The Cuban Revolution
The Batista regime served as the elected president of Cuba 1940-1944, before his reign morphed into a dictatorship from 1952-1959. He was overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution. After a first term, Batista faced a certain electoral defeat. As a result, he led a military coup in 1952 in order to remain in power.
The regime of Batista was increasingly corrupt as time went on: forming alliances with rich sugar plantation owners and widening the gap between the wealthy and impoverished. Furthermore, he aligned himself with the American mafia, drug dealers, and implemented large scale public executions using his Anti-Communist police as spies. (Sultanistic Regimes, Chehabi).
The United States however, utilized the Batista regime to its advantage. Earl Smith, a former ambassador of the U.S. to Cuba, was quoted saying that "Until Castro, the U.S. was so overwhelmingly influential in Cuba that the American ambassador was the second most important man, sometimes even more important than the Cuban president."The American government was able to treat Cuba with Anti-Communist, Cold War rhetoric and the Batista regime reflected this. Furthermore, all American aid was in the form of weapons, disregarding the total destruction of liberty and inhumane lifestyle that the Cuban population lived in. It was this that enabled Castro and the Communists to believe Americans were cruel and didn’t care about the Cuban people.
The Cuban Revolution itself began in 1953, when Fidel Castro attempted to overthrow the US backed Batista regime at Moncada Barracks. Here, Castro organized a ragtag army of poor working class people who were armed and attacked the military barracks. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned for a year. In 1959, Castro finally began the Cuban Revolution which ousted the Batista regime in replacement for his own Communist regime. (Batista, Sierra)
With him, Castro brought anti-imperialism, economic planning, and healthcare as well as Communism. Castro also increased environmentalism and strongly protested use of Cuban natural resources. Furthermore, Communism resulted in an increase of women’s equality. Because Communism believes that everyone is equal, women were allowed to work and have access to daycare, allowing someone to take care of their offspring as they did their jobs.
The United States reacted negatively to the Castro regime. Whereas previously the United States had exercised great influence over Cuba, they were now shut out entirely.
As a result, the US tried to overthrow the Castro regime in an operation known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The invasion failed, and the troops were publicly interrogated before being sent back to the U.S. This attempted attack only strengthened the power of the Castro regime, and Castro was prompted to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union and openly proclaim its attempt to obtain missiles in what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a severe embarrassment to U.S. foreign policy, and evidence that anti-imperialism was possible. This served as a severe blow to global U.S. hegemony. It also had further repercussions of resulting in the U.S. agreeing to no longer attempt Cuban invasion. Part of these negotiations included no longer funding or backing counterrevolutionaries. With the U.S. withdrawing its support, counterrevolutionary movements fell apart.
However, what if the Cuban Revolution had never happened?
The regime of Batista was increasingly corrupt as time went on: forming alliances with rich sugar plantation owners and widening the gap between the wealthy and impoverished. Furthermore, he aligned himself with the American mafia, drug dealers, and implemented large scale public executions using his Anti-Communist police as spies. (Sultanistic Regimes, Chehabi).
The United States however, utilized the Batista regime to its advantage. Earl Smith, a former ambassador of the U.S. to Cuba, was quoted saying that "Until Castro, the U.S. was so overwhelmingly influential in Cuba that the American ambassador was the second most important man, sometimes even more important than the Cuban president."The American government was able to treat Cuba with Anti-Communist, Cold War rhetoric and the Batista regime reflected this. Furthermore, all American aid was in the form of weapons, disregarding the total destruction of liberty and inhumane lifestyle that the Cuban population lived in. It was this that enabled Castro and the Communists to believe Americans were cruel and didn’t care about the Cuban people.
The Cuban Revolution itself began in 1953, when Fidel Castro attempted to overthrow the US backed Batista regime at Moncada Barracks. Here, Castro organized a ragtag army of poor working class people who were armed and attacked the military barracks. As a result, he was arrested and imprisoned for a year. In 1959, Castro finally began the Cuban Revolution which ousted the Batista regime in replacement for his own Communist regime. (Batista, Sierra)
With him, Castro brought anti-imperialism, economic planning, and healthcare as well as Communism. Castro also increased environmentalism and strongly protested use of Cuban natural resources. Furthermore, Communism resulted in an increase of women’s equality. Because Communism believes that everyone is equal, women were allowed to work and have access to daycare, allowing someone to take care of their offspring as they did their jobs.
The United States reacted negatively to the Castro regime. Whereas previously the United States had exercised great influence over Cuba, they were now shut out entirely.
As a result, the US tried to overthrow the Castro regime in an operation known as the Bay of Pigs invasion. The invasion failed, and the troops were publicly interrogated before being sent back to the U.S. This attempted attack only strengthened the power of the Castro regime, and Castro was prompted to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union and openly proclaim its attempt to obtain missiles in what was known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a severe embarrassment to U.S. foreign policy, and evidence that anti-imperialism was possible. This served as a severe blow to global U.S. hegemony. It also had further repercussions of resulting in the U.S. agreeing to no longer attempt Cuban invasion. Part of these negotiations included no longer funding or backing counterrevolutionaries. With the U.S. withdrawing its support, counterrevolutionary movements fell apart.
However, what if the Cuban Revolution had never happened?