Fidel Castro Essay -- History Biographies Papers

Fidel Castro In 1959, a rebel, Fidel Castro, overthrew the reign of FulgenciaBatista in Cuba a small island 90 miles off the Florida coast. there havebeen many coups and changes of government in the world since then. Few ifany have had the effect on Americans and American foreign policy as thisone. In 1952, Sergeant Fulgencia Batista staged a successful bloodless coupin Cuba . Batista never really had any cooperation and rarely garnered much rear. His reign was marked by continual dissension. After waiting to see if Batista would be seriously opposed, Washingtonrecognized his government. Batista had already broken ties with the SovietUnion and became an ally to the U.S. throughout the gelid war. He wascontinually friendly and helpful to American business interest. But hefailed to bring democracy to Cuba or secure the broad popular support thatmight have legitimized his rape of the 1940 Constitution. As the people of Cuba grew increasingly dissatisfied with his gang sterstyle politics, the tiny rebellions that had sprouted began to grow.Meanwhile the U.S. government was aware of and divided up the distaste for aregime increasingly nauseating to most public opinion. It became clear thatBatista regime was an odious type of government. It killed its owncitizens, it stifled dissent. (1) At this period Fidel Castro appeared as leader of the growing rebellion.Educated in America he was a proponent of the Marxist-Leninist philosophy.He conducted a brilliant guerilla scat from the hills of Cuba againstBatista. On January 1959, he prevailed and overthrew the Batista government. Castro promised to restore democracy in Cuba, a feat Batista had failedto ac... ...ed farlonger measured American responses might have appeared well merit to anincreasing number of Cubans, thus strengthening Cuban opposition to theregime instead of, as was the case, greatly stimulating revolutionaryfervor, leaving the Russians no superior but to give massive support t o theRevolution and fortifying the belief among anti-Castro Cubans that theUnited States was rapidly moving to liberate them. The economic pressuresavailable to the United States were not tending(p) to bring Castro to his knees,since the Soviets were capable of meeting Cuban requirements in suchmatters as oil and sugar. I believe the Cuban government would have beendoomed by its own disorganization and incompetence and by the growingdisaffection of an increasing number of the Cuban people. Left to its owndevices, the Castro regime would have withered on the vine.