...the Cuban Revolution, 1953-1959 The year was 1953 and Fidel Castro was a dashing and daring reformer that was determined to make a impact in a country that was ruled by an unjust president. With the Movement strong and confident, Castro delivered these strong words to his group of men: “In a few hours you will be victorious or defeated, but regardless of the outcome – listen well, friends – this Movement will triumph. If you win tomorrow, the aspirations of Martí will be fulfilled sooner. If we fail, our action will nevertheless set an example for the Cuban people, and from the people will arise fresh new men willing to die for Cuba. They will pick up our banner and move forward... The people will back us in Oriente and in the whole island. As in '68 and '92, here in Oriente we will give the first cry of Liberty or Death!” These words by Castro illustrates what type of leader he was and still is to this day. Castro is one of the most polarizing figures in Cuban history, with many natives of Cuba arguing that he was the central cause of the destruction of Cuba, while others consider him to be the visionary that saved Cuba from the destruction that would have come about if a capitalist system had been instituted instead of a communist one. Actions taken by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution shaped Cuba politically and socially to what we know it to be today. Fidel Castro was born in southeast Cuba, in the Oriente Province on August 13, 1926. Castro’s father was Angelo...
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...Castro was an extraordinary leader who fought for the good of his people and led them to victory in the Cuban revolution. This victory did not only prove Fidel's courage by standing up against the Cuban government and standing up for the poor, but it also demonstrated his determination to become victorious. However, in order to overthrow the government, Castro would have needed supporters for his cause, in which his charisma helped influence. Such a revolution would be impossible to achieve if Castro was not an extraordinary leader. Fidel Castro was courageous, charismatic, and determined. First, Castro always displayed courage and bravery throughout his lifetime. After he witnessed what was truly occurring in Cuba, Fidel began to doubt the political system and the rein of Batista. As a result, Fidel had begun to participate in revolutionary campaigns and speaking out against Batista. On July 26 1953, Castro participated in a battle between the guerillas and the military. Many of the guerillas were killed, but luckily for Castro, he was sent to prison and later exiled to Mexico, where he formed a revolutionary group. Forming another group displayed courage by attempting another assault on Batista and risking death. Since Castro supported communism, he was put at further risk because the concept of communism was looked down upon. "The Communist Party with only some ten thousand members, was in an uphill battle and did not have any influence to speak of"(Diary of the Cuban Revolution...
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...is viewed as both a hero and a villain, but what exactly is the accurate story behind Ernesto Che Guevara, and his impact within the Cuban Revolution? For background knowledge, Guevara arrived in Mexico City in early September 1954, upon being there for some time, he eventually met Fidel and Raul Castro. The brothers whom proposed for Che to join them in their 26th of July Movement, a plot to overthrow Fulgencio Batista, dictator or Cuba. He agreed; and by November that same year, a total of 82 rebels boarded a yacht named the Granma, with a set course to the Cuban island. The voyage had ended on December 2nd, the rebels began making way on Cuban soil, where the Cuban Revolution would officially begin, in help of Ernesto...
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...do not have the self discipline needed in order to make a more democratic, stable society. There were Catholics, lacking a protestant work ethic. Americans also pictured Latin Americans to be lazy individuals. •Modernization Theory: Once the previous idea was settled, it came to the reality that the Latin American countries had to go through modernization, such as the United States, and their feeble network on which their society rested upon was that being criticized. •Dependency Theory: Students were sure that these two previous explanations were merely methods to blame the victims of abuse. They believed that Latin American economies stood in a dependent position relative to the world’s industrial powers. Therefore other nations took their overpowering stand, and forestalled Latin America’s industrialization. “Economic dependency” is why the nation did not follow the path it was supposed to follow. •Social Constructionism: The way race, gender, class, and national identities are “constructed” in people’s minds. Discuss Michel Rolph Trouillot’s theory of historical narratives •History understood as the distinction and overlap of the socio-historical process (“what happened”) and the narratives about it (“what is said to have happened”). •Three capacities people have within socio-historic processes: actors, agents, subjects a) Agents: or occupants of the structural positions. (b) as actors in constant interference without a context. (c) as subjects, thats is...
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...mini-essay answer; 40-60 multiple-choice questions; 5-10 fill-in-the-blank questions; and 5-10 two-sentence answers. Short-essay answer: concisely answer the following questions. Be prepared to answer all of them. ACTUAL QUESTIONS FOR THE EXAM 1) Consider what you learned in lecture and from the readings by Rohter, Guimarães, Goldstein, Vaughan, and Stout. Discuss how people are racialized in Brazil and Cuba. Be sure to cover the following issues: a. What historical conditions explain the high level of inequality in these countries? Why are socio-economic conditions connected to race? (10 pts) b. Provide one concrete example from the readings that shows how constructions of race in Brazil and Cuba are similar, and one concrete example from the readings to show how they are different (10 pts) c. Discuss why identities are mediated and how media is used as part of the process of racialization (10 pts). Use one example provided in class to explain your argument (10 pts). 2) Considering the movie “Even the Rain” and from the readings by Barron, Thomson, Spronk, and Monasterios discuss the connections between extraction process, natural resources and social movements in Bolivia. a. Explain what the connections are between the extraction process, natural resources and social movements in Bolivia? Use one example from the movie and one example from the readings to develop your answer. (10 pts) b. Explain...
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...July 14, 1789, a precedent was set for a new brand of political struggle as Parisians stormed the Bastille, sparking the French Revolution and beginning a new era in popular government. This Revolution, in addition to reshaping Europe in the nineteenth century, would be the inspiration for many revolutions to follow, including the Russian Revolution. Furthermore, it established a collection of values which many revolutions would aim to uphold: liberty, equality, and fraternity. Chicago Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick, however, argues that these are aims that “almost all victorious revolutionaries inevitably dishonour.”1 By examining the Cuban and Russian Revolutions, this can be seen to be too general a statement. Under Lenin, the Russian Revolution instituted one of the most progressive constitutions yet seen,2 while Cuba, with its unique role in relations between two Cold War superpowers, stayed mostly true to its primary goals of attaining social justice and equality. The objective that tends to be the most fraught by revolutions is liberty, because in order to completely reshape a society, power must be, at least for a time, concentrated in the hands of few. Thus, the Russian Revolution, particularly under Stalin, can be said to have dishonoured the goals of the original revolution, while the Cuban Revolution under Castro, for the most part, did not. The aim of eliminating inequality was central to both the Russian and Cuban Revolutions. Since before its independence...
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...The Cuban professional league, dominated by the rivals Habana Lions and Almendares Scorpions, was thriving as baseball was the sport that captured the hearts of Cubans throughout the 20th century. That all ended in 1959. The baseball landscape and the landscape of the entire nation was changed when Fidel Castro became the leader of Cuba in January 1959 during the Cuban Revolution. Baseball has always been a preoccupation of Castro’s, an avid baseball fan since childhood. Castro was well aware of the popularity of baseball as well as the powerful unifying ability of the national pastime. Playing off of the historical connection between baseball and patriotism, Castro began to shape the sport’s identity to fit the revolutionary aims. Just as...
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...The Cuban independence movement was one that spans over 100 years with many false starts. We will be looking at what led up to Cuba’s independence from Spain at the end of the Spanish American War. One thing that you will notice is there was no single person or movement that led the charge to independence, but a mix of people from all walks of Cuban life. We will also see that Spain made some of the same mistakes that Great Brittan had had with the United States, helping to push the Cubans to want change. Let us start with a little bit of history leading up to the major moves to independence. As early as 1790 the idea of independence was popular in Cuba, with the first attempt at revolution taking place in 1791, led by José Antonio Aponte....
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...exports (cbsnews.com). It was estimated by Texas A&M that the annual cost to the US economy could be as high as $4.84 billion in agricultural exports (treasury.gov). The same study calculated that removing the restrictions on agricultural exports and travel to Cuba could create as many as 6,000 jobs in the US (treasury.gov). With billions of dollars being lost as well as thousands of job opportunities being missed out on, there is no argument strong enough to keep the embargo. Not only do these restrictions affect Americans, they also cause severe impacts on the Cuban people. There exist two very distinct economies, one for the residents, one for the visitors. Fidel Castro led the revolution movement to equalize economic life in a country with a handful of rich and millions of poor. A key economic boost was thanks to the Soviet Union. But by 1991 the Soviet Union dissolved and its assistance to Cuba ended. Loss of Soviet financial support and the continuing U.S. economic embargo resulted in severe poverty (huffingtonpost.com). Since the Castro Revolution, all Cubans received less than $20 a month, barely enough to survive (huffingtonpost.com). Cubans must make do with what little they have. They rent rooms in their home, convert their kitchen into small restaurants, sell embroidery table cloths along the street and even doctors drive the family car as taxi cabs after they go home from work (huffingtonpost.com). This embargo clearly strikes down on the Cuban people more so than the...
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...The uprising Cuban Revolution was one of the minor causes to the missile crisis. By 1958 Fidel Castro had taken over the Cuban “presidency” with the full support of his fellow communist followers in the Cuban government. He gradually gained their trust when he was first introduced as a cabinet member for President Batista in 1943. At this point in time Castro had an overwhelming amount of support from his countrymen, and as his first act as the President of Cuba he trimmed the prices of rent throughout the country, however many land owners in Cuba were American, leaving many Americans frustrated with Castro. Despite what Americans thought of Castro he greatly improved the lives of Cubans, he nearly eradicated polio and malaria, installed a...
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...Hesbon ogeka LA history &politics 4/12/2013 The Cuban Missile The Cuban Missile Crisis remains an example of one of the most terrifying events in history for the people of the world. A very real threat existed for the crisis to escalate and create World War III, which would include the annihilation of countries and cause unimaginable damage from the use of nuclear weapons by the United States and the former Soviet Union. The conflict had historical roots in the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, as well as in the history of relations between the United States and Cuba. The strife between the United States and Cuba culminated when Fidel Castro overthrew a government publicly supported by the United States, although political and military officials in the United States secretly welcomed the events. However, it soon became clear that the takeover of Cuba by Castro would result in escalating conflict between it and the United States, something that quickly became more evident in the Bay of Pigs invasion and Operation Mongoose; both designed to eliminate Castro from the political field in Cuba. The Soviet Union supported Castro’s regime and Cuba’s stand, and forced its hand with the placement of nuclear missiles on the island. The United States countered, and the two countries played out their hands to determine the fate of the world. In the end, the United States and the Soviet Union came to an agreement, both sides attempting to avoid a nuclear...
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...Eron Jenkins History of News Media Jeff Johnson November 28, 2011 Spanish-Language Newspapers in Ybor City and New Mexico In 1898, the Cuban War for Independence ended. 12 years later, the Mexican Revolution against the autocratic president Porfirio Díaz began. Not surprisingly, the ramifications of these two events were not limited to Cuba and Mexico. Thousands of Spanish speaking people came to the United States in search work and asylum. In Tampa, Florida, in a neighborhood called Ybor City, cigar manufacturers offered work to immigrants from Cuba and Spain. Conversely, in New Mexico, Spanish speaking people had lived in the region north of the Rio Grande for hundreds of years. However, growth and stability in the region offered new opportunities to Americans from the east and Mexican immigrants from the south. The goal of this paper will be to examine the development and content of Spanish language newspapers in these two areas from 1900-1910 by looking at two newspapers: El Diario de Tampa of Ybor City and La Estrella of La Cruces, New Mexico. To understand any aspect of any culture one must note the historical context in which the event occurs. In this case, the goal is to study the history of the news media, specifically newspapers, in Ybor City and New Mexico. Because of the corresponding migration and revolutionary atmosphere, the context of the development of the newspapers in these two places is similar. However, they diverge in terms of their...
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...This paper will explain why united States order a trade embargo against Cuba? What are the results for both countries? [What was the effect of the embargo on the citizens of Cuba and what was the result of the embargo on the US?], and what did the Cuban Government do to retaliate against the Trade Embargo? Finally, look at the strategic results and necessity for trade embargo in a globally interconnected economy. When the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish American war of 1898, Cuba along with Puerto Rico and Guam were signed over to the United States by Spain. The United States had the right to involve in the affairs of Cuba at any time. When Castro overthrew the existing government, run by President Batista, the United States supported this action by imposing arms embargo against the Batista government in 1958. Then in or about 1960, Castro not only seized private lands and companies of Cuban citizens, but also subsidiaries of the United States of America. This is when the Eisenhower administration imposed trade restriction with the exception of food and medical supplies. Not only was Castro started trading with the Soviet Union; but the Soviet Union also building missile bases in Cuba; the United States severed all ties and imposed a permanent embargo on Cuba at the direction of President Kennedy on February 7th, 1962 He first ordered 1200 Cuban cigars, before signing the Embargo. Trade embargoes have long been...
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...In Biran, Cuba’s eastern Oriente Province, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926. The third of six children, Fidel’s brothers are Raul and Ramon and his three sisters; Angela, Emma, and Augustina. His father was a Spanish soldier who arrived to Cuba during the American-Spanish war. In Cuba, he became a wealthy sugar plantation owner who conducted his business with the US. Lina Ruz Gonzalez, Fidel’s mother, was the servant of the house in Alejandro’s previous marriage. Alejandro later married Lina by the time Fidel was 15 years old. For tourists in the late 50s, Cuba was the center of luxury. It was the playground for Americans. However for Cubans, poverty dominated their lives. Both education and health care systems were poor. Living conditions were even worse than any of the...
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...of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes. ---Che Guevara. Who was Ernesto “Che” Guevara and why did he chose to live the life of a revolutionary when he could have been an affluent doctor in Buenos Aires? Why was he to always be a “foreigner” when he loved his Argentina? What motivated him to leave his opportune life in an aristocratic family to attempt to achieve a better world for others? Che was a man with a lust for battle. No matter what he attempted, he went for it with everything he could possible give. But, what did he accomplish in that life? When his life is examined and his endeavors looked at closely, did he really make a difference in helping others to have a better life? Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 14, 1928. His father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch and his mother Celia de la Serna y Llosa were both blue-blooded aristocrats. His father’s family had lived in Argentina for over twelve generations and his mother’s family had land, both signs of money in this land of immigrants. Che’s father was “a cultivated man, very intelligent, he was active in the ranks of the Radical Party” (page 4, Compañero). Che’s mother who with her sister’s influence, would become a”socialist, anticlerical feminist” (page 4, Compañero). This heritage, especially his mother’s influence, was Ernesto’s foundation to his revolutionary life. Ernesto’s early life was ridden with lung ailments. He contracted pneumonia less than two months after...
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