CASTRO’S RISE TO POWER

Castro and Cuba

Background

Until 1898 Cuba had been ruled by Spain, although there had been various attempts by the Cubans to gain independence. One of the most famous campaigners was Jose Marti who was killed fighting the Spanish in 1895.

In 1898 the USA backed the Cubans in their struggle for independence (Spanish-American War) and Spain was defeated.

Independence

After 1898 Cuba was independent in theory but USA retained a strong interest and influence there. (According to the Platt Amendment)

USA was awarded Guantanamo Bay as a military base.

Also USA claimed the right to intervene in Cuba “to preserve independence and to maintain law and order.”

USA gradually gained control of the Cuban economy and was the chief importer of Cuba’s main crop- sugar.

Batista’s Government 193-44

The Cuban government was strongly influenced by the USA and the President tended to be someone favourable to the USA.

From 1933 (when he led a coup against the existing government) it was controlled by Fulgencio Batista.

Under his control mafia connections increased and gambling flourished.

In 1940 he was formally elected President and served until 1944. He ruled as a Social Democrat and initially was popular.

Constitution of 1940

Batista established a Constitution and there were some strong Social Democratic principles in its policies:

8 hour working day44 hour week1 month paid holidayPension schemeSocial/accident insuranceFreedom to vote

Change of Government in Cuba

In 1944 Batista was replaced by Grau San Martin who was more right wing

In 1948 elections PrioSocarras was elected (strongly anti-Communist and with a reputation for being corrupt)

(One of the candidates againstPrioin 1948 was Eduardo Chibas of the Ortodoxo Party who was supported by Fidel Castro)

Castro’s Background

Fidel was the son of Spanish immigrant sugar farmer

Fidel was illegitimate and his father married his mother when Fidel was 15 years old

Fidel and his brother Raul attended Catholic Boarding School, where Fidel was described as unruly and was expelled for a time.

In 1945 Fidel entered law school at the University of Havana

He became interested in politics

University Life

Castro was active in student political life and joined the Ortodoxo Party, led by Eduardo Chibas

The party exposed corruption and demanded social reform, wanted to promote Cuban economic independence from USA and promoted a strong sense of Cuban national identity.

(In 1948 Chibas had stood for election against Prio but had failed)

In 1951 Chibas shot himself live on radioCastro was present and accompanied him to the

hospital where he died.

Castro’s Early Career

Castro graduated from law school, married and began practicing law in a small firm in Havana

In the 1952 elections he was a candidate for the Ortodoxo Party

However, Batista took over power in a coup and the elections were cancelled

Batista was at first welcomed as an alternative to Prio but he then suspended the Constitution and introduced some repressive measures

Attack on Moncada Barracks

Castro had lost the opportunity for being elected to political power and turned to less legitimate means

He left his law practice and (with Raul) formed an underground group to plot against Batista

On 26th July 1953 they launched an armed attack on the Moncado Military Barracks in an attempt to overthrow Batista

The attack (led by 129 men and 2 women) failed and many of the attackers were captured

Castro and Raul escaped but were captured a week later

Trial of the Rebels

Batista took harsh revenge on the rebels ordering that 10 rebels should be shot for every soldier killed (70 of the guerillas were shot in captivity)

Castro, as a trained lawyer, took up the defence of the rebels himself claiming that the regime was illegal and that citizens had the right to rebel against an illegal government

“the intellectual author of the rebellion is Jose Marti, the apostle of our independence”

Only 26 rebels were found guiltyRaul was sentenced to 13 years in prison

Castro’s Trial

Castro’s own trial took place later and he used the occasion to make a 2 hour speech

“Condemn me, it doesn’t matter. History will absolve me.”

He also outlined his political programme which included:1. Return power to the people2. Land rights3. Share for workers in industrial and mining enterprises4. Share for sugar workers on the profits5. Attack on corruption and confiscation of property of

those guilty of fraudHe was sentenced to 15 yearsin prison

Prison

Castro spent his time in jail studying about politics and revolutionary movements.

He re-worked his speech which was smuggled outCastro became convinced that the only way to

overthrow Batista was to use guerilla tactics

He also began an affair with a married woman

When his wife discovered this she divorced him, taking his son

Release

In 1954 elections were held and Batista was elected (no opponent!)

He promised the return of a constitutional government and in 1955 granted amnesty for some political prisoners – Castro and his brother were released

By this time Castro had broken away from the Ortodoxo Party who were finding his rhetoric too extreme

He left Cuba for Mexico

Castro in Mexico

Castro and Raul flew to Mexico and formed the July 26thMovement (date of attack on Moncada Barracks) to plot against the Batista government

On 26th July 1955 he met Ernesto “Che” Guevara who joined the group

By May 1956 Castro had raised sufficient funds to rent a farm 20 miles from Mexico City and begin training his force (Alberto Bayo a veteran of the Spanish Civil War was the trainer)

In June 1956 Castro and Guevara were arrested by the Mexican authorities for their activities but were released on the intervention of a former Mexican President

Granma Landing

Dec 2nd 1956 Castro and 82 guerillas sailed across the Gulf of Mexico in the yacht, Granma, and landed at Playa Las Colorados in Cuba

The plan was to co-ordinate with an uprising in Santiago led by Frank Pais

However- bad weather made the landing 2 days latePais’ rising had already been crushed (30 Nov) and

the landing was a disasterMany of the rebels were killed or captured although

a few escaped and joined up with Crescencio Perez, a local bandit leader

Guerilla Campaign in Sierra Maestra

Castro and the remaining rebels (including Raul and Che Guevara) fled to the Sierra Maestra and began their guerilla campaign against Batista

Batista responded by re-locating peasants from the slopes of the mountains so that they could not aid the guerillas

Batista also set up a paramilitary squad called Los Tigros to deal with the rebels

Propaganda

Castro made good use of propaganda and secured the support of Herbert Matthews, ex- New York Times reporter, who gave news of the rebels’ activities to the outside world and helped to give a heroic image of Castro

“ The personality of the man is overpowering… Here was an educated, dedicated fanatic, a man of ideals, of courage and of remarkable qualities of leadership.”

“the most remarkable and romantic figure in Cuban history since Jose Mart”

Che was becoming the leader of the rebels in the Sierra Maestra

In urban areas there were also resistance groups to Batista

The strongest was in Santiago, led by Frank PaisIn Summer 1957 Pais’ group merged with Castro’s 26th

July Movement (Although there was some conflict between the two and

those in the towns were not so anti-US as those in the mountains)

At this point the rebels even received some money and support from PrioSocarra (ex-President)

Other Rebel Groups

There were other groups who opposed Batista and in March 1957 a group composed of the OrganizacionAutentica (funded by Prio) and the Directorio (terrorist group dedicated to sabotage and assassination) tried to seize the presidential palace and assassinate Batista

They failedThis left Castro as the only viable alternative

to Batista and more supporters began to join him

Attack on El Uvero

In May 1957 Castro’s group launched an attack on the remote military garrison of El Uvero

It failed but men were killed on both sides and it was seen as a great propaganda victory in showing that the rebels were a viable force against Batista

Manifesto of Sierra Maestra

In July 1957 Castro had a meeting with Pais and the Ortodoxos

They decided upon a manifesto and called for a civil revolutionary front to drive out Batista

Castro promised to hold elections and to restore the Constitution of 1940 when he gained power

They planned for Manuel UrrutiaLleo to become the provisional president (anti- Communist and a liberal)

This also helped to raise their propaganda profile

Assassination of Pais

Violence was escalating in the cities and at the end of July Frank Paiswas shot and killed in an ambush in Santiago

This was a blow to the movement but the rebels gained a lot of publicity from a huge funeral demonstration followed by a general strike

General Strike

The rebel leaders in the cities were pushing for a revolutionary strike accompanied by anti-government activities

Castro and the rebels in the Sierra Maestrawere less keen but went along with the plan which was set for 9th April 1958

(One of their publicity acts was to kidnap and then release a former world champion racing driver, Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina)

Students supporting the movement secured the closure of schools

Failure of the Strike

The strike, however, was a failure and government troops suppressed it

Castro and Guevara were very critical of the strike leaders

“I am the supposed leader of this Movement and in the eyes of history I must take responsibility for the stupidity of others, but I am a shit who can decide nothing at all.” Castro

Operation Verano

Batista began to crack down on the rebels after the strike in what was called Operation Verano in May 1958

10,000 soldiers were deployed against the rebels in the Sierra Maestra in a 2 month offensive

The rebels were heavily outnumbered but they held out and were helped by mass desertions from Batista’s conscript army

Castro said “Every entrance to the Sierra Maestra is like the pass at Thermopylae”

Plan for Final Attack

After the failure of Operation VeranoCastro began to plan for a final attack on Batista’s regime

Castro ordered 3 columns to invade central Cuba led by :

A) Che GuevaraB) Jaime VegaC) Camilo CienfuegosCastro was to follow with a march towards

Santiago

Defeat of Batista

The attack began in December 1958Che and Cienfuegos advanced swiftly through

Las Villas provinceBy 31stDecember they had captured Santa Clara,

the provincial capitalBatista feared that his army would desert him

and he fled to the Dominican Republic on 1st January 1959 (taking with him a fortune)

Castro began his triumphal journey to Havana, speaking to journalists and broadcasting on TV along the route

Castro’s Entry into Havana

On 8th January the rebel army rolled into Havana

There were great crowds and an air of euphoria about the rebel army

The junta had selected Dr Carlos Piedra as the provisional President of Cuba but Castro refused to accept him

The Cane Planters Association of Cuba (the island’s crucial sugar industry) gave its support to Castro

There were high hopes for a new government

New Government

Manual UrrutiaLleo was made the President with Jose Miro Cardona as Prime Minister

The USArecognised the new government

Castro assumed the post of Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces

On 16th January 1959 Miro suddenly resigned and Castro was sworn in as Prime Minister of Cuba

Castros’ Advantages

Castro’s leaders had developed over the preceding years- charismatic with support of their men

The US policy towards Castro had been divided and uncertain (Eisenhower’s government had been supplying weapons to Batista but not in enough quantities to allow him a clear military victory)

US had little fear of Castro winning and expected the country to be plunged into chaos as it had been after the revolution of 1933.