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Essays on the history of cuba
Causes and effects of rise of castro in cuba
Cuba during the modernization period
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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
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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
Before that can be established, I think a definition of democracy should be stated so that it may be called upon later in this essay. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, democracy is stated as "the principle of social equality and respect for the individual within a community" .
Batista’s Rise Revolt of the Sergeants Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar was born on January 16th, 1901 in Banes, Cuba. His parents, named Belisario Batista Palmero and Carmela Zaldivar Gonzalez, had fought in the Cuban War of Independence and worked as farmers throughout Batista’s childhood. His mother Carmela named him Ruben and had him keep her last name, Zaldivar. When Batista ran for presidency in 1940, he registered under the name Fulgencio Batista.
Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 in Buran, Cuba to the parent’s foreigners Angel, and Lina Castro Ruz. He is the son of a successful sugar cane planter. Fidel Castro was known for his athletic skill and for his smarts. He went to the school for and started studying under the law career at the University of Havana. In 1946, he had been in a few newspapers because of his speeches, and a year later Castro joined the socialist Party of the Cuban People.
In the situation Castro was in, his resources of other comrades like Guevara and his knowledge of Cuba and the Cuban people were evident in his successful entry and acceptance in Cuba as a revolutionary. Furthermore, Batista’s frantic, brutal retaliation against the people of his own country paved the way toward his downfall by losing civilian and international support, that all eventually ended up in Castro’s hands. In taking the country in 2 years time, Castro has been one of the most successful revolutionaries in history and is a prime example of the effects of guerrilla warfare when integrated properly with the desires of the society that is being undertaken. Castro stated in History Will Absolve Me “They [Batista's military dictatorship] have tried to establish the myth that modern arms render the people helpless to overthrow tyrants” (Castro), he claims of the power a group of people with a common goal have, even in an unlikely situation, and he went on 5 years later to confirm this with the success of the 26th of July Movement.
Many factors led to the rise of Castro’s power but finally after popular up-rises and other communistic approaches like the overthrowing the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, led to him being sworn in as Cuba’s prime minister and took power in the winter of 1958 (source A & F). He turned the country of Cuba into a one-party dictatorship with a gulag which evoked fear in the hearts of his fellow
It seemed that Batista almost enjoyed antagonizing his people. He formed profitable links to the organized crime groups in Cuba, just so he could antagonize his people. The fact that he was doing this was a strong reason why they revolted.... ... middle of paper ...
...e to the nature of Democracy it lacks righteousness but it could never be considered corrupted. A Democratic regime based on egalitarian rights allows for qualified citizens to share in the government under the sovereignty of the law. In this type of regime the majority class rules, allowing for all citizens to have a true say in the pertinent matters in regards to their regime or city.
Both Batista and Castro contributed to the extremism of Cuba's military/political history. As many Cuban leaders had done before him, Fulgencio Batista was part of a militant movement that overthrew his predecessor, Carlos Manuel de Cespedes y Quesada. During this movement, Batista was chief staff of the army, which eventually led to his attaining control of Cuba. In a similar manner, Fidel Castro overthrew Batista. Instead of staging a coup, Castro was the leader of the best organized force of anti-Batista groups during the Cuban Revolution. Because of the guerilla warfare that Castro and other groups were waging against Batista, he eventually resigned from office and fled to the country.
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
Democracy is “...the word that resonates in people’s minds and springs from their lips as they struggle for freedom and a better way of life...” (Schmitter and Karl, 1991:75). However, the word democracy has many different means depending on the country and context it is used in. “Every country has is own culture and comes by its political system through its own history” (Greenberg, 2007:101, cited in Li, 2008:4). Li, (2008) states that because of China’s political structure the usual road to democracy may be difficult for it to achieve. The western idea ...
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
...ople define democracy. Not only does it bring up the complex question of what a democracy really is but also, depending on the definition of democracy, it question whether the theory is accurate or inaccurate. For instance, if one views democracy to be a system of government where there is equality and the people are free and autonomous, it could be argued that democracies go to war with each other and have in fact done so. On the other hand, if the definition of democracy is clear, straightforward maybe even restrictive, the truth of the theory comes forth. If democracy is defined as a political system where universal suffrage exists, then it really can be argued that democracies do not conflict with each other and no democracies have. This does lead to the conclusion, that for this theory to apply, countries considered to be democracies must really be democratic.
What is democracy? Democracy a form of government in which the people freely elect representatives to govern them in a country, democracy guarantees free and fair elections, basic personal and political rights and independent court of law. There are two types of democracy, direct and indirect democracy. Direct democracy or pure democracy is where there is direct participate of the people; people make decisions for them instead of letting them representative make decision for them. Indirect democracy the decisions are made by the representative on behalf of the people that voted for them. All over the world people are having different views with regard to democracy and how it operates. “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried” ~ Winston Churchill, some have said democracy is the worst government form of government which I also think it’s! Due to the how it operates.
Democracy has come to mean a principle under whose flag has most of the developed countries aced in their race for Imperialism. It has gone beyond all previous governing systems and has made room for progress and development. By offering free and fair elections, democracy has redefined human dignity and patriotism. It has also helped to improve decision-making among the citizens, and brought down the crime level. Democracy is for sure the most fitting among the other types of government, and needs to be implemented fully for effective functioning of a state.
A democracy could only survive if people voice their opinions, ask questions, and if the society is educated. Disobedience leads to some of the most unfortunate of things, such as death. People either believe that the above information is 100 % spot on, while others believe none of it is true. Part of this is because people come from different places in the world and have many different opinions. The opinions may be about what allows a democracy to survive and why some of the most terrible things happen. A democracy is only one of the forms of government that allow a society to survive, whether or not it is the best one.