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CUBAN REVOLUTION OF 1959-1960.
Term Paper ID:20267
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Essay Subject:
Origins & causes, economics, politics, role of U.S., bureaucracy, generational conflicts, armed struggle.... More...
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7 Pages / 1575 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Origins & causes, economics, politics, role of U.S., bureaucracy, generational conflicts, armed struggle.
Paper Introduction:
The purpose of this research is to discuss the situation leading to the downfall of Fulgencio Batista, the former dictator of Cuba. This paper will show that, while the United States played a role in exploiting the Cuban people, waste within the Cuban economic and social strata, causing the mistrust of the younger generation, also contributed to the causes of the revolution.
The Cuban revolution happened quite quickly. It occurred between January 1, 1959 and the end of 1960--Batista having fled the country on January 1, 1959. The revolution was comparatively bloodless: although a figure of 20,000 often appears for the number killed by Batista between 1956 and 1958--a figure he vigorously refutes--the deaths on both sides in the civil war may have been as few as 2,000. There are many experts who
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Praeger, 1965), 127-128. The Ten Years' War (1868-1878) had beenundertaken by the generation of 1868, the War of Independence (1895-1898)had been undertaken by the generation of 1895, and the failed 1933Revolution had been undertaken by the generation of 193 . The historicalrole of the "generation of 1953" was proclaimed by Castro himself when helaunched the attack on the Moncada barracks on July 26, 1953.[7]Thereafter, the armed struggle against Batista was carried out by youngrevolutionaries in their 2 s and early 3 s. With fewlinks to the older generation, more moderate leadership, and without strongattachments to existing institutional arrangements, the revolutionarieswere left relatively free to abandon the old order and embark onradicalized politics. A generation break had occurred duringthe 195 s that reflected earlier cumulative generational tensions whichwere greatly intensified by the short armed struggle. In 1958, however, there was a downward trend, with 36U.S.-owned mills against 121 Cuban-owned mills, with the U.S. Historically, this generational gapwas part of Cuba's culture, and when combined with a larger enemy outsideitself, such as the United States, created a cause that could mobilize arevolution. Its democraticinstitutions were distrusted, and therefore the revolutionaries looked tothe Marxists for their ideology. This scenario assumes that Cuba was primarily a semi-colonialistsociety that was so severely exploited by the U.S. sugar. The sugar industry was hampered by bureaucratic control. influence over Cuba's political, economic, and cultural life. The sugar industry in Cuba was promoted, but to the detriment ofits other industries and services. The countrywas also at the mercy of world sugar demand. However, as Batista stated later--quite correctly--theUnited States provided a natural market for Cuba because of its geography,climate, history, and economic needs, and the revolutionaries needlesslyimpoverished their country by turning their backs on the United States.[9]The revolutionaries, however, needed an external enemy to further the causeof nationalism, and the United States provided it. mills producing only 37 percent of the total.This increasing Cubanization of the mills should not be regarded asnationalistic, but rather as a recognition that Cuban sugar was no longersuch a good investment. business interests in Cuba, the Cubanrevolution would have remained "humanist," as Castro proclaimed it in May,1959. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968.Gonzalez, Edward. "The Origins of the Cuban Revolution." In Fidel Castro's Personal Revolution in Cuba: 1959-1973, ed. Secretary for Agriculture's estimate of U.S.sugar needs. However, the overall effect of American ownership ofsuch prosperity as there was in Cuba was that the Americans could not avoidbeing blamed when things went wrong with the economy--and the economy hadbeen in crisis for a long time. The purpose of this research is to discuss the situation leading tothe downfall of Fulgencio Batista, the former dictator of Cuba. For example, the case of the well paid sugarworker symbolizes the situation: getting $3.25 a day for the five monthsof the harvest, afterwards he could expect to earn nothing. It does not therefore seem to be poverty, any more than NorthAmerican greed, that caused the revolution to take the turn that it did. As a result, neitherthe old political class nor its institutions could break the tempo of therevolution, much less effectively challenge the young leadership. [5]Ibid., 21. [8]Richard R. Goodsell and James Nelson, 16-23. Castroism: Theory and Practice. This paperwill show that, while the United States played a role in exploiting theCuban people, waste within the Cuban economic and social strata, causingthe mistrust of the younger generation, also contributed to the causes ofthe revolution. The Growth and Decline of the Cuban Republic.New York: Devin-Adair, 1964.Draper, Theodore. The new revolutionary regimewas also fervently supported at the outset by a disproportionately highpercentage of young Cuban in comparison to older age groups.[8] While revolutionary movements are often generational in character, itmay take years of protracted struggle before they are able to achievepower. Brody, & Thomas J. A smallerproportion of school-age children were enrolled in Cuban schools in 195 than in 1925. Praeger, 1965.Fagen, Richard R., Richard A. The quota was a great advantage to Cuba but also createddependency--so there is a certain logic in the Cuban RevolutionaryGovernment's criticism of its existence in early 196 and denunciation ofits disappearance in August of the same year. Therewas a disproportionate increase of private school enrollment (oftenfinanced with American money), and this intensified social classdifferences. What developmentthere was, was largely helped along by foreign investors, namely Americanfirms. [2]Hugh Thomas, "The Origins of the Cuban Revolution," in FidelCastro's Personal Revolution in Cuba: 1959-1973, ed. The trouble with this argument is that itcredits Castro with more powers than any person can possess. Brody, and Thomas J. Opportunities for economic and social progress existed inCuba, but these were wasted. New York:Frederick A. The Cubaneducational system had deteriorated between 1925 and 1959. Cubans inExile. After the unstable period during the depression of the 193 s,Cuba secured a part of the U.S. The younger generation, having grown upwith poverty and a lack of goods and services, distrusted the oldergeneration that Batista represented. involvement inCuban affairs. [9]Batista, 182.----------------------- 1 O'Leary. The Cuban economy had been stifled for years. This explanation, however, is inadequate. It is important to note that a large percentage of Cuban sugar millswere U.S.-owned. Against this background, there was the generation gap which existedthen. BibliographyBatista, Fulgencio. [4]Ibid., 19. Other institutions suffered aswell. The Cuban Revolution may be explained, in part, as a reaction byCastro's generation of political activists against not only Batista butalso the entire pre-revolutionary political class and older generation fortheir corruption and mismanagement.[6] The generational issue had been arecurrent phenomenon in Cuban political life, assuming greater intensitythan elsewhere in Latin America. The generation of 1953 had borne the brunt of the anti-Batistastruggle and had been primarily responsible for the dictator's downfall.Generational tensions were initially rooted in the antinational and corruptimage of Cuba's old political class prior to 1959, particularly thediscredited performance of the generation of 193 . About 5 , people were in thissituation, nearly one-third of the total labor force.[4] The key to the Cuban society before the revolution was the sugarindustry. The problem of explaining what happened in Cuba in Marxist terms hasled some people to assume that the series of events was dictated by thewhim of one man: Fidel Castro. The number of hours of instruction had also been cut. Had it not been for the mistakes of the State Department andthe selfishness of the U.S. The legitimacy of theold political class had been steadily weakened since the turn of thecentury by the failure of successive generations to prevent the extensionof U.S. Fagen, Richard A. Cuba, although a poorcountry in many respects, was among the richer countries of Latin America.Per capita income reached a figure of $341 at its highest level in 1947.[3] The average daily salary about the same time for the highest paid sugarworker was $3.25, which would yield an annual wage of nearly $5 . O'Leary, Cubans inExile (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1968), 37-38. The originsof the revolution are more likely to be found in the fact that Cubansociety was not so much under-developed as stagnant. In this sense, the downfall of Batistacan be looked at as a nationalistic phenomenon--the fulfillment ofliberationist aspirations that were held but compromised by previouspolitical generations while thwarted externally by the U.S. [7]Edward Gonzalez, Cuba Under Castro: The Limits of Charisma (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974), 21. James Nelson Goodsell(New York: Alfred A. Changes of a percentage of acent in the world market price of sugar not only meant fortunes woulddecline in Cuba, but also indicated whether ordinary life would betolerable. Thiswas a small wage, but in many countries of Latin America it would have beenconsidered high. For part ofthe year, he was well off but not used to saving; for the rest of the year,he lived in resentment and debt. The revolution was comparatively bloodless: although afigure of 2 , often appears for the number killed by Batista between1956 and 1958--a figure he vigorously refutes[1]--the deaths on both sidesin the civil war may have been as few as 2, .[2] There are many expertswho assert that the course of the revolution was dictated by the U.S.government. The Cuban Revolution was, finally, the product of armed struggle--theoutcome of a short guerrilla campaign waged by Castro and his followers.The attack on the Moncada barracks and the later guerrilla success in theSierra Maetra became key formative experiences for Castro, introducing afurther radicalizing influence into his domestic and foreign policies.There was no single cause of the revolution and, ultimately, Batista'sdownfall. market by a specific quota, allocatedannually according to the U.S. The total U.S. Knopf, 1975), 18. It occurred betweenJanuary 1, 1959 and the end of 196 --Batista having fled the country onJanuary 1, 1959. [6]Theodore Draper, Castroism: Theory and Practice (New York:Frederick A. New York: Alfred A. Education, health, social services, commerce, and trade unions allgave the impression of being incapable of development. Knopf, 1974.----------------------- [1]Fulgencio Batista, The Growth and Decline of the Cuban Republic(New York: Devin-Adair, 1964), 47. In other areas--the general availability of consumergoods, the social services per head, the labor laws, the communicationssystem, and literacy rates--Cuba was among the leading nations of LatinAmerica, outranked by only Argentina and Uruguay, and perhaps on a levelwith Chile. Theantinational image of the old political class was heightened by itsinability to measure up to the nationalists tradition associated withCuba's two wars of independence against Spanish rule in the last decades ofthe 19th C. It was also almost impossible to obtain credit unless theproposed project was connected to the sugar industry; therefore, otherventures and other industries suffered. Other industries of the country were also U.S.-owned, such as thepublic utilities of Havana, railways, and banks. With only a fewoutstanding exceptions, the older generation of leadership had been largelydiscredited as a political class in the eyes of the young by the timeCastro took power as the victorious rebel chieftain. The Cuban revolution happened quite quickly. In addition, Cuba was, for about a century,the major single source of sugar for the United States. Today, Cuba is stillthe largest exporter of sugar. Cuba Under Castro: The Limits of Charisma. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974.Thomas, Hugh. and Cuban capitaliststhat the conditions of the working class eventually became intolerable, thetension being especially sharpened under the dictator Batista (1952-1958),and that Castro's 26th of July Movement and the Communist Party thereforeformed the elite which led the masses in understanding their true state ofmisery. Cuba isthe clearest example of a generational movement coming to power. It was semi-developed, with some of the characteristics of advanced countries when theyenter decline. investment was declining in the sugar industry, itstill was natural for Cubans to denounce the high percentage of foreignownership throughout this period, especially of the staple product of thecountry. This nationalisticreaction to the United States gave the initial justification for turning tothe Soviet bloc and has since underlaid much of the fidelista drive totransform Cuban society under a communist development. There were, however, someadvantages in this: foreign ownership helped usher in the use of moreadvanced technology and research; it allowed for better schools (many werefinanced by American concerns); and American firms were less prone to taxevasions than Cuban. investment in Cuba in 1958 wasabout $9 million, considerably less in real terms than the figure for193 .[5] Although U.S. For most of thiscentury, until 196 , Cuba supplied between 4 percent and 6 percent of theU.S. The situation in Cuba was unique because the revolutionariesachieved power rapidly and the generational conflict between politicalcontenders was drawn more sharply. Sugar cane was grown easily, and, from the first World War to1959, Cuba was the world's largest sugar producer. [3]Ibid. The United States, being linked with the old corrupt Batistaregime, was used as a scapegoat by the revolutionaries.
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