Biography castro fidel

The disappearance of Soviet aid precipitated the collapse of the Cuban economywhich entered what came to be known as the "Special Period". Castro had to open the country to tourism and foreign investment, while continuing a harsh repression against all forms of dissidence. He survived the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

His government was the first communist regime in Latin Americataken as a model by anti-imperialist movements worldwide. At the same time, it was heavily criticized by international public opinion due to its authoritarian nature and the systematic persecution of dissidence and homosexuality. Thus began an alliance that led Guevara to join the Cuban communist guerrilla movement, becoming one of its most prominent figures.

Guevara became part of Fidel Castro's revolutionary governmentserving in various positions such as President of the National Bank of Cuba, director of the Department of Industrialization of the National Agrarian Reform Institute, and Minister of Industry. In addition, he led various Cuban diplomatic missions, remaining in Cuba untilwhen he decided to assist revolutionary forces in other countries in Africa and Latin America.

Convinced of the need to export the revolution, Che traveled to the Congo, Angola, and finally Boliviawhere he was captured and executed in His remains were actively sought by the Cuban government until That year, they were taken to Santa Clara, Cuba, where they rest in the Ernesto Guevara Memorial alongside other guerrilla leaders. Fidel Castro died on November 25,in Havana at the age of The cause of his death was not disclosed, though he had been away from public life for several years due to ill health and advanced age.

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Though Cuba was still heavily subsidized by the Soviet government during this period, those expeditions ultimately proved unsuccessful and put a strain on the Cuban economy. Meanwhile, the United States' agreement not to invade Cuba had not precluded attempting to topple the Castro regime in other ways. Over the years, Castro was the target of numerous CIA assassination attempts an estimated in all, according to Cuban intelligenceranging from exploding cigars to a fungus-infected scuba-diving suit to a mafia-style shooting.

Castro took great delight in the fact that none of the attempts ever succeeded and was quoted as saying that if avoiding biography castro fidel attempts was an Olympic sport, he would have won gold medals. Castro's regime has been credited with opening 10, new schools and increasing literacy to 98 percent. Cubans enjoy a universal healthcare system, which has decreased infant mortality to 11 deaths in 1, 1.

But at the biography castro fidel time, civil liberties were whittled away, as labor unions lost the right to strike, independent newspapers were shut down and religious institutions were harassed. Castro removed opposition to his rule though executions and imprisonments, as well as through forced emigration. Though there are no exact numbers, the Cuba Archive estimates that tens of thousands were murdered, with a documented 5, killed by firing squads alone.

Even more Cubans were killed by state forces when they tried to flee the country, which occurred during the Canimar River Massacre and the Tugboat Massacre of During Castro's rule, hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled the country, many settling just across the Florida Straits in Miami. The largest of these exoduses occurred in when Castro opened up the port of Mariel to allow exiled Cubans living in Miami to come claim their relatives.

Upon their arrival, Castro also loaded the ships with Cuban prison inmates and mentally ill people. In all, nearlyCubans left their homeland in to find sanctuary in the United States. After the collapse of the Soviet Union sent Cuba's economy into a tailspin, Castro's revolution began to lose momentum. Without cheap oil imports and an eager Soviet market for Cuban sugar and other goods, Cuban unemployment and inflation grew.

The contraction of the Cuban economy resulted in 85 percent of its markets disappearing. Yet Castro was very adept at keeping control of the government during dire economic times. He pressed the United States to lift the economic embargo, but it refused. Castro then adopted a quasi-free market economy and encouraged international investment. He also legalized the U.

Inafter massive damage was caused by Hurricane Michelle, Castro declined U. President George W. Bush 's administration assented and authorized the shipment. With the fuel supply running dangerously low, Castro ordered factories to be closed and sent thousands of Cuban doctors to Venezuela in exchange for oil imports. In the late s, speculation began to arise over Castro's age and well-being.

Numerous health problems had been reported over the years, the most significant occurring inwhen Castro underwent surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding. Following Castro's surgery, his only appearances were in photographs and video recordings of meetings. On February 19,year-old Castro permanently gave up the Cuban presidency due to his deteriorating physical condition.

In Aprilnews broke that Castro officially stepped down from his role within Cuba's Communist Party. Castro claimed that he had actually resigned the post five years earlier. In his retirement, Castro began writing a column about his experiences and opinions, called "Reflections of Fidel," and in his autobiography My Life was published. From mid-November to early Januaryhowever, Castro failed to publish any columns.

This sudden silence sparked rumors that Castro had taken a turn for the worse. But these stories soon proved to be unfounded, as Castro put out a flurry of articles later that January. Though not involved in the day-to-day affairs of running Cuba, Castro still maintained a certain degree of political influence both at home and abroad.

He continued to meet with foreign leaders, such as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad induring their visits to Cuba. There was a nationwide literacy campaign. Sanitation and health improved with the establishment of rural hospitals and clinics. Confiscation of private property brought virtually all industrial and business enterprises under state control.

Religious institutions were suppressed and clergymen expelled from the island. In December Castro openly declared himself to be a Marxist Leninist. He merged all groups that had fought against Batista into the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations, changed it later into the United Party of the Socialist Revolution, and transformed it into the Communist Party of Cuba—the island's only ruling party—in Castro had allowed the U.

When President Kennedy protested and negotiated the missiles' removal directly with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Castro felt humiliated. Shortly thereafter, pro-Soviet Cuban Communists were eliminated from positions of power. By the Organization of American States had ended all diplomatic relations with Cuba, effectively isolating that country in South America and increasing its dependence on the U.

Until the end of Castro had attempted to maintain a position of neutrality in the Sino-Soviet dispute. Cuba's relations with China deteriorated, and early in Castro denounced the Peking regime. By supporting the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia inhe demonstrated his dependence on the Soviet Union as well as his determination to move closer to the Soviet camp.

Another source of conflict in Cuban-Soviet relations was Castro's determination to export his revolution. After the Havana Conference the Soviet Union was temporarily able to slow down Castro's support for armed struggle in Latin America. Castro's efforts, however, were mostly unsuccessful, as evidenced by the failure of Che Guevara 's guerrilla campaign in Bolivia in Nevertheless, Castro's efforts in this regard continued through the s.

Despite the improvements that he brought to Cuba— the country boasted a 94 percent literacy rate and an infant mortality rate of only 11 in 1, births in —Castro was constantly condemned for human rights abuses. Political prisoners crowded Cuban jails, while homosexuals, intellectuals, political dissidents, and others were constant victims of government-sponsored violence.

Inperceiving him a threat, Castro authorized the execution of former friend General Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez on trumped-up drug smuggling charges. One of Castro's goals was to remove opposition to his rule, which he accomplished not only with executions and imprisonments, but through forced emigrations. Taking advantage of the situation, Castro loaded boats with prison inmates, long-term psychiatric patients, and other social undesirables.

During the government-directed exodus, overCubans left their homeland for sanctuary in the United States, causing a small crisis upon reaching Miami. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early s, Castro's revolution began to lose momentum. Without support from its Soviet allies, who had subsidized much of Cuba's economy via cheap petroleum and a large, ready market for the country's all-important sugar industry, unemployment and inflation both grew.

In addition to adopting a quasi-free market economy, encouraging international investment in Cuba, and developing a tourist industry designed to draw foreign currency into his country, Castro began pressing the United States to lift the trade embargo it had imposed upon Cuba since the revolution. The U. Inthe U. Congress even tightened the embargo.

Still, U. Cuban relations had begun to show signs of warming by the latter part of the s: Castro visited the United States inand invited Cuban exiles then living in the United States to return to their homeland and start businesses. Resolute in his determination to preserve some form of socialism in his country, Castro prepared to groom a new generation of Cuban leaders while also effectively restoring stability to the Cuban economy and regaining support among its people.

There is extensive literature on Castro. Herbert L. Matthews's sympathetic Fidel Castro contains valuable insights into Castro's personality. Fidel Castro is the Cuban prime minister and first secretary of the Communist party of Cuba. A lawyer by training, Castro led the Cuban Revolution and transformed the island into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere.

Castro's parents had not planned to send their young son to school, but he was so set on getting an education that he talked them into letting him go when he was only six or seven years old. Castro studied in Jesuit schools in Oriente and in HavanaCuba. He was a motivated student who did well in agriculture, history, and Spanish, and he was also an exceptional athlete.

Meanwhile he showed little interest in socializing. In Castro entered law school at the University of Havana, biography castro fidel student activism, violence, and gang fights were common. Although police suspected him of the murder of a rival student leader and other violent actions, nothing was proven. Castro developed a reputation for his personal ambition and public speaking ability, yet he never became a well-known student leader.

In Castro temporarily left the university in order to join an expedition led by writer Juan Bosch to overthrow the government of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo — The coup was called off during the ocean voyage to Dominica. Castro jumped into the shark-infested waters and swam to shore carrying a gun over his head. He joined the mobs and roamed the streets, distributing anti- United States material and stirring a revolt.

Pursued by Colombian authorities, the Cuban students sought asylum, or protection, in the Cuban embassy. Afterwards, Castro flew back to Havana and resumed his law studies. At the university Castro was exposed to different ideologies ideas shared by a class. The ideas of fascism a strong central government headed by one absolute ruler and communism where goods and services are owned by the government and distributed among the people were widely discussed.

Castro soon found a calling with Cuba's Ortodoxo party, which stressed economic independence, political liberty, social justice, and an end to corruption. The couple had one son, Fidelito, in Because Castro had no income with which to support his family, the marriage eventually ended. Elections were never held, however. For Castro, violence seemed the only way to oppose the military takeover.

Castro was captured, tried, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. After being released by an amnesty a government pardon inCastro was sent to Mexico CityMexico. There he began organizing an expedition against Batista called the 26th of July Movement. On December 2,Castro and eighty other men landed in Oriente Province. After encounters with the army, in which all but twelve of his men were killed or captured, Castro fled to the Sierra Maestra.

In these mountains, Castro designed a guerrilla operation, where a small band of revolutionaries would attempt to remove Batista. Castro emerged as the undisputed leader of the anti-Batista movement, and his guerrillas increased their control over rural areas. On April 9,Castro called a national strike.

Biography castro fidel

It was called off after Batista ordered strikers to be shot on sight, causing massive shootings. Soon Batista began losing power within his military. On January 1,Castro and his July 26th Movement assumed power and began public trials and executions of "criminals" of the Batista government. A powerful speaker and a charismatic leader, Castro began exercising an almost mystical hold over the Cuban masses.

He also emphasized his commitment to democracy and social reform, and he promised to hold free elections — all while denying that he was a communist. Castro confiscated forcefully took wealth "illegally" acquired by Batista's followers. He greatly reduced rents, and passed a law that confiscated inherited property — all moves hinting at Castro's communist leanings.

By the end of many military leaders left and were replaced by communist radicals. This internal trend toward a communist agenda appeared in foreign policy too. Castro accused the United States of taking actions against his revolution. Afterwards, Cuba established relations with other communist countries, mainly the very powerful Soviet Union. On January 3,U.

President Dwight Eisenhower — broke relations with Cuba. Kennedy —attempted an invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. The invasion failed. In December Castro merged all groups that had fought against Batista into the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations. In it became the Communist Party of Cuba — the island's only ruling party. In foreign affairs Castro moved closer to the Soviet Union.

In October Cuban-Soviet relations reached a boiling point during the Cuban Missile Crisiswhere the United States faced off biography castro fidel the communist powers over the presence of Soviet-owned nuclear arms in Cuba. When President Kennedy avoided confrontation and directly negotiated the missiles' removal with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev —Castro felt humiliated.

Another source of conflict in Cuban-Soviet relations was Castro's determination to take his revolution into other countries. After the Havana Conference, the Soviet Union was temporarily able to slow down Castro's support for armed struggle in Latin America. Castro's efforts, however, were mostly unsuccessful, as evidenced by the biography castro fidel of former Cuban revolutionist Che Guevara 's — guerrilla campaign in Bolivia in Despite the improvements that Castro brought to Cuba, he was constantly criticized for human rights abuses.

Political prisoners crowded Cuban jails, while homosexuals, intellectuals, and others were constant victims of government-sponsored violence. One of Castro's goals was to remove opposition to his rule, which he accomplished not only with executions and imprisonments, but also through forcing people to leave the country. The largest of these, the Mariel Boat Lift, occurred in response to a riot in Havana.

In mid-April of Castro opened the port of Mariel to outsiders, particularly exiled Cubans living in MiamiFloridawho sailed into port to claim their relatives. Castro took advantage of the situation. He loaded boats with prison inmates, long-term psychiatric patients, and other people whose presence in Cuba was not welcomed. More than thousand Cubans left their homeland for the United States, causing a small crisis upon reaching Miami.

Without support from its Soviet allies, unemployment and inflation increase in prices both grew in Cuba. Castro began pressing the United States to lift the trade embargo suspension of trade it had imposed upon Cuba since the revolution. Castro visited the United States inand invited Cuban exiles then living in the United States to return to their homeland and start businesses.

In the summer of a Cuban-U. The mother died during the trip, but the son, Elian Gonzalez, was rescued and brought to America. Castro was heavily involved in the dispute over custody between Elian's relatives in the United States and his father in Cuba. Elian eventually returned to live with his father in Cuba. On July 26,Castro led what may have been the largest government-organized march in Cuban history to protest the United States embargo of Cuba.

The march also celebrated the forty-seventh anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. On August 13,Castro celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. The leader of Cuba is said to be showing his age, but he still manages to speak for hours on end and sleeps only a few hours every night. He also named his brother Raul Castro as his successor the person who will take over for him when he leaves office.

Castro, Fidel. My Early Years. New York : Ocean Press, Geyer, Georgie Anne. Kansas City : Andrews McMeel, Quirk, Robert E. Fidel Castro. New York : Norton, Rice, Earle. The Cuban Revolution. San Diego : Lucent Books, Castro, Fidel gale. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Learn more about citation styles Citation styles Encyclopedia.

Revolution InCastro went on to study law at the University of Havana, and it was there that he became involved in politics. A new Cuban government In the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of Batista's government, Castro appeared to be inclined toward a democratic government. A tug of war Castro's success in maintaining independence from the United States earned him admiration in Latin America and throughout the Third World.

Building tensions Castro reacted to the U. This would provide the Soviets with a strategic military base in the Western Hemisphere and protect Cuba from American attack. Cuban Missile Crisis One year after the Bay of Pigs invasion attempt, Kennedy and his advisors began an intensive debate about how to respond to the informal alliance between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Home front Although Cuba retained its political independence, the Cuban economy came to depend on billions of dollars in Soviet aid. Leonard, Thomas M. Castro and the Cuban Revolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, New York: Norton,