The Story Of Fidel

Fidel Castro, believed to be born in 1926, Cuba's leader since 1959. Fidel Castro claimed power in 1959 following the Cuban Revolution, an armed revolt that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He became prime minister of Cuba in 1961 and shortly thereafter cancelled elections and suspended Cuba's constitution. Castro ruled without regard for the 1940 constitution until 1976, when the nation enacted a new constitution that allowed limited electoral participation by Cuban voters. Cuba's National Assembly elected Castro president of the country in 1976. Castro transformed Cuba into a socialist nation, inaugurating wide-ranging changes in the country's social and economic systems. He instituted programs that dramatically increased the nation's literacy rate and provided quality health care to almost all Cubans.



The socialist nature of Castro's government sent many members of the elite and professional classes into exile. Government seizures of properties and business holdings, the suspension of elections, the militarization of society, control of the media, and the politicization of education convinced conservatives and moderates to seek exile in Spain, Mexico, France, and, primarily, in the United States.

In 1956 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and about 80 armed followers returned from exile in Mexico and landed on the southern shore of Cuba. Government troops killed most of the rebels during the landing, but Castro and a handful of men escaped to the mountains of eastern Cuba, where they continued a guerrilla campaign to oust Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista fled the island on January 1, 1959, and Castro emerged as the leader of the new government in Cuba. During the 1960s through the 1980s, Castro allied himself with the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); in addition, he supported revolutions of national liberation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and became a leader among heads of state in nations that had recently won their freedom from colonial powers. Castro and his socialist government faced strong opposition from the United States, which formerly had been Cuba's ally and main trading partner. United States businesses with holdings in Cuba opposed Castro's seizure of their property and many U.S. politicians saw Castro's socialist policies and alliance with the USSR as a threat to the security of the United States.

In 1956 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and about 80 armed followers returned from exile in Mexico and landed on the southern shore of Cuba. Government troops killed most of the rebels during the landing, but Castro and a handful of men escaped to the mountains of eastern Cuba, where they continued a guerrilla campaign to oust Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista fled the island on January 1, 1959, and Castro emerged as the leader of the new government in Cuba.