Background
Fidel Castro began his rule in 1959 following a rebellion against the United States backed dictator of that time, Fulgencio Batista. His rebellion, consisting of under 1,000 men, forced Batista out of office and Castro was in his place shortly thereafter Following his rise to power, the United States issued a harsh embargo policy on Cuba as well as the Cuban Democracy Act which legalized the encouragement of pro-US opposition groups to act against the Cuban government.
But first, let's take a step back. Castro was raised in a well-to-do family with his father being a wealthy plantation owner. After graduating from high school, Castro attended law school and soon found an interest in politics. He joined the Partido Ortodoxo Party of the Cuban People in 1947. Ironically enough, this party was an anti-communist party whose goals included nationalism, economic independence, and social reforms (Biography). This is where he developed his dislike for Batista.
Okay fast forward twelve years to 1959. After taking power Fidel Castro soon puts into action many reforms including creating large scale factories and plantations in an attempt to decrease the United States' economic presence on the country. His First Agrarian Reform Law limited the size of land holdings and forbade foreign property ownership. While this reform started with the intent of creating a class of independent farmers, it instead eventually led to state land control. He created 10,000 new schools and increased the literacy rate to 98 percent. Additionally, he developed a universal health care program to decrease infant mortality. By just looking at these achievements and the benefits they brought to the Cuban people, we may decide Castro was only looking out in the best interest of his people. While this may be true, his best intentions fell short causing him to be seen as a dictator without regard for his people.
Soon after coming to power, his style of ruling was closely compared to the Soviet Union style dictatorship of the time. This makes sense considering his close ties with the Soviet Union for economic purposes. His relationship with the Soviet Union became even more evident with the occurrence of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Because of Castro's leadership techniques, he was frequently referred to as a Communist. After first denying these claims of Communism, Fidel Castro later denounced this in 1965 when he merged the Cuba Communist Party with his own organizations and declared himself the leader of the party. Fidel Castro began a campaign to support the armed struggle against imperialism in Latin American and African countries. In 1966 he founded the Asia-Africa-Latin America People's Solidarity Organization in order to promote revolution. He focused much attention on pro-Soviet countries such as Angola and Ethiopia (Biography).
As a leader, Castro's government enforced restrictions on the people of Cuba, limiting their human rights. Some of these limitations include their rights to freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and political participation (Global). (For more information about human rights violations look on the page-Human Rights Violations.) In the early 1960s, Castro eliminated political party elections meaning that he was the dictator for as long as he wanted to be. The response to Castro by the Cubans varied greatly. Some thought of him as a great leader bringing beneficial change to an underdeveloped country while others saw their rights as being breached and yearned for freedom from tyranny. Many people, though, decided to simply escape the country and the dictatorship they were being forced under. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba though and are continuing to leave. In February of 2008, Fidel Castro relinquished his power to his younger brother Raul and, sadly, the conditions are not much better for the Cubans today. Unfortunately this is not the case of Scar and Mufasa or the good witch and the bad witch. Both of these brothers are on the dark side and it seems there is no one able to shut them down.
But first, let's take a step back. Castro was raised in a well-to-do family with his father being a wealthy plantation owner. After graduating from high school, Castro attended law school and soon found an interest in politics. He joined the Partido Ortodoxo Party of the Cuban People in 1947. Ironically enough, this party was an anti-communist party whose goals included nationalism, economic independence, and social reforms (Biography). This is where he developed his dislike for Batista.
Okay fast forward twelve years to 1959. After taking power Fidel Castro soon puts into action many reforms including creating large scale factories and plantations in an attempt to decrease the United States' economic presence on the country. His First Agrarian Reform Law limited the size of land holdings and forbade foreign property ownership. While this reform started with the intent of creating a class of independent farmers, it instead eventually led to state land control. He created 10,000 new schools and increased the literacy rate to 98 percent. Additionally, he developed a universal health care program to decrease infant mortality. By just looking at these achievements and the benefits they brought to the Cuban people, we may decide Castro was only looking out in the best interest of his people. While this may be true, his best intentions fell short causing him to be seen as a dictator without regard for his people.
Soon after coming to power, his style of ruling was closely compared to the Soviet Union style dictatorship of the time. This makes sense considering his close ties with the Soviet Union for economic purposes. His relationship with the Soviet Union became even more evident with the occurrence of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Because of Castro's leadership techniques, he was frequently referred to as a Communist. After first denying these claims of Communism, Fidel Castro later denounced this in 1965 when he merged the Cuba Communist Party with his own organizations and declared himself the leader of the party. Fidel Castro began a campaign to support the armed struggle against imperialism in Latin American and African countries. In 1966 he founded the Asia-Africa-Latin America People's Solidarity Organization in order to promote revolution. He focused much attention on pro-Soviet countries such as Angola and Ethiopia (Biography).
As a leader, Castro's government enforced restrictions on the people of Cuba, limiting their human rights. Some of these limitations include their rights to freedom of speech, assembly, religion, and political participation (Global). (For more information about human rights violations look on the page-Human Rights Violations.) In the early 1960s, Castro eliminated political party elections meaning that he was the dictator for as long as he wanted to be. The response to Castro by the Cubans varied greatly. Some thought of him as a great leader bringing beneficial change to an underdeveloped country while others saw their rights as being breached and yearned for freedom from tyranny. Many people, though, decided to simply escape the country and the dictatorship they were being forced under. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba though and are continuing to leave. In February of 2008, Fidel Castro relinquished his power to his younger brother Raul and, sadly, the conditions are not much better for the Cubans today. Unfortunately this is not the case of Scar and Mufasa or the good witch and the bad witch. Both of these brothers are on the dark side and it seems there is no one able to shut them down.