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Castro: Consolidation of Power (1959-62) (Second: consolidated the…
Castro: Consolidation of Power (1959-62)
General
Castro came to power certain that Cuba needed a new government and a new order
this new order needed to be based on Cuba's economic independence
Castro believed that the influence of the USA on Cuban affairs had caused many of the economic and social problems of the nation
rather than just end Batista's corrupt dictatorship, demands were made to:
improve living conditions
return political rights of Cubans
redistribute land
improve working conditions
improve wages
make health and education accessible to all
biggest problem was how to meet these dam ands in the shortest period of time
split into 4 main stages:
Fourth:
exploited the ideas that Cuba was threatened by USA - appealed to the people's sense of nationalism
Third:
launched reforms to show that revolution lived up to its promises and to gain support
Second:
consolidated the position of the 26th of July Movement within the Provisional Government
First:
removed people associated with Batista's regime
Castro's Ideology
often discussed whether Castro had always intended to align the revolution with Marxist or if this was the product of US policies that pushed Cuba into the arms of the USSR
in 1959, it was not clear that Cuba would adopt a communist ideology
including liberals in the provisional government indicated that the revolution was changing tyranny -> democracy
Castro seemed to not want to commit himself to any specific ideology or detailed programme
he publicly denied any relation between the 26th of July Movement and the communists
at press conference at Havana Presidential Palace on 27th Feb 1959, by Castro:
'the 26 July movement is one with radical ideas, but it is not a communist movement, and it differs basically from communism on a whole series of basic points'
'the thinking of the 26 July movement is not communist thinking'
he refused to answer questions about which global political ideology matched his own
any observance of a fixed set of principles, such as communism, would have restricted the methods at Castro's disposal
First:
removed people associated with Batista's regime
citizens who had served the Batista government and armed forces were imprisoned
either executed or given long prison sentences
their properties were confiscated as they were brought to trial
trials criticised not only in Cuba, but in the USA as well - for not offering human rights guarantees to prisoners
those who believed justice had not been done were told that the revolution was endangers by these people, therefore 'immediate justice' was more necessary than a fair trial
trials did not conform to the standards of justice
trials took place with little time to assess the real participation in the Batista regime of each individual
Second:
consolidated the position of the 26th of July Movement within the Provisional Government
Historians
Louis A. Pérez Jr, Cuba: Between Reforms and Revolution, 1988
'by the end of the year, anti-communism had become synonymous with counter-revolution'
'in October, Raúl Castro assumed charge of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), and forthwith launched a thorough reorganisation of the military, distributing key commands to only trustworthy officers.
'the appearance of the PSP in the armed forces, in turn, led to the wholesale resignation and in some cases, arrest of anti-Communist officers.'
'personal turnovers in the government, in part voluntary, in part forced, increased quickly thereafter. Liberals and moderates resigned, or were forced out, their placed taken by loyal fidelistas and members of the PSP'
implemented dramatic changes in the organisation of political parties in Cuba
1961: various revolutionary organisations that had acted under Batista were unified under the Integrated Revolutionary Organisations (ORI)
1962: ORI became the Partido Unido de la Revolución Socialista de Cuba (PURSC; United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba)
1965: the party was renamed Partido Communist Cuban (PCC; Cuban Communist Party)
the growing influence of PCC and communist ideas in the government was looked at with suspicion
Huber Matos, a leader of the 26th of July Movement, did not support the turn to the left
he resigned as Military Chief of Camagüey (where he was immensely popular) because:
his resignation would be a great embarrassment for Castro - also feared that his attitude would encourage more dissidence within the movement
1 more item...
he objected to Castro's refusal to set a date for elections in Cuba
he opposed the increasing influence of communist ideas in the revolution
even within Castro's inner circle - Raúl Castro and Che Guevara welcomed the revolutions turn to the left, but not everyone supported this shift
developed its children's organisation (the José Martí Pioneers)
developed its youth branch (Young Communist League)
began to publish its own newspaper,
Granma
PCC remains the only officially authorised political party in Cuba (has ruled since 1965)
other political parties in Cuba cannot participate in elections
formed by the 26th of July Movement, the PSP and Directorio Revolucionario (Revolutionary Directorate - a revolutionary student organisation)
aimed to provide government with a political party of its own
July 1959, President Urrutia resigned - he was opposed to the increasing influence of communists in the government, and Castors refusal to hold elections
replaced by Osvaldo Dorticós - remained president until 1976 constitution was passed
6 weeks after provisional government took over, Prime Minister Cardona unexpectedly resigned
Castro stepped in as Prime Minster
enabled revolution to move quickly - implemented reforms that transformed country into a communist state
by the end of 1961, he was supported in this move to the left by members of the PSP
provisional government represented many political sectors, but real authority was with Castro from the start
he was seen everywhere and heard by everyone
he approached people in a way that Cuba had never experienced - going out into the streets and travelling across the country to meet them face to face
not uncommon to see Castro in a rural village discussion who should repair tractors or fix refrigerators for the people
his almost daily speeches appealed to the people's hopes for a new Cuba
based on grand ideas of leaders of independence and the ideals of social justice, economic security and political freedom
Castro set up an office outside the presidential palace at Havana Hilton hotel - as commander of Cuban armed forces
provisional government established in January 1959 - formed by a significant number of liberals
led by moderates Manuel Urritia (President) andJosé Miró Cardona (Prime Minister)
hoped to moderate the left-wing elements (26th of July Movement, PSP, Cuban communist party)
Third:
launched reforms to show that revolution lived up to its promises and to gain support
Castro focused on his role as a man of action, designing policies to bring about these changes
Castro offered every sector of society what they needed:
women promised they would be able to work in equal conditions to men
middle class promised they would be able to become professionals
improved working conditions for urban workers
land for rural workers
work for unemployed
Reforms:
an increase in wages and the reduction of rents
created great enthusiasm amongst lower class
antagonised middle and upper classes
Foreign-owned companies began to face waves of strikes
as workers took advantage of a more favourable political situation to demand increases in wages and improved working conditions
workers found support in the new government, which intervened in many of the conflicts (often in favour of the workers)
some foreign companies were threatened with expropriation
those accused of representing countries that had provided Batista with weapons
important taxes were imposed on 'luxury goods'
with several aims:
making these items more expensive to reduce imports - therefore, less money was spent on them by Cubans
government hoped that the money raised from taxes could be invested in industrialisation and diversification of the economy
break with the sugar monoculture
this affected the USA - its sales to Cuba decreased by 35%
education and health reforms
to improve living conditions
literacy campaign of 1961
Most significant measure in this period was the
Agrarian Reform Act:
aimed to:
make Cuba less dependent on sugar
make agriculture more efficient
make the distribution of land more equitable
this act had been promised by the rebels during the Sierra Maestra days
what did it do?
restricted land that could be owned
anyone having more than the established limit had the excess expropriated and received bonds in compensation
expropriated land was to be organised in cooperatives (an association managed by the people who work in it)
bonds - an official document issued by a government/company to show that you have lent them money they will pay back to you at a fixed interest rate
expropriation - taking property out of an owners hand by public authority
nationalised the land in foreign hands - ended both Cuban and foreign ownership of large estates
still allowed private medium (and small-sized) farms
these farms would be the targets of the 2nd (1963) and 3rd (1968) Agrarian Reform laws
responses
to the act:
opposed by property owners affected by the reform
widely criticised in the Cuban press
raised alarm in the USA
companies affected saw it as a confiscatory measure and refused to settle for compensation of Cuban bonds
Washington began to consider cutting the sugar quota in retaliation
Effects
allowed Castro and the PSP to become more popular among many sectors of society
allowed them to consolidate their position in the government
Many Cubans became less concerned about when Castro would call for elections and restore the constitution
they accepted the ideas that it was necessary to first dismantle the old political, social and economic systems
certain level of resistance to the changes
small groups opposed the pace of the revolution and took up arms in some parts of the country
local opposition was controlled by government - did not lead to major crises
particularly at this stage because Castro still allowed those against the revolution to leave the country
January 1959 - October 1962: approx. 250,000 people left Cuba . Included:
former
bastistianos
middle-class citizens - who feared the radicalisation of the revolution
members of religious congregations - who disliked the communist nature of the reforms
Castro less successful at dealing with opposition from USA
1959-1962: relations between Havana and Washington deteriorated dramatically
2 major incidents:
the Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961)
the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Fourth:
exploited the ideas that Cuba was threatened by USA - appealed to the people's sense of nationalism. Limits threat of external opposition
American-Cuban Relations (1959)
even before 1959, Castro made it clear he believed Cuba needed to develop its economy away from the US
when US interests bagan to be affected by Cuban policies, Washington pressed other countries to prevent economic aid reaching Cuba
Castro then ordered expropriation of US property in Cuba
therefore, Eisenhower cancelled the sugar quota (this measure extended into an economic embargo - intensified in Oct 1960 dater all US banks in Cuba had been confiscated)
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961)
it's failure limits threat from external opposition (USA)
While Cuba was cementing it's relation with Moscow, Washington was planning an invasion of Cuba
plan aimed to use Cuban exiles, trained as a paramilitary force, to return to Cuba and overthrow Castro
President J.F. Kennedy (1961-63) had promised a tough attitude against the penetration of Marxism in Latin America
he approved the plan (had been devised during Eisenhower's administration)
Cuban exiles trained in Guatemala and Nicaragua
US troops would not be directly involved in the invasion
instead, the Cuban Revolutionary Council (an anti-Castro group, led by former Prime Minister Miró Cardona) which was exiled to USA, was to take over and from a provisional government after the defeat of Castro
Outcome
failed
when troops landed in Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón), Cuban forces (led by Castro) defeated them and imprisoned more than 1,000
Castro emerged from Bay of Pigs more powerful than before
the victory against USA made Cubans conclude that Castro was making Cuba a stronger country
reinforced the credibility of the revolution
the image of Castro leading the resistance against the invasion added new dimension to his hero-worship reinforcing Cuban nationalism
provided Castro with a visible enemy - needed to allow him to demand increasing commitment to the revolution
Cubans needed to remain united and accept the leadership of Castro in preparation for another attack
the hope that the invasion would spark spontaneous uprisings against Castro rev elated that the significance of his reforms had not been understood by Washington
tempted the USSR to establish stronger military ties with Cuba (and a military presence within Cuba itself)
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
October 1992
Washington and Moscow confronted each other over the Soviet placement of nuclear missies on the island
took the world to the brink of a nuclear war
After 13 days of tense negotiations, the Soviets removed the missiles dismantling the sites in Cuba (public)
in exchange USA would remove its nuclear weapons from Turkey (private) and promise not to invade the islands
good for Cuba but it did mean the Soviet would no longer defend the island
by 1962, Castro had:
freed himself from the
bastistianos
and the liberals in government
extinguished revolts in the provinces
implemented revolutionary domestic policies
removed threat from other figures from the revolution being in a condition to dispute his authority
become more radical by accepting Soviet assistance and making it public that he was a Marxist-Leninist
December 1961: 'I am a Marxist-Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life'
Cuba and USSR Relations
as tensions increased between USA and Cuba, Cuban relations with USSR improved
probably partially due to direction of early reforms
May 1960, Soviets established formal diplomatic relations between the two countries
previously Cuban-USSR relations had been severed due to Batista's coup in 1952
trade agreements signed - Cuba found a new market for its sugar production
USSR granted Castro loans to purchase industrial equipment and weapons
before long USSR promised to help Cuba 'prevent an armed United States intervention against Cuba'