Which Cuban Ruler Did Fidel Castro Overthrow ?
Fidel Castro came from a wealthy family. His father owned a sugar plantation. He developed an interest in politics and nationalism while studying law in the University of Havana. During his studies, he became a member of Eduardo Chibas’ political party called Partido Ortodoxo. The party was known for exposing corruption in the government and wanted to make country financially independent and not reliant on the US. However, Chibas lost the 1947 elections when he stood as the presidential candidate. In 1951, Chibas killed himself and after that it was expected that the party would win in the next elections. |
It was then that Castro decided to contest elections on the Partido Ortodoxo’s ticket. However, things did not go as planned, as Fulgencio Batista staged a coup and toppled the incumbent Cuban government. He staged the coup to stop the Ortodoxo members from controlling the government. Batista was a tyrant and the citizens of Cuba lived an extremely oppressive life.
Batista managed to stay the leader of the country by getting support from rich Cubans and other Cuban governmental agencies. However, Castro did not support Batista and decided to take his own steps to get rid of him. He first decided to take the legal way to get rid of Batista. When that did not work, he began putting together a group of rebels, who would help him fight Batista’s army.
Castro planned an attack at the Moncado Barracks on July 26, 1953. However, the attack failed and he was captured. However, this attack ensured that Castro became a well-known figure in the country. After serving just 2 years, he was set free. But Castro did not stay back in Cuba. He made his way to Mexico where he met Che Guevara. He joined hands with Guevara to get rid of Batista.
Castro and Guevara needed money and weapons for their uprising. This prompted them to go to the US to get people to join their rebel force as well as get money for their uprising from the Cubans settled in the U.S.
Once the weapons were in place, Castro along with Guevara and 80 rebels began training in Veracruz. The group took on the name 26th of July Movement, the date of the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks. This movement kept on waging guerilla attacks on Batista and his government and as they began taking over towns, they starting distributing the land among the poor peasants in the town. As a result, Castro gained popular support of the people and many came forward to join his movement.
Batista tried to get out information about Castro’s whereabouts from the locals by torturing and killing them, but to no avail. This, in fact, led the people to support Castro still further. Finally, in 1959 January, Batista’s forces lost the decisive battle fought at Santa Clara and he escaped from Cuba.
This allowed the military to form a new government under the leadership of a Supreme Court judge. However, Castro was not at all happy with this choice and made his displeasure clear. This prompted the people to take to the streets and finally the military conceded and made Castro into the president of the country.
More Articles :
About.com: Fidel Castro: A Biography Of Fidel Castro
http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/p/castro.htm
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Fidel Castro the leader of Cuba has been a thorn at the US government’s side for decades now. With his communist views and repression, many Cubans have escaped from Cuba to start a new life in the US. However, while many people may have heard of Fidel Castro and Cuba, not many will know about his life. So, here is a Fidel Castro biography that will give you an insight into this man’s life and views. 