“To what extent did Fidel Castro successfully revolutionize Cuba, politically, economically, and Socially between 1959-the 1990s” Can he be considered a hero?
Through the spotlight, on Fidel Castro, it is evident that he successfully revolutionized Cuba politically, economically, and socially from 1959 through to the 1990s through the use of Guerilla warfare to overthrow Batista through civilian movement and the utilization of international relations for Cuba's economy and international affairs. These two factors contributed greatly to Castro's successful defeat against Batista’s government and thus, started the course of Cuba’s communist revolution.
Evidently, by utilizing historical context, it is coherent that Castro used Guerilla Warfare in successful attempts of revolutionizing Cuba politically, and economically. During the 1950s Castro implemented the use of Guerilla warfare with the intent of taking over Cuba by throwing Batista and his army out of power which would later successfully be achieved in early 1959. The movement became so strong that it was evident to Batista that he would not win, this premature defeat forced Batista to step down and flee the country. Economically it is clear that the use of Guerrilla warfare was extremely cost-effective and would've taken revolutionary advances over Batista’s army, as their use of warfare worked to be less costly and had no damage to Cuba’s economy. Whereas, Bastisa recruited many soldiers to fight Castro which at the time took a toll on the workforce that was already damaged. Batista’s need for defense weapons immensely disturbed the already economically struggling country. The people did not favor Batista's economical choices as they pushed the public into extreme forms of poverty and social classes. In a 1959 Partial Newsreel titled “Castro Triumphant! Revolt Success, Batista Flees as Castro takes over Cuba” we can see the social impact as the Guerilla’s marched into the city of Havana with local civilians following them as they celebrated the new rule to Cuba. The people in the videos praised the Guerrillas for their efforts as the civilians destroyed public property linked to Batista’s regime such as Casinos or high social classes’ property. As Jorge Barrera 2009 reiterated “it is the individual guerilla that sets the example for social reform and armed rebellion; the people then carry it forward” (Jorge Barrera 2009). Through video sources, we can identify a social response to the success of Guerilla warfare and why the people chose to politically prefer Castro’s new regime as it represented civilians’ future economical hopes as they welcomed Castro's ideology for a new nation. Castro explained such warfare, as “the only troops able to win the war alone - right here. Those troops are the people!'' (Address speech by commander-in-chief- Fidel Castro on his arrival in Havana on January 8th, 1959), through this extract, one can see the Cuban public was included in the revolution through the infiltration of Guerilla warfare. Castro’s utilization of the public to overthrow the Batista regime was an excellent way of revolutionizing Cuba, as civilians felt involved and their political aspirations were met. Through the study of Guerilla warfare’s influence on Castro's success in the revolution, it’s noted that it had successful political, economical, and social effects on the revolutionary outcome.
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Through international relations over time, Castro successfully revolutionized Cuba into a new reformed era. He established a major political alliance with the U.S.S.R, breaking away from ties with the USA under Batista's old regime where Cuba had previously relied immensely on American trade as a major contributor to the economy. Castro began to grow a relationship with the U.S.S.R under the common belief of communist ideology, this relationship was a major factor in the process of politically revolutionizing Cuba. In Castro's speech (facing US aggression, July 9th, 1960) he creates a social reaction by informing Cuba of the U.S.A’s previous violation of trust: “Our relations with the United States have previously been excellent in matters of support. Today this spirit has been violated”. The population felt betrayed by the recent turmoil from the US and in this time of unrest, Castro used the people’s disappointment to favor the Soviet Union, demonstrating the social impact on the population in supporting the revolution. Castro emphasizes the protection that is to come with such relations in “The Soviet ships to arrive are:” which helps persuade the Cuban public towards communist ideology, as the only resolution for the crumbling country with a corrupt economy. Through the Soviet Union’s alliance with Cuba, economic aid was given to the weakened economy, through resources such as trade agreements and financial assistance during the revolution. Such aid is reflected by Robert S. Walters in “Simultaneously there was announced a Soviet credit to Cuba of $100m. Which would be used for equipment, machinery, materials and technical assistance from the U.S.S.R over the next 5 years” (Walters 1966). In relation to the successfulness of Castro's influence in the social, political, and economical revolution of Cuba it is predominantly clear that the use of international relations assisted him in the process of revolutionizing Cuba.
Conclusively, through the study of Fidel Castro’s utilization of Guerilla warfare and international relations, it is evident that he was successful in revolutionizing Cuba into a stable and thriving political, social and economical nation.
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