In 1959, Fidel Castro led a revolution and rose to power in Cuba. William Appleman Williams explain that Castro stated that the problem of education is one of the problems that he would take immediate steps to resolve. (Williams n.d.) Therefore, one of the social policies Castro implemented when he rose to power was his Education Reform Policy. The peak of this policy was in 1961, which Ernesto Guevara dubbed the “year of education”.
Castro wanted to expand Cuba’s education system. His primary goal was the extension of education and other social services. In his autobiography, Castro has stated that “[he is] a Socialist, a Marxist, and a Leninist” (Fidel Castro 2008). Being a Socialist indicates that Castro wanted a range of economic and social
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He wanted to start off by increasing the enrollments of children in schools. By May 1959, the percentage of children ages six to fourteen not attending schools had been cut in half. In just a few months since he rose to power, Castro was able to enroll hundreds of thousands of children into school, cutting the rate in half. Not only did Castro enroll students the year he captured power, but before 1961, the year of education, was over, he had enrolled 300,000 new students. These students ranged from all ages, and came from both urban and rural areas. By increasing enrollment rate, Castro was able to decrease illiteracy and teach more Cuban citizens, thus bettering the education system from before. In order to make it easier for children who could not afford private education, Castro created schools. He created schools for peasants and former domestic servants. Not only was Castro willing to enroll new students, he also wanted those who still would not be able to attend school to learn. These students were not just limited to children, but also included adults who had not received a proper education. This ensured that not only was the previous generation well educated, but the current generation was as
Fidel Castro entered Havana, Cuba and took his place as Prime Minister in January of 1959, just after the fall of the Batista regime. Within days, many of the Cuban upper class began exiting the island, wary of losing their socioeconomic status and possibly their lives (Leonard 13). Castro’s radical new policies appealed to most of the suppressed lower class seeking change, but the middle sector “became disillusioned with their new leader” and soon comprised the majority of the Cuban refugees in Miami, Florida (Leonard 3). Beginning in December 1960 and ending with the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, over 14,000 of those refugees wou...
Fidel was acclaimed to be intellectually gifted by his teachers, but was a trouble maker. Despite his mischievous conduct, he was a self-disciplined student and had a great deal of Spanish pride which he learned from his teachers as well as his priest (Source F). During Castro’s schooling he did not focus solely on his academics,but he focused primarily in athletics such as baseball, in which he earned a award in 1945 as the country’s best secondary school athlete((Source F).Castro was also
Little by little, the free people of Cuba came to realize it could happen there. The grim facts of life on an island that became a police state” (Frankel 59). Every day, Castro came closer to controlling every aspect of life in Cuba. Fidel Castro even took control of the schools in Cuba, throwing out any teacher who he thought might be “disloyal” or disagreeing with Communism.... ... middle of paper ...
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on the 13th of August, 1926, the third of six children, and the son of a wealthy sugar plantation owner. After Castro graduated from El Colegio de Belen in 1945, he entered law school at the University of Havana. It was during this period that Castro began to become involved politics, taking an interest in the political climate of Cuban nationalism, anti-imperialism, socialism, and social justice (http://www.biography.com/articles/fidel-castro-9241487, 2009). Castro immediately became involved with student protests, whose student groups were known to be violent and often armed, which can be attributed to the fact that there had been a government crackdown on these protesters, with students sometimes being killed or terrorized (The Real Fidel Castro, p16-17, 2003). Brutality was already present in the political system, perhaps a sign that brutality would be needed to change it.
In 1961, Fidel Castro, Cuba’s dictator, introduced the Marxist-Leninist ideology to the Cuban people, “by grafting it onto the images, symbols, values, and concepts of Cuban nationalism” (Medin 53). This ideology was promoted through what Medin describes as a world where there are no "in-betweens," but instead only "good and evil", and any straying from that perceived norm was seen as counter-revolutionary and must be removed so they wouldn’t corrupt the process of developing a “homogenous revolutionary social consciousness” (Morales-Diaz 1). “The notion of ‘counter-revolutionaries’ and the connection to capitalist nations epitomizes the revolutionary government's contempt for anyone who is not on the side of the communist revolution" (Medin 40). In that way, Castro was creating enemies of any Cubans who weren’t up to his standards. According to Arenas, this new idea of unifying Cuba came at the expense of the persecution of a large segment of the population an...
“What light is to the eyes - what air is to the lungs - what love is to the heart, freedom is to the soul of man” (Brainy Quotes). Light is essential to the eyes, love is what makes the heart beat, and freedom is the hope of man kind; all of which are essential to the happiness of humanity. Having to live without these rights is a difficult way of living. For example, Cubans have suffered time after time in pursuit of their freedom, but sadly they never accomplish their goal. They live in fear of their broken government, but never stop fighting for freedom. In the early 20th century, Cuba was a democracy. From 1940 to 1944 Fulgencio Batista, a Cuban politician, was Cuba’s president. In 1952 he decided to run again, but when it was apparent he’d lose, Batista seized power before the election took place. The citizens were outraged causing them to turn against their flawed democracy that was brought upon by the election. As a result, Fidel Castro, a communist revolutionary political man, began to plot Batista’s downfall. The Cuban Revolution, also known as Castro’s Revolution, began on July 26, 1952, and ended January, 1, 1959. After Batista, Cuba’s former president, fled the country, Castro took complete control and turned Cuba into a communist country. The Revolution brought upon: many deaths, censored news and publicity, and no freedom of speech. Throughout the years Castro stayed in power, but due to health issues originating on July 31, 2006, he had to step down. After Castro returned, he took control of Cuba up until February 19, 2008. He then abdicated his place as dictator and handed down his position to his brother, Raul Castro.
Cuba's political history carries a pattern: when the masses are disillusioned by the current ruler, they turn to a young, strong-willed leader-of-the-people as their new ruler, only to become disillusioned to that ruler when he becomes too oppressive. It has seemed a never- ending cycle. Batista and Castro were both well-regarded leaders initially who appealed strongly to the masses and common citizen. Later, both established dictatorships and lost the support of many of those that they governed. Castro and Batista are each guilt of repression and corruption within their governments. For example, at some point under each regime, the constitution was either suspended or not followed at all. Castro did, though, make one very important contribution to Cuba's political system: Socialism. For the first time, Castro and Che Guevara a socialist plan called the New Man theory which called for developing an ideology amongst citizens that would call for working not for personal enrichment, but for social betterment.
There may be some question over Fidel Castro’s achievements in providing economic success, or democracy to Cuba in the last forty five years or so. However Cuba’s record on providing egalitarian health care and education to the masses have generally been agreed as a success story, even by Castro’s old enemy the United States. “To be educated is to be free,” (Marti in Marshall, 1987, p146) has become one of the more popular revolutionary slogans and has been greatly adhered to by Castro’s government. While health care is articulated in the 1975 Cuban constitution as being “the right of all and the responsibility of the state” (Feinsilver, 1993, p26). The social political stance of Castro’s government has been the driving force behind the success in health care and education. Issues such as housing, employment, health care and education are viewed as a basic human right and are in theory guaranteed by the state to all. In Cuba, health care indicators are also seen as a measure of the government’s efficiency and performance. Other socialist states that have come and gone over the last century have also professed to put these issues at the forefront of priority. States such as Russia and China have to a lesser or greater degree failed to provide the standard of services provided in Cuba. “Until 1969 China’s health care system served only the urban population, which represented about 15 percent of the total population” (Feinsilver, 1993, p2). There are certainly factors that make this comparison unfair but Cuba’s achievements in providing these social services are still quite remarkable given its economic position. By truly placing education and healthcare as one of the fundamental priorities of the revolution, and developing specific programs and initiatives to deal with these two social issues, Cuba managed to succeeded where others more wealthy nations failed. The use of popular participation and central government control also were powerful tools in implementing these social policies. It would now be useful to look at some of these initiatives that have been taken by the Cuban government that enabled it to equal if no surpass education and health standards in many developed countries.
better education, better living condition, more jobs, equality of the social classes and a new era for the country of Cuba. with time, the people began to get disappointed with the government since, over the years, the country took a turn and Castro 's ruling became a dictatorship. Castro started to implement measures to the people of Cuba by making the things that were once given for free, cost causing discontent in the people. The government also restricted business developments and the people now had to ask for special permission (which was not always granted) to open a very small business which often did not last long. Cubans were not allowed to in any way express their discontent towards the government since Fidel also censored and restricted the freedom of expression of the Cuban people. this has also caused major immigrations from the island to the united states and other countries causing problems due to the many, many incoming immigrants. in the year of 1960 to 1962, Cuban parents sent their children (approximately fourteen hundred) to live in the united states due to fear of them being indoctrinated by the Cuban government. This was known as “Operation Peter Pan”. For the rest of the people still in Cuba, life was and still is not easy. The everyday necessities are not always available and their technology is not that advanced. in fact, it is
Fidel Castro has most certainly been a controversial dictator during his reign in Cuba. His regime has made quite the infamous name for itself during the sixties. When news spread of his, for some, long anticipated death, some were riddled with joy and took to the streets with celebration. Others were solemn for the fall of an impactful leader. However, no one could deny that he left a legacy. Majority of what we hear about Fidel Castro in the United States is negative, seeing that Fidel ousted United States backed dictator Batista and positioned himself against the United States throughout much of his time in power. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Fidel has done pretty indefensible things while in charge but he also is not totally devoid of
Everyone knows the name Fidel Castro, the revolutionary of Cuba. At the University of Havana in 1945 is where Fidel Castro began his long and treacherous journey as a radical nationalist. (Fidel: The Untold Story). He fought the infamous Flugencio Batista in the name of social justice until victory was won. He claimed to have fought for a democratic Cuba and a restoration of constitutional government and Cuban sovereignty, but he also stood for socialism and communist ideals. As Tim Padgett from Times Magazine on page 42 stated “Fidel imported old-world Marxism and its perverse notion that social justice is best delivered via the injustice of autocracy.” He supported everything the US and pro-democracy states despised and stood as a revolutionary
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.
The exodus of the majority of skilled workers brought about a rapid change in the methods employed in educating Cuba’s population. If the revolution was to be successful, Cuba needed to replace the skilled workers that left with other skilled workers in the shortest amount of time possible. In 1961, the revolutionary government developed a nationwide campaign to rid Cuba of illiteracy. The program was given slogans like “ The people should teach the people and If you don’t know learn; if you know teach”. This program consisted of volunteer teachers who would help illiterate Cubans increase their education by teaching them the fundamentals. According to Fitzgerald, “(The literacy campaign) helped to integrate town and county and to galvanize support for revolutionary goals by bringing urban and rural populations into direct contact. ( p. 41)” Also, according to Fitzgerald, “ Enrollment in adult education rose dramatically from 66,577 students in the 1960-1961 school year to a peak of 842,024 students in the 1964-1965 school year, but plummeted to 309,717 students in 1969-1970. (P. 42)” This program benefited the poorer citizens of Cuba who remained in Cuba. They w...
One of Mao Zedong’s motivations for beginning the Cultural Revolution was his view that a cutting-edge bureaucratic ruling class had surfaced because of the centralized authoritarian nature of the political system, which had little hope for popular participation in the process of economic development (The Chinese Cultural Revolution revisited). The motivations of Fidel Castro, on the other hand, were different in that he wanted all people of all classes to be equal. The notion that the poverty-stricken could live a life equal to all other humans was an immense sense of happiness and
Castro revamped the education system through implementation a number of educational programs. In doing so, he was able to provide opportunities for those that had been subjected to discrimination because of the color of their skin and their socioeconomic position. Castro also transformed the health care system, providing free access for all Cuban citizens. Moreover, comparing of the tourism sector under both Batista and Castro’s presidency it is clear the while Batista was able to increase the amount of visitors into Cuba, the people still lived in poverty. Castro attempt to improve the tourism sector and a means to generate funds were hindered by the U.S embargo, he was however able to create a new type of tourism that didn't subject the people to prostitution but a clean tourism. Instead of visitor seeking fleshly pleasures tourist visit Cuba for more positive reasons such as medical purposes and scenery. All things consider, by improving the education, healthcare, and introducing healthy tourism it can be said that the Cuban revolution in it entirety brought positive changes to the people of