Blog #1 "Viva Fidel"

Fidel Castro was the orchestrator of the Cuban revolution. He established the first-ever communist state in the western hemisphere, but he didn’t do it alone. The people of Cuba rallied behind him to overthrow Batista. The dictator had controlled the island for several years, but political and social unrest was rising rapidly. When Castro first ran for election on the Cuban House of Representatives, Batista was seizing power, and thus the election never happened. Castro attempted an uprising that failed. He was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Under the control of Batista, Cuba's economy plummeted and healthcare was almost nonexistent. Many different presidents were put into power and almost immediately taken out of power by Batista until he finally elected himself to the presidency in 1940. Batista suspended the constitution and removed the right to strike. While Batista was destroying the Cuban economy, Castro was teaming up with Che Guevera in Mexico. They would plan another attack in November of 1956. Che and Fidel both sought to take back Cuba for the people, but it would not come easily. They launched a series of uprisings from then on until 1956 when Castro arrived at Havana’s doorstep and seized power as prime minister. This is all to say that the Cuban revolution emerged not only from the social and political unrest of the country but also because of the tireless efforts of Fidel Castro. 

When Castro finally took power, he immediately began changing policies. He imposed a trade embargo with the US that still stands today. He abolished legal discrimination, brought electricity to the country, and provided employment healthcare and education for all Cubans. That being said, he also jailed thousands of political opponents, shut down newspapers, and limited the amount of land a person could own. The people of Cuba were overjoyed with their new found access to healthcare, education, and jobs. Fidel Castro was their savior, their leader, and their demise.

It is difficult to say whether or not Cuba would be better off if they never had a revolution. While the revolution was great for many Cuban’s, it is the main cause for others fleeing the country. Cuba’s relations with the Soviet Union allowed them to have many goods such as gasoline, meat, and alcohol. When the US put a blockade in place, Cuba became trapped. They had no other means of obtaining resources and people began to suffer. In the video, we watched on Netflix, Cuba and the Cameraman, we saw the effects on Cubans. The infrastructure began to deteriorate. There was no food in the stores and rations had to be given out. People began to steal and crime rates skyrocketed. Worst of all the hospitals had no equipment to treat patients in need of medical service. This is not to say that all of this could have been avoided if there was no revolution. This was in some part, the US government filling a hole that Fidel Castro dug for himself.