![]() ![]() If Cuba under Castro didn't make great strides towards improving the economic indicators, its social indicators didn't slide much either. Gun crime is virtually nonexistent and murder rates are below those of most Latin American countries. Poverty and unemployment persisted in Castro's Cuba, but his health and education initiatives earned praise worldwide. It's a matter of debate how much Castro adhered to the ideas that catapulted him to the world stage. ![]() If every revolution devours its children, it also devours its ideas. One of the criticisms levelled against Fidel Castro is that he had turned into an autocrat himself, who killed his enemies, threw them in jail, and asked those who condemned his regime to leave the country. It was Camus who also wrote that a rebel always rebels for freedom, whereas a revolutionary can suspend freedom in order to demand justice. In the words of his friend Ernesto Che Guevara, he was the man who had made revolutions sexy. Poor in quality assurance of the revolution in his own country, he marketed that product like an adept salesman. He remained a father figure for many politicians, athletes and writers, particularly in Latin America and Africa. The abiding mystery is how none of those diminished his aura that inspired many in the world. Nobody questioned how it was justice to hand over power to his own brother! Teeming millions, who admired him across the world, were clueless how his own people suffered under his regime. The world seldom bothered to ask if he was right or wrong in the way he ruled Cuba. Like Yaseer Arafat and Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro's popularity was rooted in his appeal that transcended other considerations. It was Castro visiting foreign leaders and foreign leaders visiting Castro that appeared in most of those pictures. It was Castro threatening the United States and the United States threatening Castro that made countless news headlines. The man and his country remained synonymous, and if one sifts through the archives, one will find that most of the news about Cuba has been news about Castro. His administration encouraged socialist revolutions in Latin America and sent troops to aid conflicts in Africa, seeking to expand socialism and gain more status in developing countries.The frame around Cuba for more than a half-century was the charisma of Fidel Castro. The 2006 British documentary, "638 ways to kill Castro", affirms his survival after over 600 attempts 1.Īfter many years in power, Castro created a one-party government and, as head of the economic administration, failed to achieve significant economic growth, becoming more dependent on the Soviet Union. attempts to overthrow Castro's regime, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion and other operations organised by the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the State Department, which continued during his lifetime. While Castro tried to overthrow the government through legal means, all attempts failed. and broke relations with the Soviet Union. ![]() In addition, he aligned himself with the U.S. Not long after, General Fulgencio Batista took power in a military coup and became the sole ruler, cancelling elections. He ran for the House of Representatives, winning a seat in 1952. After graduation, Castro became a member of the Cuban People's Party. While he studied law, he participated in many violent protests and uprisings. Fidel Castro: biography summaryįidel Castro was born in 1926 to Spanish immigrants in Cuba, where he grew up. In his many years in power, he faced opposition from the United States and numerous assassination attempts. hegemony over Cuba by creating a more egalitarian society and providing Cubans access to free education and healthcare? Or will he go down in the history books as a leader who repressed his citizens and turned Cuba into an underdeveloped country isolated from the rest of the world?įidel Castro was a polarising Cuban politician and communist revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba from 1976 to 2008. Will history remember him as a leader who ended U.S.
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