To What Extent Was Brutality Used by Fidel Castro During the Cuban Revolution

The Cuban government was not ideal for its people at the time, so they decided to initiate a change. Before Castro’s revolution, Cuba’s economy was highly based on tropical fruits, sugar, and tobacco. During this time, the government of Cuba mainly consisted of wealthy land-owning conservatives. Fidel Castro, a strong liberal who thought the Cuban government was corrupt, decided to bring together a band of two-hundred revolutionaries (Carey, Jr. 15). These revolutionaries attacked the Moncada Military barracks on July 26th, 1953 resulting in a failure that earned both Castro and the revolutionaries a ten-year prison sentence. Two years into his sentence, Castro was exiled to Mexico and began to plot another attempt in Mexico City. After many battles with Cuba’s National Army, Castro’s rebels were able to keep Cuba in a state of turmoil while other rebel groups were able to gain control. Through his actions, he was able to gain the support of the Cuban people who thought he was the logical choice for the new leader (Carey, Jr. 15).

In 1950, an opposition movement arose in Cuba. It aimed to overthrow the government which was under the rule of the dictator Fulgencio Batista, who had controlled Cuba since the early 1933’s. The leader of the movement was Fidel Castro. In 1954 Fidel and his brother Raul teamed up

Cuban history, like many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean which have experienced colonial subjugation and imperial interference, is highlighted by tumultuous rebellions. Ever since the revolt of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in 1868, who took up arms with his slaves to liberate Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp, the existence of insurrectionists and adamant government opposition in Cuba has flourished. Social revolution and a strong will and practice of nationalism has indelibly characterized Cuban history. Nevertheless, the outcomes of particular movements and struggles for social justice have consistently frustrated revolutionary and radical leaders. Government regimes throughout

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

Fidel Castro was the man who successfully removed Batista from his cruel dictatorship. In Castro’s early life, he went to three expensive Catholic schools. He was good at sports, and participated and led camping and climbing exhibitions. Castro fought with the other boys and teachers frequently.

Methods: This investigation will describe Che Guevara’s involvement in Latin American independence movements, focusing specifically on his involvement with Fidel Castro’s “26th of July” movement. His actions and words will be analyzed, and his conduct this period of political upheaval will be used as evidence in order to answer the investigative question.

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.

The Cuban Revolution began in 1952 when a former army sergeant named Fulgencio Batista seized power during a contested election. Fulgencio was the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and dictator from 1952 to 1959. Another one of Cuba’s important men is Fidel Castro. Castro is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba. Fidel and his partner Che Guevara were both in charge of the Cuban Revolution, and made the isolated Moncada Barracks his target. Castro estimated the trip would take 5 days. However, due to engine problems, him and his men arrived late in broad daylight. On the morning of July 23, 1953, Castro made his move, but he needed weapons, and he got them. 138 men attacked the Moncada at dawn, many were captured.

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, 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 paved the way for the era of Fidel Castro.

Castro had formed a revolutionary group called “The Movement”, as well as publishing a paper called El Acusador (The Accuser). Starting July 1952, Fidel and his revolutionaries went on a recruitment drive, gaining about 1,200 members a year. On July 26th, 1953, Castro and 160 of his revolutionaries led an attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago. The attack failed miserably and the revolutionaries were forced to retreat into the mountains. Another attack was being carried out on a civilian hospital, which was stormed by soldiers soon thereafter. The 22 rebels that carried out the attack were rounded up, tortured, and

The Communist Revolution of Cuba didn’t just impact the working class, but rather also affected the youth living in Cuba as well. Many children fought in the brigades to avoid capital punishment. One such account tells the story of Jose Agustin, who wrote an autobiography of his experiences in the brigades titled “Diario de brigadista, Cuba 1961”. It was in this book that Jose talked about his daily

“Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Mao Zedong, the dictator of China during the Chinese revolution, stated. Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro were both very monumental believers in war tactics, especially guerilla warfare which is a tactic in which smaller, irregular armies or civilians use military tactics to go against a larger army.. The Cuban and Chinese revolutions consisted of blood, famine, abuse of power, and, on contrast, unity. Fidel Castro led the Cuban revolution as a substantial declaration of independence from dictatorship. However, many historians debate on what accelerators of the revolutions were most impactful. The Chinese and Cuban Revolutions were both heavily rooted by substandard economic state where the government was not able to pay the

There was a fear that people of the opposing side would rise and try reclaim power. It was recognized that revolutionary movements were supported by intelligence critical of the status quo. It was necessary to repress an uprising against left-winged ideals because, “envy, rancor, and the irreconcilable struggle of classes” were more dangerous than guns (Fagan). It was believed to be necessary to eliminate those who would oppose left-winged ideals. They had sown the seeds of uprising to bring forth the new regime, thus, by having another group of people do the same their efforts would be void. In the case of the Castro regime, the systemic repression of freedoms would be described as necessary for revolution and to dispose of those who would speak against the government (Amnestyreading) Individuals working for the previous government would be removed

In March 1952, a Cuban general and politician, Fulgencio Batista, seized power on cuba, proclaimed himself president. Batista canceled the planned presidential elections, and described his new system as "disciplined democracy"; although he gained some popular support, many Cubans saw it as the establishment of a one-man dictatorship. Many opponents of the Batista regime took to armed rebellion in an attempt to oust the government, sparking the Cuban Revolution. One of these groups was the "26th of July Movement" headed by Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. Consisting of both a civil and a military committee, the former conducted political agitation through an underground newspaper while the latter armed and trained recruits to take violent action against Batista. With Castro as the MR-26-7's head, the organization was based upon a clandestine cell system, with each cell containing ten members, none of whom knew the whereabouts or activities of the other cells. Between December 1956 and 1959, Castro led a guerrilla army against the forces of Batista from his base camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains. The Batista's repression of revolutionaries had earned him widespread unpopularity, and by 1958, his armies were in retreat.

On July 26th, 1953, Fidel Castro led one hundred and twenty nine men and two women in a daring assault against the Moncada army Barracks in Santiago de Cuba to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro’s plan to overthrow the government of Fulgencio Batista resulted in eight deaths, twelve wounded and more than sixty Cubans were taken prisoner to be tortured and then executed.