The Cuban Revolutionary War: The Causes Of The Cuban Revolutionary War

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.

And he did not respond to the concerns of the people. Before long Batista’s government became corrupt and his leadership was incompetent. Unemployment was high; almost half of the rural population was illiterate. Diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid were rampant; water infrastructure was limited. Organized crime was too powerful. The typical living arrangement for families was a hut with a thatched roof. Cuba’s industries were run by the United States. Economically the country was in shambles. Other than the intellectuals in Havana, the general population was not aware of the turmoil in the government and was not yet to a point of