The Cuba of Fidel Castro

Cuba before Castro Fulgencio Batista governed Cuba from 1933-1944 1952 he overthrew the unpopular government. Sugar production employed 25% of the labor force and because of the seasonal nature of the sugar industry these workers were unemployed 8 months out of the year. The newest sugar mill had been built in 1925. Cuba’s sugar exports had decreased from 20% of the world’s production in the late 1920s to 10% in the 1950s.

Cuba and the US In the early fifties Cuba’s rule by Batista became increasingly unpopular US purchased more than ½ of Cuban sugar and controlled 40% of its sugar production, 90% of its utilities and telephones, and 50% of its railroads. 80% of Cuba’s imports were from the US. Per capita income declined by 18% between 1952 and 1954. In 1952 a young lawyer named Fidel Castro opposes the Batista regime and plans and attack on an army barracks to get military hardware Castro was born in 1926 and was only 25 at the time

July 26th Movement On July 26, 1953 Fidel Castro helped lead rebel attacks on 2 army barracks with the objective of acquiring arms and ammunition to use against the Batista government. The attack failed and 68 of the attackers were immediately captured, tortured, and executed. In May 1955, Batista granted a general amnesty to all prisoners and Castro was released from prison. In July Castro and a group of supporters moved to Mexico.

Fidel and Che In Mexico City, Fidel meets an Argentine doctor named Che Guevara who joins Fidel’s army 1956: Fidel’s army arrives in Cuba with 82 followers but is losing & must flee to Sierra Maestra Mountains Using radio broadcasts, Cubans begin to support Fidel’s cause 1958: Castro’s army leaves Sierra, with 160 rebels Peasants join Castro’s army, with support of the people and Castro wins, Batista flees 1959 Castro begins programs like universal education & health care Castro begins seizing foreign owned land & nationalizing businesses like casinos owned by US mobsters

Castro’s Victory Castro and his 3,000 rebels entered Havana a week later. Around 250,000 Cubans left for the US between 1959 and 1962.

American response to Castro Feared Castro’s increasingly socialistic polices In July 1960, US stopped buying Cuban sugar (and later cigars) In October 1960 ended all trade with Cuba In Jan 1961, cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba US hoped this would starve Castro into submission but it had opposite effect This policy drove Cuba closer to the USSR and encouraged Castro to adopt Marxist Communism

Castro, the USSR and the US In February 1960 the Deputy Premier of the USSR visited Cuba and Cuba agreed to sell the Soviets 1 million tons of sugar in exchange for $100 million in credits and low priced Soviet crude oil. In the summer of 1959 the Eisenhower administration instructed US refineries in Cuba to not refine Soviet crude oil. In retaliation, Castro nationalized the refineries. Eisenhower than cancelled the Cuban sugar quota for the rest of the year and the Soviet Union agreed to purchase the sugar.

US hostility Over the next few months, Castro nationalized all US owned businesses in Cuba. In October 1960 Eisenhower embargoed all US exports to Cuba. A few days before the presidential inauguration of Kennedy the US cut its diplomatic relations with Cuba. In Jan, 1961 JFK would back a covert attempt to overthrow Castro with CIA and Mafia help but he did have major concerns about the implications

Bay of Pigs The U.S. supported Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro Plan approved in April 1961 by JFK with CIA activity and help from the Mafia The exiles believed the Cubans would support them The 1400 exiles were swiftly defeated by the 20 000 Cuban troops The exiles miscalculate- Castro has mass support Imprisoned exiles later traded for baby food This solidified Castro to Communism who in Dec, 1961 would ask Khrushchev for arms to prevent attack

Cuban Missile Crisis USSR would benefit from a base in the Americas Khrushchev hoped to encourage US to remove missiles from Turkey To intimidate JFK was a factor for Soviet motives In Aug of 1962 US spy planes spot missile sites In Oct, spy planes took photos of medium-range ballistic missile sites On Oct 19, JFK put naval blockade on Cuba Oct 26, Kennedy receives two separate messages from Khrushchev JFK replies to the conciliatory message- US promises not to invade Cuba if USSR removes missiles

Cuban Economy under Castro In 1963 Castro decided to augment Cuba’s supply of foreign currency by increasing sugar production to 10 million tons by 1970; this failed. In 1970 Cuba produced a record 8.5 million tons of sugar, but the increased production caused a glut on the market and the price of sugar fell to ½ of what it was in 1963. Castro established a system of free education, healthcare, child care, social security benefits, and government subsidized housing.

Cuban gains Cuba had the most equal distribution of income in all of the Americas. In a 1994 poll by the Miami Herald, 69% of Cubans identified themselves as revolutionaries, socialists, or communists and 58% believed the revolution had bettered their lives. In 1974 41% of Cuba’s foreign trade was made up of non-Communist nations. Cuba was still dependent on sugar and when its price fell to 8 cents a pound in 1977 the country’s economic growth stopped.

Cuba and Africa In 1975, Castro sent 20,000 troops to Angola and this aid was decisive in allowing a Marxist regime to gain control of the country. About 20% of Cuba’s military served overseas in 1978, most of it in Africa. In 1978, 20,000 troops were sent to Ethiopia to help prop-up that country’s leftist government. In 1982 Cuban troops began building an airfield in Grenada. The US invaded Grenada in 1983. In 1979 more than 14,000 Cuban aid workers were serving abroad.

Domestic Opposition In 1980 11,000 Cubans swarmed the Peruvian embassy requesting political asylum. Castro allowed all who wished to leave the island to emigrate by sea and about 125,000 Cubans fled to Florida- Tony Montana. Castro also sent 5,000 common criminals and mentally ill people to the US.

Impact of the collapse of the USSR In 1992 and 1993 7,000 people fled to the US from Cuba. In 1993 the US dollar was legalized as a currency of exchange thereby allowing the Cuban government to use the $400 million a year that flowed into the island from Cuban exiles. Food production increased by over 17% in 1996. In 2004 Cuba went off the duel dollar-peso system.

US and Cuba Relations In 1992 Congress passed the Cuban Democracy Act which prevents subsidiaries of US companies that are located outside the US from trading with Cuba even if the country they were located in allowed trade with Cuba. Congress retaliated with the Helms-Burton Act which allows US citizens to sue foreign corporations who profit from trade or investment in any properties expropriated by Castro and the US government can penalize foreign companies that conduct business with Cuba. In 2015 President Obama decides to establish diplomatic relations after 55 years of embargo