As the saying goes, history often times repeats itself and one can easily see how revolutions brought the greatest results of countries, like the United States for example who gained its liberation from Great Britain. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 was a battle for independence fought by women for their liberation of traditional gender roles. This Revolution for Independence was not only an abolition of capitalism, but it was a revolution in the changes of gender roles and relations. Before the revolution, women had little importance in society, but with their perseverance, women gained status due to their participation in the Revolution of Cuba and changed how they were perceived and became valuable assets. Many have misconceptions of the Cuban Revolution and only see the biased American side of communism and dictatorship. However, there have been positive outcomes from it such as a more united country, one that the people all worked together in support of one cause, a new and improved society. The old was no longer working and change was needed in Cuba and the citizens worked together to make this change. One of the main positive outcomes of the revolutions was the gender relations and roles. Women stood up for themselves, gained confidence, and received respectable roles in society. After decades of having inequite among men and women, women for the first time was minimizing the gender gap that was present in Cuba. The Cuban Revolution began in 1959 when a small group of guerrillas overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. There were several main goals to the revolution that revolved around improvement of the lives of Cuban citizens. Even though these goals were not all completely successful, most of the fundamentals of... ... middle of paper ... ...ave women confidence because their voice was finally being heard and they had a vital position and role in their country. They began to be important contributors to society in all sectors and industries. Not only were women given recognition for services and contributions, but they were no longer being taken for granted, As Randall explained of her experiences in Cuba, 'the Cuban Revolution proclaimed women’s equality and seemed to have made enormous strides in its direction. The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) had been established at the beginning of the revolution in order to organize women around the new social goals and make their needs known to Party leadership. It quickly became a mass organization with a membership of ninety seven percent of all women over the age of fourteen. It mobilized women very effectively to an array of necessary tasks' (Lewis 1977).
In the novel “Cuban Color in Tourism and La Lucha” the author and anthropologist L. Kaifa Roland describes her journey in Cuba and the different people she encounter with that describe to her the life of a citizen in Cuba. Throughout her stay in Cuba, Roland describes the different situations people go through in Cuba economically and gender wise. She also mainly describes “La Lucha” which in the book is identified as the struggle people face and go through every day in order to get by in Cuba economically. However, the thing that caught my attention the most in the book was how women get mistreated and seen by people differently. Through my paper I am going to be discussing how women in Cuba get discriminated not just by their color or where
Following the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and the Castro regime’s subsequent alliance with the Soviet Union, Cuba emerged to play a substantial global role in Cold War politics. Most famously, Cuba featured as the staging ground for the super power confrontation of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Moreover, throughout the Cold War, Cuba provided near constant support for revolutionary movements across the Latin American region. Finally, Cuba provided crucial and direct military support for Marxist regimes in Africa through the mid 1970s until the early 1990s.
From July 26, 1953 to January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro led an uprising against the incumbent Cuban president, Flugencio Batista. This insurrection, known as the Cuban Revolution, was successful in the overthrow of the Batista government and implemented a socialist state under Castro’s rule. By 1961, Fidel Castro became the undisputed leader of Cuba with strong popular and military support. Although Castro was the figurehead for revolution in Cuba, his brother Raúl and friend Ernesto “Che” Guevara were instrumental in helping the revolution to succeed. Guevara, an Argentine native, was passionate about guerrilla movements and social revolution.
1. The Cuban Revolution was supposed to install a Marxist paradise, lifting all citizens to the same strata and abolishing traditional separations based on class, gender and race. In this brave new utopia, all bodies, regardless of skin tone, would work together to build a prosperous nation, in which all had an equal stake. In reality, however, the revolution was almost immediately co-opted by what Sawyer describes as the Creole elite. Cuba had had a long history of tense racial relations and despite the massive social and economic upheaval brought on by the revolution, this entrenched racism was not erased by the waving of the red flag, only obscured by it.
In order to fully understand why the Cuban Revolutionary War occurred, it is important to know what was happening in Cuba before the war, what was influencing Cuban decisions at that time, and what precipitated the revolution where eventually Fidel Castro came into power. In 1933 General Gerardo Machado ruled the tyrannical government in Cuba, but his regime began to disintegrate. Enter a young Cuban Army Officer, Fulgencio Batista who had caught the attention of the Cuban people. Batista began a campaign to take over the rule of Cuba. His effort was successful as he allied with unions and student groups and because the Machado regime had effectively fallen apart. Batista was Cuba’s president in the early 1940’s and ran again for President in 1952. Before the elections could be completed, Batista was afraid he would lose the election, so he seized power without warning and cancelled the elections.
The Cuban revolution was one that transformed Cuba into an independent socialist society. This revolution sent a message around the globe. The message: “ Socialism can be achieved and capitalism, with its culture stripping mechanism’s can be supplemented”. However, the revolution did leave its mark on Cuba. This can be seen in the events that took place during the early stages of the revolution. The effects of the revolution were positive for certain sections of the population and negative for others.
Cuba’s Communist Party also brought up the concern of women not taking up advance careers. The president, Fidel Castro, announced to the Federation of Cuban Women in 1974 how positions are not being filled by enough women. He even goes on to address, “This discrimination even exists within the Cuban Communist Party, where we have only thirteen percent women... [T]hey often have higher revolutionary qualifications than
Today, nothing remains of the former social role of women. Nearly all professions are open to women. The numbers of women in the government and traditionally male-dominated fields have dramatically increased. More women than men earn bachelor’s degrees. Many women's groups still prevail and are major political forces. Although the two movements hoped to achieve different things and used different tactics, they still came together to gain women’s rights and have achieved more than anyone would have ever anticipated.
The Cuban Revolution created great changes to Cuba’s government and world relations. For a long time before, Cuba had wanted independence from Spain, and after it was acquired, many reforms ensued. To today, the Cuban Revolution changed the U.S.’s stance on Cuba, Cuba’s world relations, and it’s present-day government.
But when the “Women’s Movement,” is referred to, one would most likely think about the strides taken during the 1960’s for equal treatment of women. The sixties started off with a bang for women, as the Food and Drug Administration approved birth control pills, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman, and Betty Friedan published her famous and groundbreaking book, “The Feminine Mystique” (Imbornoni). The Women’s Movement of the 1960’s was a ground-breaking part of American history because along with African-Americans another minority group stood up for equality, women were finished with being complacent, and it changed women’s lives today.
A revolution is no piece of cake. To make a revolution, there are a few necessary ingredients, like a reason to revolt, a well organized battle plan, and a powerful leader. Mix these all together, and there it is. A powerful Revolution. There are two specific revolutions that were very similar, and very successful. The american revolution was about the Colonists from Britain being treated unfairly from British Parliament. America was still under Britain Rule, and King George III was raising the taxes for the people for no reason. The colonists had no choice but revolt. The Cuban revolution was for a very similar cause. Ruler of cuba Fulgencio Batista was destroying Cuba’s economy, and the people were very angered by this. The organization was also very similar. And both countries got what they wanted, too. America got freedom from Britain, and Fidel Castro and his team overthrew Batista and took over the government. These two revolutions were both very effective.The Cuban Revolution and the American Revolution were both for the good of the people, and both revolts got what they wanted-a new, better government.
The main causes of the revolution were the corrupt way in which the country was run, the large role the US played in the running of Cuba and the poor treatment & conditions the lower class Cubans lived with. The leader before the revolution was a man named Fulgencio Batista, who came into power via a coup. He suspended the Constitution, effectively establishing a dictatorship, and increased the Cuban dependency on the US. Batista allowed the US to build casinos, reaping the profits from the casinos and from the growing drug trade. He ignored crimes, allowing many drug dealers to continue under the condition that he got a share of the profits. He, a select group of friends, and businessmen from the US, grew richer and richer while the lower class of Cuba were poor and suffering. The people of Cuba saw this corruption and resented it, causing a gaping rift between leader and people.
Kampwirth, Karen. Feminism and the Legacy of Revolution. United States of America: Ohio University, 2004. Print.
The Cuban Revolution, also partaken as the 26th of July Movement, was an armed rebellion against the Cuban President Fulgencio Batista led by Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro was very idiosyncratic towards politics and therefor joined law school at the University of Havana. In 1950, Fidel Castro graduated from law school and began practicing law. Embracing his strong interest in politics, Fidel Castro decided to become a candidate for a seat in Cuba’s House of Representatives during June 1952 elections. Before elections could be held, however, Fulgencio Batista successfully coup the previous Cuban government and cancelled the elections. Fulgencio Batista would jail his opponents and use terrorist methods to make himself and his associates a fortune. Fidel Castro, wanting to establish a communist gover...
Cuba in the early 1900’s the equality of women to men was very comparable with other Latin American countries. The women in these countries faced social constraints that limited them in their options not just because they were Latinas but as women. Women who were Latin Americans faced negativity for being women and also for being Latino by the United States. This led them to immigration in the U.S. In the Mexican Revolution it grante...