Backnotes

Rise to Power

  • American-Spanish war of 1898
    • Paris treaty meant Spain lost sovereignty over Cuba
    • US occupation for 5 years
    • 1902 Republic of Cuba was declared
    • US Platt Amendment (until 1934) let US intervene in Cuban finances and policies
  • Deterioration of the terms of trade
    • Lowering sugar prices damaged Cuba’s monoculture economy
      • Economic reliance on a single source of revenue
  • Poor working conditions, lack of education and healthcare, illiteracy reached 50%
  • March 10th, 1952, Batista launches coup and becomes dictator
    • Opposition to Batista was present but not organized or unified
      • Partido Auténtico
        • Nationalist/socialist party, ruled before Batista (led by Carlos Prio Socarras)
      • Partido Ortodoxo
        • Founded in 1948, Castro was a member until the formation of the 26th of July movement
      • Partido Socialista Popular
        • Cuban communist party, banned by Batista in 1953
  • July 26th, 1953, Moncada Barracks attack
    • Involved 140 men
    • Failed to take the barracks due to an unforeseen foot patrol, Fidel and Raul Castro, and Abel Santamaria fled along the coastline but were later captured
    • Delivers “History will absolve me speech”, 1953
      • Calls to mobilize inactive capital, reducing rents by half, tripling taxes on rented homes, giving tax exemptions to those who own their homes, financing housing all over the island, and conducting a major education reform
    • 1954, Batista holds a fraudulent election to attempt to legitimize his regime
    • 1955, prisoners are released, Castro and Raul go into self exile in Mexico
  • Meets Ernesto “Che” Guevara
    • Che travelled all over Latin America studying corruption and revolutions
    • Extremely left wing, when captured in Mexico he maintained that he was a communist instead of lying
  • December 2nd, 1956, Granma expedition
    • 82 men sail into Cuba, along with the Castros, Che, and several others
    • Broken radio, 2 day delay and swampy landing spot lead to the deaths of all but 12
      • Raul Castro, Fidel’s younger brother, appointed head of Cuban Communist Party, Minister of  Defence, and Vice President of Council of State
      • Vilma Espin, Raul’s wife, took part in uprisings supporting the Granma expedition, founded  Federacion de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC, Cuban Women’s Federation)
      • Camilo Cienfuegos, responsible for many guerrilla victories, became Head of Armed Forces but died in 1959
      • Che, Argentinian doctor, had no military experience but learned quickly in Mexico, became Head of the Bank of Cuba and the Minister of Industry
        • “Human and political. As a man, as an extraordinary human being. He was also a person of great culture, a person of great intelligence. And with military qualities as well. Che was a doctor who became a soldier without ceasing for a single minute to be a doctor” -Castro
      • Haydee Santamaria, Abel’s sister, helped make uniforms for the Moncada barracks attack, founded Casa de las Americas in 1959, key Cuban literary institution
      • Celia Sanchez, friend of Fidel, provided land support during Granma expedition
    • Uprisings in Cuba occurred
      • “Bombs exploded in the capital…When the strike failed, the terrorists sabotaged the electric companies and plants, throwing many rural cities into darkness” -Batista, Cuba Betrayed 1962
  • From 1956-1959, they hid in the Sierra Maestra mountains
    • “Rebel Radio” used by Castro to spread the word of the revolution while in the mountains
      • “nearly all classes of the population had identified themselves, in varying degrees, with the July 26th movement” 
      • “the revolutionary army had 3 advantages: (1) the battle was to be on its homegrounds…(2) the rebel soldiers weren’t paid for fighting-they fought for something they believed in; (3) their leaders were men of outstanding ability” -Leo Huberman and Paul Sweezy, Cuba: An Anatomy of a Revolution, 1960
      • July 1958, major attack led against rebels but most soldiers fled out of fear or surrendered and joined the rebels
      • US offered aid in form of military and diplomatic support to prevent Castro from gaining power, but Batista declined
      • Continuing rise in support for rebels
      • January 1st, 1959, barbudos invade Havana and Batista flees from Cuba
  • Max Weber/Eric Selbin
    • Charisma was main reason why Castro rose to power

Consolidation of Power

  • Consolidated power between 1959 and 1962
    • Removed people associated with Batista regime
      • Properties were confiscated
      • Batista supporters were either executed or given long prison sentences
      • US and Cuban citizens criticized the practice due to lack of human rights
    • Consolidated position of the July 26th movement within the Cuban government
      • Provisional government was established, led by PSP and 26th of July movement members
      • President Manuel Urrutia and Prime Minister Jose Miro Cardona
        • Cardona resigned after 6 weeks, replaced by Castro
        • Urrutia resigned in July of 1959 due to opposition to communism and lack of elections, replaced by Osvaldo Dorticos until constitution change in 1976
        • Despite the use of a provisional government, Castro still had the most power
          • He gave daily speeches and toured the country, helping out Cuban citizens in rural areas
      • Many opposed Castro’s shift to the left
        • Huber Matos (26th of July movement leader) resigned from Military Chief of Camaguey due to increasing communist ideas and Castro’s unwillingness to set a date for elections
          • Camilo Cienfuegos was ordered to arrest Matos for treason, Castro did not want the embarrassment of a powerful leader resigning out of opposition 
          • Some theorize that Camilo’s death in the aircraft accident was caused by Castro, due to Camilo’s rising doubts about the communist regime
        • “By the end of the year, anti-communism had become synonymous with counter-revolution” -Louis A. Perez, Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution, 1988
    • Exploited US, said they were a threat to Cuba to promote nationalism
      • Bay of Pigs invasion made Castro more powerful than ever
        • Cubans felt Castro was making Cuba a stronger country
        • Helped reinforce Cuban nationalism
        • Also gave Castro a specific enemy to his regime
        • Led to USSR strengthening relations with Cuba
    • Domestic policies favouring workers also helped Castro consolidate his power
      • Distracted Cubans from when Castro would hold elections and restore the constitution
      • However, January 1959-October 1962, 250,000 Cubans left due to fear of radicalization/communism
  • 1960 Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
    • Primary role was to report counter revolutionary activity
    • At the end of its first year, it had more than 800,000 members
    • 1963 ⅓ of the Cuban population worked for a CDR
  • 1965 Military Units to Aid Production
    • 1965-1968 250,000 men were sent to labour camps
    • Anyone opposing military service was sent to these camps
    • Homosexuals and political dissenters were also sent to these camps
    • Aimed to have the men “re-educated through the liberating effects of collective work”

Domestic Policy

Economic Policy

  • Che favoured a Centrally planned economy
    • State controls distribution of resources, emphasis on self sacrifice
    • People should work for the ideals of the revolution
      • Did not believe in overtime pay as workers should volunteer their time for the revolution
      • “What is really involved is that the individual feels more complete, with much more internal richness and much more responsibility” -Che, Socialism and Man in Cuba, 1965
    • Believed in socialist emulation
      • Using competition between workers as a source of motivation
      • Proved to be an insufficient motivating factor, not enough to prevent low quality products or raising productivity
        • Decrease in sugar production as farmers did not produce more than the minimum that they needed to survive
  • Industrialization of Cuban Economy
    • Imported machinery from Eastern Europe and USSR
      • Increased Cuba’s debt
      • Most of the individuals qualified to work in industry had left Cuba
      • 1964, had to return to sugar to reduce debt
  • 1962 change in currency
    • Anyone with currency not belonging to the state had the extra currency confiscated
  • Agrarian Reform Act
    • Limited amount of land Cubans could own, aimed to redistribute land and reduce reliance on sugar
    • Those who had more than the imposed limit had the extra land expropriated, and were given bonds as compensation
    • Land owned by foreign companies was also nationalized
    • Upset landowners in Cuba as well as the US
      • US considered reducing Cuban sugar imports as retaliation
    • Second agrarian reform act passed in 1963
      • Further reduced amount of land individuals could own
      • State owned 70% of the land
      • The rest were small farms, which were expropriated in 1968
  • Rents were lowered and wages increased
    • 1959 rents were cut in half
      • Eventually all rents in the cities were abolished
    • Supporter by the lower class, but not the middle or upper classes
    • Workers for foreign companies took part in strikes, taking advantage of political situation to ask for increased wages and rights
  • Import tax on luxury goods
    • 35% reduction in US sales to Cuba
    • Cuba aimed to use the money from the taxes to diversify and industrialize the economy
  • 1968 Revolutionary Offensive
    • All remaining land and businesses were expropriated
    • Self employment and farmers markets were banned
    • Did not lead to increase in productivity
      • Led to disorganization in the government as the new fields of production needed to be managed
  • 1970 Year of the 10 Million
    • Aimed to reach a 10 million ton sugar output in 1970
    • Shifted from using self sacrifice to militarization
    • People were forced to volunteer their time, members of the army worked in the mills
    • Theatres, bars, and Christmas/New Year’s celebrations were cancelled
    • Reached a record 8.5 million tons, but program was a failure
      • Machines were overused, farming of other crops suffered, exhausted Cubans and increased scepticism of Castro
      • Morale amongst soldiers decreased
    • On 26th of July 1970, Castro blamed the failure on himself and the government instead of the citizens
    • Offered resignation, but support for Castro grew
    • Led to greater dependence on USSR
    • Farmers markets were reintroduced, businesses were given som autonomy and overtime pay was given to workers
  • 1970s USSR cut price they paid for Cuban sugar
    • Led to recession in Cuba
    • Rise in discontent
    • 1980 Mariel Exodus
      • 125,000 Cubans left for the USA
  • 1986 Rectification Campaign
    • Returned to values of volunteerism and solidarity
    • Wanted to correct previous errors from 1970 shift in principles
    • Farmers markets were banned, bonuses and overtime pay were prohibited, self employment was discouraged
    • New agrarian reform act
      • Percentage of land owned by individual farmers dropped to 2%
    • Union rights were reduced
    • Led to fall in productivity, increased absenteeism, lack of milk, oil, textiles, and sugar led to black market trading
      • Transport and electricity rates also increased
  • 1991 Special Period
    • USSR collapse in 1991
      • Soviet technicians left Cuba, hundreds of projects were abandoned
      • Subsidized goods, oil, and access to international loans were lost
    • Increased rationing
      • Blackouts became common due to lack of oil
      • Transport was restricted
    • Farms were given back to people to increase productivity
    • International business, mostly tourism, was allowed
    • 1993 Cubans could buy/sell US dollars
      • Increased demand for goods, benefited the economy
    • Subsidies were reduced and taxes were increased, private business and self employment was allowed
    • 1994 Cuba showed economic recovery

Social Policy

  • Cuban women had the right to vote in 1934
    • 1940 constitution gave them equality before the law
    • However, only teaching and nursing were considered suitable for women
    • Discrimination in work was common, more important tasks were given to men
    • Women’s rights were necessary if the workforce was to be enlarged
  • New legislation was passed, giving women access to all fields of work
    • Offered training at technical and professional levels
      • Women were allowed to repair and drive tractors, before that was all male
    • Daycare centers were created so women could work
    • Women were pressured to become involved in politics and turn into efficient workers
    • Men still refused to acknowledge more independent women, led to families leaving Cuba
  • 1970s Family Code
    • Equality of both sexes
    • Men had to share household duties and participate in education of children
    • Number of female workers still remained low
  • FMC (Federacion de Mujeres Cubana)
    • Trained women for jobs in construction, construction, and teaching
    • Ran health programs
    • Sanitary Brigades travelled the island to vaccinate workers in rural areas
    • Textbooks portrayed women as workers and soldiers
  • 1960s more than 600,000 people left the island
    • Women were trained to work in jobs left by those who left Cuba
    • However, women were not given important decision making roles
  • In the Sierra Maestra, rebels taught Cubans how to read and write
    • Slogan was “If you do not know, learn; if you know, teach”
    • 1961 was declared the year of education
      • Military barracks were turned into schools
      • New schools were built across the country
        • More schools were built between 1959 and 1962 than in the previous 58 years
      • Training program for 271,000 teachers was implemented
      • Those who were literate were expected to teach those in the countryside
    • 1962 illiteracy dropped to 4%
      • “[The aim] was no longer simply to raise the level of basic knowledge and skills, but to foster the creation of a new man; a socialist man, honest, selfless, devoted to the community, and freed from greedy and corrupt bourgeois inclinations” -Julie Marie Bunck, Fidel Castro and the Quest for a Revolutionary Culture in Cuba, 1994
  • 1961 all private schools were nationalized
    • Boarding schools and scholarship programs were established
    • Free time had to be used in “intellectually valuable choices”

Foreign Policy

  • US-Cuban relations deteriorated, USSR established diplomatic relations with Cuba in May 1960
    • Created a new market for Cuban sugar after Eisenhower cancelled sugar quota
  • April 1980Peruvian Embassy
    • A bus full of Cubans crashed outside the Peruvian embassy
      • A Cuban guard was shot in the incident
    • The embassy refused to hand over the asylum seekers, so Castro withdrew all guards from the assembly
    • 10,000 Cubans forced themselves into the building seeking asylum
    • Castro referred to the asylum seekers as “scum”, later said anyone who wanted to leave Cuba was free to do so
  • Mariel Boatlift
    • 125,000 Cubans leave Cuba on hundreds of boats, heading to Florida
    • Consisted of released prisoners and mentally ill as well
    • Known as “marielitos”
    • Showed massive discontent in Cuba
    • Not the first time Castro allowed emigration to prevent a conflict

Cult of Personality

“For many citizens, breaking with the government meant breaking with their lives: they had grown up or were young or were young adults during the 1960s when the revolution engulfed Cuban society, and they had committed themselves to a new Cuba. Many others-particularly poor and non-white Cubans, remembered their plight before the revolution and feared a post-socialist Cuba that would disregard their welfare”-Marifeli Perez-Stable, The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy, 1993ifferent region. n19

Teachers not supporting the revolution were fired

Textbooks focused on the history of the revolution and Fidel, Che, and Camilo

Libraries were purged of anything considered inappropriate

“Learning about Fidel and rifles and why we should hate Americans can sometimes take up a fair amount of the school day, even in primary school” -Luis M. Garcia, Child of the Revolution: Growing Up in Castro’s Cuba, 2006

Castro said Cuban culture had been marked by foreign influence

All english labels were translated into Spanish

Images of the ideal man and women were based around heroes in the wars against spain and the revolution against Batista

1959 Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinema Industry

1961 Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba

Declaration stated that “the writer must contribute to the revolution through his work”

1976 constitution stated “there is freedom of artistic creation as long as its content is not contrary to the revolution”

1961 PM Affair

Film of Afro-Cubans enjoying themselves

Considered counter revolutionary and was censored

Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinema Industry was founded

Castro stated all intellectuals must dedicate themselves to supporting the revolution

Art has a purpose, and that purpose was to support the needs of the revolution

1971 Padilla Affair

1968 Padilla was awarded for his poem Fuera del juego

The poem criticized the revolution

Padilla was placed under arrest and tortured

He was given a confession and placed in a fake trial

Many artists broke away from the revolution in support of Padilla

Led to The Grey Period

Artists were afraid to publish anything that was counter-revolutionary

1959, some sectors of the Catholic church welcomed the revolution

When Bishops began criticizing Castro, he accused them of deviating from their pastoral duties

After the Bay of Pigs incident, schools were nationalized and religion could only be taught in churches

Increased tensions between the state and the church

Congregations lived in internal exile, with little freedom (Antoni Kapcia)

1976 constitution stated “It is illegal and punishable by law to oppose one’s faith or religious belief to the revolution”

Special period led to increased church attendance due to hardships faced

1998 Pope John Paul II visited Cuba

Criticized lack of religious freedom in Cuba, but also criticized US embargo

Cuban government modified the PCC statute and allowed religious people to join

Before the revolution, Afro-Cubans were heavily discriminated against

Afro-Cubans made up 50% of the population

After the revolution, the poor were given more rights and opportunities but not important positions in the government

1976 constitution change and first elections

Stated the PCC was “the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort towards the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society”

The only party allowed to campaign in the 1976 election was the PCC

The national assembly was created but brought little change

The assembly only met twice a year for 4-5 days

Government continued to make extensive use of a bureaucracy

Magazines such as Bohemia and newspapers such as Granma were used to raise awareness for Cuban ideals

“Within Cuba he has often demonstrated a clever ability to read the popular mood, occasionally, as in 1970 in his criticisms of the disastrous zafra, acting as his own opposition, but also, in the early 1960s, recognizing the popular demand for rapid social reforms and mobilisation” -Antoni Kapcia, Cuba in Revolution, 2008

“Castro saw his movement as a culmination of a time-honoured struggle for independence and development stretching from the first revolt against colonial rule in 1868 to the student rebellion of the thirties. His own supreme self-confidence was based on the conviction that he embodied that struggle” -Sebastian Balfour, Castro, 1990