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Defiant Communist Leader. Fidel Castro led the overthrow of the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 to become the leader of the first communist nation in the Western Hemisphere. For several decades, Castro has defied international opposition, the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, and a collapsing economy to remain president of Cuba. Whether he is a romantic revolutionary or a ruthless dictator, Castro, at the height of his power in the 1960s, could "weave a spell over his masses," wrote biographer Georgie Anne Geyer in Guerrilla Prince: The Untold Story of Fidel Castro.
Gifted, Eloquent Orator. Educated by the Jesuits and trained as a lawyer, Castro became a superb orator. He was hailed by The New Republic as the "magician of eloquence," and his followers have seen in his intelligent and convincing speeches a man who could lift Cuba from its Third World status. "The revolution bestowed on Cuba extraordinary gifts of social justice and equality, advances in public health and education, and an equitable distribution of the national wealth, and Fidel Castro deserves total credit for it," wrote Tad Szulc in Fidel: A Critical Portrait. Yet critics say Castro runs a totalitarian state where human rights are suppressed, free elections are stifled, and entrepreneurship is banned. "Fidel is merciless with those he considers traitors," noted Szulc. During Castro's reign, tens of thousands of Cubans have fled into exile in the United States. An advocate of violent revolution, Castro used guerrilla warfare and terrorism to accomplish his revolution and export it around the globe.
Raised on a Plantation. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born in either 1926 or 1927 in Birán in the Mayarí region of Oriente Province, Cuba. His father, Angél Castro y Argiz, was a youth when he fled the poverty of Galicia in northwest Spain. According to some accounts, Angél joined a contingent of Spanish soldiers who fought in Cuba's war for independence in the 1890s. By the time Castro was born, Don Angél was a prosperous landowner in the Mayarí region, dominated by the United Fruit Company's sugar plantations. Fidel's mother, Lina Ruz González, who came from a poor, religious family, was Angél's second wife. She was the family maid, while Angél was still married to María Louisa Argota, with whom he had two children, Pedro Emilio and Lidia. Castro's parents were married in the Catholic Church after the births of Angelita, Ramón, and Fidel. The couple had three more children, including Raúl, who would become minister of the armed forces in Castro's government.
Led a Life of Privilege. Castro led a privileged life on the family's 10,000 acre hacienda, "Manacas." Hundreds of peasants worked the land. "I was born into a family of landowners in comfortable circumstances.... Everyone lavished attention on me, flattered and treated me differently," Castro is quoted in Geyer's account of his life. Castro grew up alongside peasants, which may have led to his lifelong desire to help Cuba's poorest citizens.
Received a Jesuit Education. As a young boy, he attended the Marist brothers' La Salle school in Santiago, where he lived with his godparents. At age nine, he began his Jesuit education at the Dolores boys' school. He entered Belén College, an exclusive Jesuit high school in Havana, in 1941. Even as a child, Castro was a rebel. At Belén, he was a non-conformist with a fiery temper, according to Geyer. Although he was bright, he was not interested in studying. He was a sports hero in school, where he ran track, pitched for the baseball team, and excelled in basketball. From his youth, Castro's hero was the Cuban martyr, José Martí, a nationalist killed in 1895 during Cuba's war for independence from Spain.
Became a Political Activist. Castro first tasted political action when he entered law school at the University of Havana in 1946. Havana, then a prosperous tourist haven, was embroiled in a battle between two gangster groups; rival student gangs fought bitterly. Castro joined the Anti-Imperialist League. At one point, he was wounded by police during a student protest against the rise in bus fares. On 27 November 1946, he made his first speech before students at the Colón cemetery during a nationalist ceremony.
Survived Treacherous Swim. In 1949, Castro joined the failed Cayo Confites Expedition, led by Dominican writer Juan Bosch to overthrow Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic. The expedition was called off during the trip overseas. Castro jumped ship and swam through the shark- infested waters of the Bay of Nipe holding a gun above his head. Only 21-years-old at the time, he was already becoming a legend.
Married Mirta Díaz-Balart. On 10 October 1948, Castro married Mirta Díaz-Balart, the daughter of one of Cuba's wealthiest families. Her family had ties with the Batista regime, so it came as no surprise that her brother, Rafael, later became a political enemy of Castro. Their son, Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, or Fidelito, was born in 1949, but Castro had no job and could barely support his family. The marriage would not last, but women devoted to him and his revolution played important roles throughout his life. Celia Sánchez, for example, whom he met while hiding in the Sierras, would become a lifelong companion and devoted adviser until her death in 1980.
Bitter Enemy of Batista. After receiving his law degree in September 1950, Castro worked for the law firm of Azpiazu, Castro y Rosendo in Old Havana, but he spent most of his time in politics. He had joined the Cuban People's Party (Ortodoxos) in 1947. During the early 1950s, Castro became a leader of the Ortodoxo Party, filling the shoes of Eduardo Chibás, an idol of Castro's who had committed suicide on the radio in August 1951. Castro ran for the House of Representatives on the Ortodoxo ticket in 1952, but before the elections, General Fulgencio Batista overthrew the government of President Carlos Prío Socarrás on March 10 of that year. Batista had been rising in power for many years. He was Army Chief of Staff from 1934 to 1940 and president from 1940 to 1944. Castro, a sworn enemy of Batista, went into hiding and began to organize his revolution.
Established a Devoted Following. Castro hoped to lead a mass movement for political and social change in Cuba. At first, he did not call himself a communist; most of his followers came from the Ortodoxo Party. They were working-and middle-class Cubans, sugar cane workers, mountain farmers, intellectuals, students, and labor organizers. By 1953, an estimated 1,200 men and women called themselves "Fidelistas," pledging absolute loyalty to their leader.
Imprisoned by Batista Regime. At dawn on 26 July 1953, Castro planted the first seeds of the Cuban Revolution. He and a small band of followers in handmade uniforms attacked the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba. The attack failed, and Castro and his followers fled into the Sierra Maestra, a remote mountain region. Castro and the others were caught and imprisoned a few days later.
Delivered Famous Speech. At his trial in Santiago in September 1953, Castro—serving as his own lawyer—gave his famous speech, La historia me absolverá!, introducing the manifesto of his revolution. He excoriated the Batista government, calling for land reform, political and civil liberties, no new taxes, rural improvements, and profit sharing for workers and employees. Castro lost his trial. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, where he read books and wrote to friends, describing a radical populist revolution for the poor. Meanwhile, Mirta filed for divorce—which became final in 1954—because of his involvement with Naty Revuelta, who later bore Castro a daughter, Alina Revuelta.
Exiled to Mexico. Fidel and his comrades, including his brother, Raúl, were released by Batista on 15 May 1955. On 7 July 1955, Castro left Cuba for exile in Mexico City. Castro named his group the 26th of July movement, or M-26-7, after the date of the Moncada attack. With his followers, Castro prepared to overthrow the Cuban government. Ernesto "Che" Guevera, a poor Argentinean with revolutionary ideas, and Frank País, were among his confidantes.
Hid in the Sierra Maestra. In June 1956, Batista's forces in Mexico City arrested Castro, but failed to discourage the young rebel. On 2 December 1956, the yacht Granma, carrying Castro and his group from Mexico, landed on the Oriente coast of Cuba. Unable to achieve the planned coup, Castro and his followers hid in the Sierra Maestra, fending off attacks from Batista. For two years, Castro lived in the mountains, gathering support from peasants, writing manifestos and letters, and planning his armed overthrow of the government. Meanwhile, País, until his assassination in 1957, organized rebels in the cities.
Started Cuban Revolution. On 9 April 1958, Castro's forces called for a general strike. "Today is the day of liberation," was the announcement on radios. Batista fought back, ordering his police to kill dissidents on sight, which led to a bloodbath in the streets. The strike was a failure. Only months later, the tide had turned in Castro's favor, as Batista failed to stop the guerrillas. "In December, town after town, city after city, and army post after army post fell to Castro's rebels," wrote Geyer.
Seized Power. On 31 December 1958, Batista fled Cuba. On January 2, Castro began the 600-mile trip to Havana, leading a parade of tanks, armored cars, buses and army trucks. "In every city and town, he took over the army barracks and designated a July 26 supporter as mayor," wrote biographer Robert E. Quirk in Fidel Castro. On January 8, a helicopter brought Castro into Havana, where crowds shouted "Viva Fidel!," threw confetti, and waved revolutionary banners.
Consolidated Political Power. Castro took office as prime minister in February 1959. He held "purge" trials, executing or imprisoning his political opponents. Castro filled his government with revolutionaries and began seizing property to redistribute the nation's wealth. He lowered finance charges on new cars, fixed gas prices, reduced mortgage interest rates, and made medical care more affordable. He delayed elections and shut down newspapers critical of his government.
Sour Relationship with the United States. As a result of Castro's communist agenda, relations between the United States and Cuba soon deteriorated. On 29 January 1960, Castro appropriated three U.S. oil refineries, and then began to import crude oil from the Soviet Union. Within months, he nationalized all U.S. properties in Cuba, including sugar mills, oil refineries, and utilities. In March 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the training of Cuban exiles as counterrevolutionaries. The crisis escalated further when on July 6, Eisenhower announced that the United States would not import the remainder of the 1960 Cuban sugar quota and would not buy sugar from Cuba until further notice. Castro then moved to expel U.S. businesses from Cuba. On October 18, Eisenhower recalled the U.S. ambassador to Cuba, and then prohibited the export of all commodities except medical supplies and some food to the country. "Those two formerly `closest friends' of nations were catapulting toward becoming the closest of enemies," wrote Geyer.
Repelled Bay of Pigs Invasion. Newly elected President John F. Kennedy had vowed during the 1960 elections to overthrow Castro. On 2 January 1961, Castro ordered the remaining American embassy officials to leave the country, and he mobilized American troops. Diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba ceased on 3 January 1961. Hoping to oust Castro, Kennedy launched an unsuccessful military attack on Cuba. On April 15, Cuban exiles trained by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Guatemala flew B-26s from Nicaragua to bomb Cuban airfields. On the morning of April 17, Brigade 2506, a group of nearly 1,500 exiles, landed at the Bay of Pigs. The exiles were outmaneuvered by Castro's forces, however, and received no backup from U.S. armed forces. As a result, over 100 men died, and most of the rest were captured.
Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1962 the political brinkmanship between the two countries nearly escalated to a full-scale nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which resulted from the Soviet Union stationing in Cuba ballistic missiles aimed at the United States. On October 22, President Kennedy issued an ultimatum that any nuclear weapon launched from Cuba would be considered a Soviet attack, and the United States would retaliate in full measure against both countries. After 13 tense days, the Soviets agreed to withdraw their weapons and Kennedy pledged that the United States would not seek to overthrow the Cuban government. For his part, Castro was upset that Kennedy and the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev resolved the crisis without him. Despite Kennedy's promise not to depose the Cuban leader, evidence exists that the CIA continued trying to assassinate Castro. For example, Szulc wrote that in 1964, an employee in a Havana cafeteria slipped cyanide into a milk shake meant for Castro, but the capsule accidentally froze and broke.
Moved Closer to the Soviet Union. In 1962, the Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Cuba's membership. Two years later, the OAS voted to end all diplomatic and trade ties with Cuba—only Mexico did not join the boycott. Increasingly isolated, Cuba sought military and economic support from the Soviet Union, while the Soviets found Cuba a convenient strategic base in Latin America. Castro was soon calling himself a Marxist-Leninist and he formed a new Cuban Communist Party (CPP), with a Central Committee, Politburo, and National Assembly of People's Power, much like the Soviet Union. He nationalized industries, transportation, communications, and most of the agriculture. "It was the obsession of Fidel Castro to do away with human, social, and economic underdevelopment in Cuba," wrote Szulc. Castro was determined to spare Cubans from the extreme poverty of many Latin American countries. His early agrarian reforms gave peasants land; his urban reforms reduced rents and banned the ownership of more than one dwelling. Castro ended Cuba's dependence on the United States and gave Cubans a sense of national pride and identity.
Championed Education and Medicine. Castro believed doctors and teachers were as important as soldiers, wrote Szulc. The Cuban Revolution put an end to illiteracy; even post-graduate education was free. Castro built clinics in the countryside and hundreds of new hospitals. His revolution brought 94 percent literacy, 76-year- life expectancy, and infant mortality of only 11 per 1,000 births, reported the U.S. World and News Report in 1994. Castro also increased equality for the 35 percent of Cubans who are mulatto or black, wrote Geyer.
Became an Absolute Ruler. Cuba quickly developed into a tightly controlled one-party state. Castro took the titles of President of the Councils of State and Ministers, First Secretary of the Communist party, and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. "Fidel Castro had wanted and demanded supreme power," wrote Quirk. Power was centralized in a bureaucracy run by Castro's comrades. He allowed no national elections. Only communist and government media, like the newspaper Granma, were permitted, and all opposition was repressed. In the mid-1960s, 60,000 political prisoners crowded Cuba's jails.
Developed Elaborate Spy Network. Castro also formed the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). The CDRs were Castro's citizens' intelligence service, with Cubans spying on Cubans to ensure that they attended political meetings and nightly "vigilance" patrols, and did not oppose the revolution. By the 1980s, 80 percent of Cubans were in the CDRs, according to the New York Times.
Created Many Political Enemies. While Castro remained friends with prominent international figures such as Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, he was criticized for human rights abuses. During his tenure, he has imprisoned and persecuted homosexuals, political dissidents, intellectuals, artists, and even former friends." In 1970 the most prestigious Cuban novelists and poets suddenly discovered that no publishing house or magazine would publish their work—no explanation given," wrote Szulc. The 1989 execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez, a celebrated war hero in the Sierra and Angola, was one of many former comrades targeted by Castro. Ochoa and three high-ranking officers were accused of drug-smuggling, but biographers believe Castro feared that they would betray him. After a group of dissidents, the Democratic Solidarity Party, signed a letter in 1992 calling for economic and political reform, many of the signers lost their jobs. "Here no one can go against the government," a Cuban told U.S. World & News Report in 1994.
Exported Cuban Revolution. Castro tried to export his revolution by supporting communist rebels around the globe. In the late 1970s, he had authorized the use of approximately 40,000 Cuban troops in two dozen countries, and Cuba was considered the former Soviet Union's chief military ally. Cubans fought alongside the Soviets in the 1975 Angolan Civil War. In 1978, Cuban soldiers helped Ethiopia fend off an invasion from Somalia. Cuba also aided guerrilla movements in South and Central America, including the Sandinistas in Nicaragua.
The Mariel Boat Lift. Castro never fully suppressed opposition at home. Instead, he periodically sanctioned emigration, creating a large exile community in Miami, Florida. In 1980, Castro allowed the exodus of some 120,000 Cubans after dissidents stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana. On 19 April 1980, Castro opened the port of Mariel, and Cuban exiles from Miami brought boats to pick up relatives in what came to be known as the Mariel Boat Lift. Soon, Castro was forcing ships to take prisoners and psychiatric patients as well, provoking a refugee crisis for the United States.
Resisted Political Change. Reforms in the Soviet Union under President Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s pressured Castro to change. World leaders advised him to accept capitalism, democracy, and public debate, wrote Quirk, "Instead, he shored up his defenses.... He reorganized the structure of government and centralized authority in the capital. He quashed every evidence of an opposition, however innocuous."
Damaged by Fall of Communist Allies. By the 1990s, Castro's revolution was disintegrating. "Today the patriarch sits on the edge of an abyss and gambles with his country's future," wrote The New Republic in 1991. Communism's collapse in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union damaged Cuba, which had relied on its preferential trading status with the communist countries. Soviet oil and grain subsidies dropped drastically. Without gas, bicycles became common in Havana. "Most citizens line up each day to receive a single loaf of bread made from Soviet-supplied grain," reported Newsweek in 1991. In 1992, the United States passed the Cuban Democracy Act, tightening its trade embargo because of human rights violations. Many Cubans were out of work. While Cuba still boasted free education, housing, and health care, the nation was supported by a crumbling economy. The model health care system had begun to "seriously erode," reported the New York Times in October 1994. Medicine was scarce, materials for diagnostic tests had disappeared, and ambulances had no fuel. "At many hospitals, patients are told to bring their own sheets, and their visitors are sometimes asked to help mop floors," wrote reporter Tim Golden.
Warming to the West. Castro looked to biotechnology and tourism to revive the economy, and his gradual reform to a market economy brought signs of hope. He reduced subsidies to state-run companies and encouraged investment from Spain, Mexico, France, and Canada. In interviews, Castro seemed willing to cooperate with the United States in economic relations, financial investment, and fighting crime and drug trafficking, reported The New York Times.
Rejected Political Reform. Still, Castro refused to make the only move necessary to lift the U.S. trade embargo: ending his communist dictatorship. "The missing piece there is any kind of movement forward in terms of democracy and human rights. Our position is that Fidel has to take the first step now," a U.S. Department of State official told the New York Times in 1994. Castro told U.S. News & World Report in 1994 that gradual economic reform would be tolerated, but not major political liberalization. "This country can only be ruled by the revolution," said Castro. The United States government continued to devise tactics that would bring democracy to Cuba. In 1996, attempts were made to impose anti-Cuba sanctions by allowing lawsuits against companies that do business with Cuba.
Rising Discontent. In August 1994, more than 30,000 Cubans fled in boats for the United States, following a riot in Havana, with protestors shouting "Down with Fidel!" Cubans "are simmering in anger and frustration," reported U.S. News & World Report. Castro seemed to have few remaining allies. He does, however, retain popularity and the support of Cuba's citizens. "Castro appears a lonely man—frustrated one day, triumphant the next, but lonely, and still searching for something that is impossibly elusive," wrote Szulc.
Gale Document Number: EJ2113200084