A new campaign was started known as the ‘26th of July Movement’. Castro was determined to continue his struggle against the opposition, though found that other opposition groups had broken appart and become weak again. Castro spoke at deomonstrations and openly criticized the government in newspaper articles, although his marriage and carreer were no longer existant. In fear of being followed and assassinated by Batista’s secret police, Castro decided to plan on foreign territory. Castro left to Mexico on July 7th, 1955. The planning of the revolution which was to come went underway. Tactical training in guerilla warfare was the focus, and the revolutionaries learned how to act with the enemy in remote locations of Mexico. Castro’s motivation for his revolution was the current situation in Cuba. The people were not happy with the government, and Castro was determined to change it. In his speech of his trial in Cuba, Castro had promised agricultural reform, 50% reduction in rents, development of industry, reduction of employment, and an improved education system. All in all, Castro’s aim was to reform the country and it’s system.
Weeks before the invasion of the ‘26th of July Movement’ was to take place, Mexican authorities along with Batista’s authorities helped to raid Castro’s headquarters in Mexico. Armaments were confiscated and some 20 men were arrested. Castro advanced the date of invasion and on 25th of November, 1956, Castro and his men sailed towards Cuba in the Granma, a ship fundede by ex-president and supporter of the cause. The invasion went off to a bad start, and movements within Cuba were crushed and officials were alerted of Castro’s arrival to Cuba. Castro arrived in Cuba on December 5th and moved inland. Batista’s troops were ready and had Castro’s men surrounded in a sugarcane plantation. At least 20 died and many wounded. With luck, Castro was able to escape and hide from the government in the Sierra Maestra – a territory which would prove to give Castro the advantage. Castro and his men remained hidden from the government for 13 months in this remote mountain range gaining support from local farmers and other supporters of the cause. Within half a year, it was said that Castro knew the region better than any farmer who would have been born there. Within time, Castro had established a self-sufficient base manufacturing home-made weapons and even cigars as a means of income. As Castro gained support through radio and recruitment, the support for Batista declined as revolutionary students spread a nationwide support in assassinating Batista. Many attempts were created to kill Batista, yet none so far had been successful. In March of 1958, Batista wanted to crush the revolutionaries once and for all and sent 10,000 soldiers into the guerilla guarded territory. Clearly, Castro’s men had the advantage with advanced trained guerilla troops against Batista’s poorly trained men. Ambushes were more common as Batista’s men entered deeper into the territory and lost contact with supply lines. A decisive battle forced Batista’s men to retreat after a demoralizing sequence of battles. Castro immediately thereafter started a counteroffensive which was hoped to drive through to the capital – Havana. Using pshychological tactics such as chanting revolutionary songs, Castro was able to win many battles and on Decmeber 31, the city of Santa Clara fell to Guevrara’s troops. Batista escaped to the Dominican Republic never to return again. The news spread fast and Castro was able to peacefully enter Havana to surrendered Batista forces.
In January of 1959, Castro appoints Dr. Manuel Urrutia as President and Jose Miro as Prime Minister of the provisional governement. Only a month later, Fidel Castro becomes the Prime Minister and replaced Urrutia with Dorticos. People who had high rank in the Sierra Maestra battles slowly replaced other government officials. Guevara became director of the National Bank and later Minister of Industry. A year before in the Sierra Maestra, Castro had already planned and told the people what he would do with Cuba. He announced in a manifesto that free elections would take place and liberties of rights recognized. He hoped to reform the economy and the consitution for a more liberal and democratic Cuba. In an interview with a New York Times reporter, Castro claimed not to be anti-military, though opposed the dictatorship in Cuba. Although Castro seemed determined to make a better Cuba, in May of 1960, Castro declared that there is no reason to hold elections. Again, contrary to the promises, Castro calls for security and introduces the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR) and places agents in every neighbourhood to control social activities. A sense free rights is somewhat crushed by this new committee. Comparable to that of other one-party states, Castro creates the ‘Jose Marti Pioneers Organization’ which every child from age six to thirteen is expected to join. Although the people increasingly supported Castro after the Bay of Pigs invasion defeat, Castro abolishes the right to strike and trade union leaders were replaced with Communists, in April of 1961. The Catholic Church was shortly thereafter suppressed when two of it’s universities were closed down; religious activities and holy days were banned. Castro had now created a state opposite of what he had promised years before in Sierra Maestra. He had created a state where no free elections took place, and the rights of the people were limited. Although he did not keep his promised reforms, he was successful in changing Cuba into what he wanted without being countered by public opinion. All hope for democracy ended when in 1965, Castro replaced the revolutionary party with the Cuban Communist Party which he alone reigned as the supreme leader.
In conclusion, although Castro did not keep his promise, it is clear that Castro successfully used his power to change Cuba into what he wanted it to be – a communist state. Along with political reform, Castro also successfully increased the the agriculture such as the Agrarian Reform Law in 1959 which allowed farmers more freedom as opposed to government dependancy. The Literacy campaing in 1961 also successfully increased the literacy rate of Cuba as promised with educational reform. The power Castro had gained through his revolution was successfully practiced although not as originally planned. To this day, Cuba is still under the control of Castro and will most probably continue to be so until his death. This again underlies the successfulness of Castro as a leader.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Vail, John. Fidel Castro. USA, Chelsea House Publishers. 1988.
“Castro, Fidel” Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro
Class Notes/Lectures
