Batista's Revolution As A Result Of The American Revolution

In the final days of 1958, ragged rebels began the process of driving out forces loyal to Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. By New Year’s Day, the nation was theirs, and Fidel Castro, Ché Guevara, Raúl Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos and their companions rode triumphantly into Havana and history. The revolution began long before, however, and the eventual rebel triumph was the result of many years of hardship, guerrilla warfare and propaganda battles.

Batista’s revolution began in 1952. The former Army sergeant seized power, while leading a coup in the 1952 elections. Batista was the former president during World War 2. After reestablishing him self, he for president ran once again. Batista was in distant third and decided to use the armed forces of Cuba to gain control.

In almost of overnight action the election was canceled with Batista in power.

The Cuban Armed forces backed the president fully. Batista inherited a country that was relatively prosperous for Latin America. Although a third of the population still lived in poverty, Cuba was one of the five most developed countries in the region.

In the 1950s, Cuba's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was roughly equal to that of Italy at the time. Even with high corruption and inequality under Batista, Cuban industrial worker's wages rose significantly. The average industrial salary in Cuba was the world's eighth highest in 1958, and the average agricultural wage was higher than some European nations. However, despite an array of positive indicators, in 1953, the average Cuban family only had an income of $6.00 a week, while 15 to 20 percent of the labor force were

unemployed.
In 1952 only a third of the homes in Cuba had running water. The power supply was below par. There were regular brown outs and the country had no money to improve these conditions.
The economy was suffering from there export of sugar. The world price continued to be unpredictable. With a majority of the Cuban population being in agriculture, this was untamable for them. The beauty of Cuba was world know and Batista wanted to increase tourism. He believed he could use the women of Cuba to bring Americans to the new nation.
The casinos had acquired a bad reputation for cheating tourists. Batista called in American gangster, gambling and financial expert Meyer Lansky to restore matters. Meyer Lansky brought in all new dice that couldn’t be altered and hired enforces to ensure casino employees didn’t cheat. Customers began to flock to the casinos. In a time magazine interview, the American ambassador was asked why the Cuban regime tolerated notorious gangsters, he said, ‘It’s strange, but it seems to be the only way to get honest casinos.
With the tourism sector growing, Cuba appeared to have a bright future a head of its self. This future was limited with the sugar markets continuing to be unstable. The world price in mid 1952 fell to an all time low. Cuba who had a Mon exports began to lose money. The nation couldn’t pay its debts and the there credit score was lowered.
Cuban tourism blossomed and helped the economy to boom. Since Batista was faced with Communist opposition his regime grew tyrannical and his secret police were notorious for torture and murder. Fidel Castro landed a small expeditionary force in Oriente province at the end of 1956, there was an attempt to assassinate Batista in 1957 and by the end of 1958 the regime’s days were clearly