Fidel Castro Essay

“The important thing is the revolution!”, said Fidel Castro, the former communist leader of Cuba (Fidel Castro Quotes). Castro established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere and ruled Cuba from 1959 to 2008 (History.com Staff 1). He is usually considered an ideological communist and even referred to himself as a radical communist, but in reality he was a political pragmatist who often did what he believed was best for Cuba, not what was necessarily communist.

Before his political career took off and he attained political power, Fidel Castro established himself as a member of the communist party. In his early years, Castro attended the law school at the University of Havana. This university in particular was known for its student activists and political agitators. At the University of Havana, Castro joined a political gang called the Unión Insurreccional Revolucionaria, which means the Revolutionary Insurrectional Union. This gang used protests and rebellion to obtain what they wanted politically, and most importantly the establishment of communism in Cuba (Encyclopedia of World Biography 1).

In 1953, Castro led 165 rebels in an attack on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago de Cuba (Charabati 2). The attack failed and Castro spent 15 years in prison, after which he ended up in exile in Mexico (Charabati 3). In Mexico, Castro met a military doctor named Ernesto “Che” Guevera who supported revolution against Cuba’s military dictator Fulgencio Batista (Charabati 3). Castro was introduced to communist and other radical ideals through Guevara and other rebels in the Moncada army barracks raid. He also sought political positions to gain the power and influence to execute his plans. When campaigning for these position...

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...aced with practical needs. In addition, Castro installed a quasi-free market economy (Charabati 3). This is when the supply and demands of products in a specific country are not controlled by the government. When someone thinks of communism, they automatically think about how in a communist society, the government controls the supply and demand of products. In the end, Castro did what was best for Cuba, not what was communist.

While Fidel Castro was an almost lifelong radical communist who usually acted in a way that was consistent with communism, he also acted pragmatically when he needed to. Castro acted in the best interest of the people of Cuba, which sometimes meant ignoring his communist principles and taking a practical approach. That practical approach sometimes involved capitalist activities and seeking alliances with or aid from the enemies of communism.