Cuban Revolution
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Almost every nation in the world has experienced a revolution. A revolution can be simply defined as “a change.” When a country undergoes a revolution, its ideals that it once believed in are being modified. Sometimes revolutionaries act intellectually, yet others may respond physically through destruction. Some may be peaceful, some short lasting, and some pointless. Historians do argue on identifying whether a revolution has occurred. Revolutions usually follow a rupture in the nations events, are directed by a hero, have an ideology and belief system, and use symbols or tools to get its points across to the people. Cuba and its leader today, Fidel Castro, have their own roots in a revolution that took place only some forty years ago. The causes of the Revolution itself laid behind the military dictatorship of General Batista. In my paper I will combine the theories of revolutions by Walter Goldfrank and Timothy Crowley into a new encompassing theory. While doing that I will apply it to the Cuban revolution.
After reading through the theories of Goldfrank and Crowley I have realized that there were four major points. The first, Permissive world Context: This will then apply to the military strength and legitimacy away from the state. Second, Political/Economic Crisis: This will apply the military strength and legitimacy away from the state. Third, Peasant Rebellion, this will apply the strong and sustained peasant support. Finally in comparison to both theories the Dissident political Elites, this applied the legitimacy away from the state.
The overthrow of the June 1952 elections by Batista indirectly led to the Cuban Revolution. With this event the weakness behind Cubas politics was revealed to the people. Their economy also fluctuated between high and low profits. Because Cuba, after the destruction of land in Europe in WWII, had the most sugar production in the world, small farm owners prospered. Yet because sugar was the only major crop they produced, Cubans suffered when economies in other nations prospered. This in turn resulted in unemployment in the cities. With these circumstances, Cubans showed more oppression to their government and soon began to be rebellious. However, Batista jailed, exiled, executed, and used terror and threats of violence against all the challenges he faced. The people became really unhappy, until finally a rupture occurred. While earning a doctorate of law in Havana, Fidel Castro began to participate in student protests against Batistan police. Castro housed weapons and prepared his supporters in the university campus in Havana. He organized a surprise attack on the Moncada barracks in the Oriente Province on July 26, 1953, where Batistas military stayed, hoping to destroy the army that persecuted other rebels. Castro did not realize one major problem: the odds of taking over a nations military base are small. All revolutionaries except Castro and his family were massacred. Although this rupture failed, Castros movement gained popularity and prestige all over the world. In fact, Castro called the Revolution the 26 of July Movement. Castro himself was caught and sentenced to jail for two years. Between 1955 and 1956.
Castro went to United States and Mexico looking for supporters and money to fund his revolution. On December 2, 1956, eighty-two men including Castro and the physician Ernesto “Che” Guevara, set sail once again for the Oriente on their yacht, the Granma. The campaign was doomed from the beginning. “Nobody could navigate the boat properly, everybody was seasick, most of the supplies were jettisoned in a storm, and the expedition landed in the wrong place.”(Perez-Stable 1998:p40) On one occasion Guevara followed the wrong star to travel North, and on another, his comrade put the only the drink they had, milk, upside down in his pocket. By the end of the day the milk was gone. On December 5 in the battle of AlegrДa de PДo, Batistas troops killed all of the rebels except twelve. Among these survivors, coincidentally, were Castro and Guevara.
Meanwhile, in the cities and universities, a revolutionary movement was also taking place. The Ortodoxo political party favored a violent revolution against Batista. Its leader and University of Havana Professor Rafael BДЎrcena organized the National Revolutionary Movement, which gained support from students. Castro refused to join, partly because he was leading his own revolts. In 1953, Batistas government found out about an upcoming attack that BДЎrcena planned, and sent him to prison. Colonel Cosme de la Torriente sought a peaceful answer to Batista by having elections. Knowing he would lose, Batista disregarded Torriente. By this time the Cubans knew that a violent revolution was unavoidable.
The police under Batista fiercely put down a student protest on November 27, 1955 with beatings. Later during a baseball game being broadcasted on television, students showed anti-Batista banners, which led to a demonstration that was also put down by the police. In another demonstration, they killed a popular student, Ciego de ДЃvila. His funeral on December 10 turned into a protest that increased the support of the growing Cuban Revolution. In 1956 University of Havana was partly destroyed by the government in hopes of preventing any public meetings or protests. On March 13, 1957, the leader of the rebellious students, JosД© EcheverrДa, and his supporters attacked the presidential palace in order to kill Batista. Immediately after this, he declared on national radio that they killed Batista. Minutes later, police entered the studio and shot him, while the Cubans rejoiced to hear that their dictator had been killed. Later, it was confirmed that Batista had actually escaped the attack. Today, March 13 is a national holiday. The Cuban Revolution, however, was double-fronted.
“In a taped interview shown in the United states in May, Castro called it a useless waste of blood. The life of the dictator is of no importance. . . . Here in the Sierra