Fulgencio Batista Y Zamivar Research Paper

Introduction

In a democracy people are allowed to vote, speak freely and have faith in their government. This is because they live in a democratic society. However, even in the modern (Post WWII) world there are many non-democratic governments, such as dictatorships, that abuse the rights of their subjects and are corrupt. Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship in Cuba from 1952 to 1959 is an example of the differences between democracies and dictatorships.

History of the Dictatorship

Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was born on the 16th January 1901 in Banes, Cuba. After leaving at the age of fourteen, following the death of his mother, and working several years on farms in poor conditions he joined the army at the age of 20. During his time in the army he married his first wife, Elisa Godínez y Gómez. He rose through the ranks until, in 1933, he led a coup against General Machado. Machado’s successor was unable to stay in power for very and was soon replaced by a short term five-member Presidency. After just 100 days, Ramón Grau San Martín was made President, however Batista held the real power. In 1940 he ran for election and succeeded implementing several progressive policies. In the next

When the government is elected, they aren’t allowed to just make up whatever policies they want to, they’re limited by both constitution and convention. Separation of Powers between the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary is the most prominent method, however there are many more. Batista, as a dictator could make law, policy or organization he wanted to without needing to refer to anyone first and could overturn the decisions of the courts. He used his power to create a secret police force, like the Gestapo, to eliminate his enemies as well as revolutionaries. Democratic methods of checking government were not present in Batista’s dictatorship and because of this he had unlimited