The climate of the Cold War fostered the uncertainty and tension that allowed Castro to garner the support of the people and increase his influence in the political sphere. As a leader, he spoke often, almost daily, on issues relating to social justice and economic security: issues that really hit home with the majority of the Cuban population. His promises of an increased quality of life - safer working conditions, accessible healthcare, higher quality education for their children - made the people see him as their spokesperson, as a person who understood their predicament, and could work for them to overcome it.
The antagonism that existed between the US and Cuba at the time only helped Castro to this end. The more he was able to paint Cuba as a country under threat, the more dire he could paint the circumstance, and the more he could convince the people that he had an important role to play in the years to come. Castro's alliance with the Soviet Union, and Nikita Khrushchev, is ultimately what allowed him to secure supplies and weaponry, and exert such a heavy influence on the course of events at the time, which ultimately culminated in the Missile Crisis in 1962. |
|
"Comandante Fidel" was a Cuban dictator who successfully embedded communist ideals deep into Cuban culture, to the point that it still persists today. While his enemies and supporters continue to debate the nature of his influence on the world's political course - whether he was a "ruthless autocrat" who brought the world to the verge of nuclear war or a "revolutionary hero" who stood up to American hegemony - he was undeniably a key figure in the Cold War. But the passion that fueled his politics can be traced to his past, to the origin of his radicalism.
|
During the Missile Crisis, Nikita Khrushchev - the former prime minister of the Soviet Union - was involved with Fidel Castro. Months after the failure of the invasion at the Bay Of Pigs, that was supported by the US, on December 1961 Castro admitted to being a Marxist-Leninist. With this, the Soviet Union was obliged to guard the Socialist nation. After a short period of time, Castro asked the Soviets for facilities and resources. While Castro asked for some defence equipment, the Soviets came up with a more threatening defence - ballistic missiles. Castro, of course, agreed to take them.
During the year of 1962, an American spy took photos of the missile installations happening in Cuba. This caused tension to arise from the Missile Crisis, which caused Castro to approach the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev. Castro approached Khrushchev with a letter, persuading him to use missiles as defence or attacking if needed. But Khrushchev had already contacted President John F. Kennedy to remove the missiles without Castro knowing. Of course, Castro was enraged about the affair when he found out from a newspaper article by Carlos Franqui. Castro couldn’t believe that his possibly closest ally - the Soviet Union - would behave in such a way towards Cuba. The behaviour was similar to the behaviour that the US sent towards Cuba, as if Cuba was an insignificant isle in the middle of the Caribbean. |
Castro and John F. Kennedy were involved with each other during the Bay Of Pigs. John F. Kennedy had ordered the CIA to overthrow Castro’s Communist government over 600 times. Because Cuba and the Soviet Union were both communist governments, it wasn’t only posing a threat to the US, but was also giving a foothold for communism in the US at the time. The Bay of Pigs was the set location of the invasion, after Kennedy changed the placement of the invasion from Trinidad. While the CIA attempted to keep the invasion a secret, the Cubans soon found out about it. The invasion had failed shortly after its start on the 17th of April in 1961, due to the Cuban army being prepared for the invasion.
The invasion had supposedly strengthened Cuba’s government due to the support Castro got from the Soviet military as an ally, which in turn created a stronger military in Cuba. |
When Castro was seeking a political solution for Cuba’s deep problems, he started studying the ideas of Karl Marx. In 1952, Castro ran for the Cuban congress as an independent candidate. Although, that March, Castro’s plans for a political career were smashed when Batista re-seized power over Cuba through a military coup. After witnessing his close partners being murdered by the brutal regime, Castro lost all faith in democracy, and was set on armed revolution. The following year, Castro lead about 140 rebels against Batista. The rebels attacked a federal military unit at Moncada, Santiago. But, they had to retreat due to them being outnumbered. While most of the rebels were executed, Fidel and his brother Raul were imprisoned. While Batista turned Castro’s attempt into a media display, Fidel attacked the regime in his famous “History Will Absolve Me” speech. While Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the words he spoke stuck with the Cuban people. Cuba under Batista’s rule had become a tourist attraction and a “playground” for the mafia, while most of the Cuban population faced poverty. The Castro brothers had fled to Mexico at this time, where they met an Argentine doctor, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. The Castro brothers, Che, and around 80 rebels formed the ‘26th of July Movement.’ In the year 1956, Castro and his men boarded Granma, a yacht loaded with weapons and supplies. The men were heading back to Cuba. Castro, his brother Raul, Guevara and a few other men started their armed campaign. Under Batista’s rule, Cuba had grown to be more unequal and corrupt. Fidel recruited many people to his cause, especially among the poor. Fidel won more than plenty of military fights and took control of large parts of the country. During 1958 Castro set a full-scale attack on the major towns in Cuba. Batista then fled Cuba, and in January 1959 Fidel entered Havana as a hero.
|
Marxism taught me what society was. I was like a blindfolded man in a forest, who doesn’t even know where north or south is. |
Cuba is still an ongoing communist country, but has reinstated diplomatic ties with the US. There lies no more tension between the two countries. Fidel had resigned in 2008, handing off the role to his younger brother Raul. Currently, Raul is the president of the council state of Cuba, and expects Cuba to maintain its communist rule for generations to come. Until this day, the prison system is still maintained as it was before, where the prisoners of political crimes are starved, tortured or even executed.
Despite these cruel factors of the communist ruling government, the ruling of five decades under Castro’s ruling has impacted a few things for the better in the world. The life expectancy in Cuba is mostly identical to the life expectancy in the US. There are also more doctors in Cuba per head of population than that are found in other richer countries. On the UN's Human Development Index - a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators - Cuba is ranked 52nd out of 177. Castro's influence upon Cuban politics is important because it affected and continues to affect the course of human life, and the extent of development, within its borders. |
"We shall never submit to hegemony! We are invincible!"
"Fidel Castro." PBS. PBS, 21 Dec. 2004. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
History.com Staff. "Fidel Castro." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. Biography.com Editors. "Fidel Castro Biography." Bio.com. Ed. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 27 Apr. 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016. Grant, Will. "Fidel Castro: Cuba's Revolutionary Leader." BBC. BBC, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. Swift, John. "The Cuban Missile Crisis." History Today. History Review, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016. |