others in the Caribbean. The quality of soil was universally unparalleled, and gained countries interest. Although the French and Spanish were in feud over the island, merchants from Portugal, England, and Holland participated in trade, which brought diversity to Cuba. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Haitian Revolution changed the racial, social, and economical demographics on Cuba. Seeing that the Haitian revolution was a triumph of colossus proportions, the individuals who started it, embodied the spirit that initiated the great uprising. From the late eighteenth century, into the nineteenth century, formally freed slaved from Haiti migrated to Cuba in astonishing numbers. This not only altered the demographics on the island, it brought in a new workforce that proliferated local sugar production. Within a short period of time, Cuba became the biggest sugar cane producer in the world. The United States gained interest in capitalizing from the islands newfound wealth, and being close in proximity made the temptation of interfere with France and Spain irresistible. In the late nineteenth century, the United States interfered with Cuba’s fight for independence and increased their investments tenfold. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the US gained control of the island through ownership,
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.
Current events in Cuba have caught a lot of attention, as we witness a historical shift in
For many Cubans the Batista government was simply a puppet regime with the puppet masters being wealthy Americans. This was because his economic policies favoured foreign investors and did little for the development of domestic industries, which resulted in the wealth of the country being concentrated in the hands of a wealthy whtite minority. Consequently, in the 1950s, this harsh regime caused political resistance to reach to its boiling point. In response to these high levels of frustration, Fidel Castro and a small rebel group led a successful revolutionary army into Havana in 1959. This was the first step on the road to a new era in the lives of many Cubans.
Cuba’s colorful history can be documented to before the days of the American Revolution in 1776, but today, American policy directly affects many Cubans’ lifestyles because of a nearly 45-year-old trade embargo that has been placed on the island nation. It is crucial to analyze the development of Cuba and its neighboring island nations in order to discern the reasons for Cuba’s current political situation with the United States. The following paper will discuss the events that shaped Cuba and larger Caribbean nations like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica; next, a detailed description of Cuba’s turbulent history will help in explaining the Cuban transformation into a
Cuba and the United States of America have completely opposite economies. Cuba’s economy is based on the few natural resources that the country owns while the economic system in The United States is capitalist and can be recognized for its noticeable development in agriculture, energy, and other resources that keep the country expanding and provides jobs as well as a good quality of life for its residents. On the other hand, Cuba’s economy, is predominantly poor, to the point where a very huge percent of its population suffers from
The history of Cuba has gone through many dramatic changes affecting not only the economy but the citizens as well. On January 1st, 1969 Dictator Fulgenico Batiste (Fidel Castro) fled the Island of Cuba, with his revolutionaries seizing control with the U.S backing the situation. This caused chaos and excitement in Havana, rumbling the idea of "anti-americanism." This relates back to the conflict theory, as this had a great impact on the citizens of Cuba, causing more hate on america and its people causing conflict and negativity. Within all of this chaos with Fidel Castro and Cuba’s people, America still supported the Island of Cuba. As time passed this situation caused great suspicion as the US was not sure of Castro’s intentions and his leftist ideology, thinking this would lead to an attack from Castro on US investments and properties in Cuba. American officials were nearly unanimous opposing Castro’s revolutionary movement.
Pre-Revolutionary Cuba was under rule of a dictatorship, Fulgencio Batista. Foreigners saw Cuba as a land enchantment and as paradise. People visited the casinos and there was a substantial amount of prostitution. For the native’s of Cuba, there was an economic imbalance between the social classes. Cubans had various reasons for disliking their current government. For example, they were under Batista’s rule and the United States had a large amount of influence on what happened in Cuba. This lead to a feeble economy and government, many would wonder why the economy was weak even though Cuba was a hot spot for tourism. With the thriving tourism market, there were large amounts of unequal distribution of wealth. With this Cuba had such a vast difference between social classes that eventually led to the now infamous Cuban Revolution.
The Cuban revolution was the spark that ignited the flame of communism in Cuba. The developing nation gained independence only as recently as 1898, and was already filled with an atmosphere of distrust and resentment towards the United States. In July of 1953, a revolution began in Cuba between the United States backed President Batista and Fidel Castro. Fidel and his brother Raul Castro lead a series of guerilla warfare battles against the forces of President Batista. “I am Fidel Castro and we have come to liberate Cuba,” stated Fidel Castro. In January of 1959, Fidel Castro became the President of Cuba. With the regime of Fidel Castro, Cuba would fall to communism.
The Cuban people have been under the harsh dictatorship of both Felgenico Batista and Fidel Castro. They both had very strict policies and gave the Cuban people limited or no freedom at all. Batista and Castro were similar but yet different. One major difference that they had was that Batista was friendly with the United States and he had respect for American interest. On the other hand Fidel Castro hasn’t been as friendly with the United States, so the U.S has a trade embargo that restricts and American company to do business with Cuba and also U.S citizens are prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless for special circumstances.
Cuba had partaken in globalization through its interactions with the USSR and the US. Cuba was a developing country and needed support to eventually be able to rely on itself. After the collapse of the USSR, Cuba was one of the only socialist
In 1940 to 1944, communist Fulgencio Batista withheld power as the president of Cuba and then from 1952 to 1959, United States backed dictator until fleeing Cuba because of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement. Socialist Fidel Castro governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Fidel Castro’s intent was to provide Cuba with an honest democratic government by diminishing the corrupt way in which the country was run, the large role the United States played in the running of Cuba as well as the poor treatment & the living conditions of the lower class.