The consolidation of the Cuban Revolution is a period in Cuban history typically defined as starting in the aftermath of the revolution in 1959 and ending in 1962, after the total political consolidation of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

as the

supreme leader A supreme leader or supreme ruler typically refers to powerful figures with an unchallenged authority, such as autocrats, dictators to spiritual and revolutionary leaders. Historic examples are Adolf Hitler () of Nazi Germany, Francisco ...

of Cuba. The period encompasses early domestic reforms,

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

, and the ousting of various political groups. This period of political consolidation climaxed with the resolution of the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

in 1962, which then cooled much of the international contestation that arose alongside Castro's bolstering of power. This period of political consolidation is also called the radicalization of the revolution, because of the changing ideological nature of Fidel Castro and his provisional government. While the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

had been generally liberal in nature, various controversies pushed Castro and the new provisional government to become increasingly

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism ...

anti-American Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...

, and eventually Marxist-Leninist. The political consolidation of

in the new Cuban government began in early 1959. It began with the appointment of communist officials to office and a wave of removals of other revolutionaries that criticized the appointment of communists. This trend came to a head with the Huber Matos affair and would continue so that by mid-1960 little opposition to Castro remained within the government and few independent institutions existed inside Cuba. As Castro's rule became more entrenched, between 1959 and 1960, Cuba's relationship with the United States began to falter. In the immediate aftermath of the 1959 revolution, Castro visited the United States to ask for aid and boast of land reform plans, which he believed the U.S. government would appreciate. Throughout 1960 tensions slowly escalated between Cuba and the United States due to the nationalizations of various American companies, retaliatory economic sanctions, and counterrevolutionary bombing raids. In January 1961, the U.S. cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba, and the Soviet Union started to solidify relations with Cuba. The U.S. feared growing Soviet influence in Cuba and backed the

Bay of Pigs Invasion The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called or after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States of America and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front ...

of April 1961, which later failed. By December 1961, Castro for the first time openly expressed his communist sympathies. Castro's fears of another invasion and his new Soviet allies influenced his decision to put nuclear missiles in Cuba, triggering the

. In the aftermath of the crisis, the United States promised not to invade Cuba in the future; in compliance with this agreement, the U.S. withdrew all support from the Alzados, effectively crippling the resource-starved resistance. The counterrevolutionary conflict, known abroad as the

Escambray rebellion The Escambray rebellion was an armed conflict from 1959 to 1965 in the Escambray Mountains during which several insurgent groups fought against the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro. The military operation against the rebellion was called th ...

, lasted until about 1965, and has since been branded as the "Struggle Against Bandits" by the Cuban government. There are various historiographical interpretations of the political consolidation that occurred between 1959 and 1962. There is a periodization of these events, as the beginning of the "militarization of Cuba" which includes a long process of domestic militarization which climaxed in 1970. There is the "grassroots dictatorship" model, which argues that the removal of liberal rights after the Cuban Revolution was the result of mass support and citizen deputization. This mass support came from a popular enthusiasm for national defense against American invasion. There is also the "betrayal thesis" which posits that the political consolidation of Fidel Castro was a betrayal of the democratic aims of the

against Batista.

Background

Ideology of the Cuban Revolution

The Cuba Revolution () was an armed revolt conducted by

and his fellow revolutionaries of the

26th of July Movement The 26 July Movement (; M-26-7) was a Cuban vanguard revolutionary organization and later a political party led by Fidel Castro. The movement's name commemorates the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, part of an at ...

and its allies against the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

of Cuban President

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

. The revolution began in July 1953, and continued sporadically until the rebels finally ousted Batista on 1 January 1959, replacing his government. The beliefs of Fidel Castro during the revolution have been the subject of much historical debate. Fidel Castro was openly ambiguous about his beliefs at the time. Some orthodox historians argue Castro was a communist from the beginning with a long-term plan; however, others have argued he had no strong ideological loyalties.

Leslie Dewart Leslie Dewart (December 18, 1922 – December 20, 2009) was a Canadian philosopher and Professor Emeritus at the Graduate Department of Philosophy and the Centre for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. Dewart was born in Madrid, ...

has stated that there is no evidence to suggest Castro was ever a communist agent. Levine and Papasotiriou believe Castro believed in little outside of a distaste for

American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...

. While Ana Serra believed it was the publication of . As evidence for his lack of communist leanings they note his friendly relations with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

shortly after the revolution and him not joining the Cuban Communist Party during the beginning of his

land reforms Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

. At the time of the revolution the

involved people of various political persuasions, but most were in agreement and desired the reinstatement of the

1940 Constitution of Cuba The 1940 Constitution of Cuba was implemented during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista on 10 October 1940. It was primarily influenced by the collectivist ideas that inspired the Cuban Revolution of 1933. Widely considered one of the most pro ...

and supported the ideals of

Jose Marti Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean * Jose ben Hala ...

Che Guevara Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...

commented to

Jorge Masetti Jorge José Ricardo Masetti Blanco (born 31 May 1929; disappeared 21 April 1964), also known as "Commander Segundo", was an Argentinean journalist and guerrilla leader. Born in Avellaneda, Masetti entered the jungle at Salta and after 21 April 1 ...

in an interview during the revolution that "Fidel isn't a communist" also stating "politically you can define Fidel and his movement as 'revolutionary nationalist'. Of course he is anti-American, in the sense that Americans are anti-revolutionaries".

Flight of Batista

On 31 December 1958, the

Battle of Santa Clara The Battle of Santa Clara was a series of events in late December 1958 that led to the capture of the Cuban city of Santa Clara by rebel forces under the command of Che Guevara at the end of the Cuban Revolution. A decisive victory for the re ...

took place in a scene of great confusion. The city of Santa Clara fell to the combined forces of Che Guevara, Cienfuegos, and Revolutionary Directorate (RD) rebels led by Comandantes Rolando Cubela, Juan ("El Mejicano") Abrahantes, and

William Alexander Morgan William Alexander Morgan (April 19, 1928 – March 11, 1961) was an American-born Cuban guerrilla commander who fought in the Cuban Revolution, leading a band of rebels that drove the Cuban army from key positions in the central mountains as par ...

. News of these defeats caused Batista to panic. He fled Cuba by air for the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

just hours later on 1 January 1959. Comandante William Alexander Morgan, leading RD rebel forces, continued fighting as Batista departed and had captured the city of

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

by 2 January. Cuban General

Eulogio Cantillo Eulogio Amado Cantillo Porras (13 September 1911 – 9 September 1978) was a major general in the Cuban Army. General Cantillo served as a senior Cuban Army officer during the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, but did not participate in the mi ...

entered Havana's

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

, proclaimed the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

judge

Carlos Piedra Carlos Manuel Piedra y Piedra (or Carlos Modesto Piedra y Piedra) (1895–1988) was a Cuban politician who served as the Interim President of Cuba for nearly a day (January 1, 1959) during the transition of power between Fulgencio Batista and rev ...

as the new president, and began appointing new members to Batista's old government. Castro learned of Batista's flight in the morning and immediately started negotiations to take over

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. On 2 January, the military commander in the city, Colonel Rubido, ordered his soldiers not to fight, and Castro's forces took over the city. The forces of Guevara and Cienfuegos entered Havana at about the same time. They had met no opposition on their journey from Santa Clara to Cuba's capital. Castro himself arrived in Havana on 8 January after a long victory march. His initial choice of president,

Manuel Urrutia Lleó Manuel Urrutia Lleó (; December 8, 1901 – 5 July 1981) was a liberal Cuban lawyer and politician. He campaigned against the Gerardo Machado government and the dictatorial second presidency of Fulgencio Batista during the 1950s, before ser ...

, took office on 3 January.

1959: "Year of Liberation"

Rebel victory

Castro learned of Batista's flight in the morning of January 1 and immediately started negotiations to take over

, would later take office on 3 January. The new revolutionary government would name 1959 the "year of liberation", because of the year's efforts to deconstruct the old Batista government structures. Castro had made his opinion clear that lawyer

should become president, leading a provisional civilian government following Batista's fall. Politically moderate, Urrutia had defended MR-26-7 revolutionaries in court, arguing that the Moncada Barracks attack was legal according to the Cuban constitution. Castro believed Urrutia would make a good leader, being both established yet sympathetic to the revolution. With the leaders of the junta under arrest, Urrutia was proclaimed provisional president on 2 January 1959, Urrutia had been chosen because of his prestige and acceptability to both the moderate middle-class backers of the revolution and to the guerrilla forces who took part in the alliance formed in Caracas in 1958. with Castro erroneously announcing he had been selected by "popular election"; most of Urrutia's cabinet were MR-26-7 members. On January 8, 1959, Castro's army entered Havana. Proclaiming himself Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of the Presidency, Castro – along with close aides and family members – set up home and office in the penthouse of the Havana Hilton Hotel, there meeting with journalists, foreign visitors and government ministers. On 11 January 1959

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News ...

would interview

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

and broadcast it on

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

. In the interview Ed Sullivan refers to Castro and other rebels as "a wonderful group of revolutionary youngsters" and point out their admiration for Catholicism. Fidel Castro would deny the rebels affiliation with communism. Hours after the interview Fidel Castro would ride on captured tanks into the capital in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.ruling by decree, Castro pushed the president to issue a temporary ban on all political parties, but repeatedly stated that they would get around to organizing multiparty elections; this never occurred. He began meeting members of the Popular Socialist Party, believing they had the intellectual capacity to form a socialist government, but repeatedly denied being a communist himself. Once in power, President Urrutia swiftly began a program of closing all

brothels A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe t ...

, gambling outlets and the national

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

, arguing that these had long been a corrupting influence on the state. The measures drew immediate resistance from the large associated workforce. The disapproving Castro, then commander of Cuba's new armed forces, intervened to request a stay of execution until alternative employment could be found.

Tribunals and executions

The first major political crisis arose over what to do with the captured Batista officials who had perpetrated the worst of the repression. During the rebellion against Batista's dictatorship, the general command of the rebel army, led by Fidel Castro, introduced into the territories under its control the 19th-century penal law commonly known as the ''Ley de la Sierra'' (Law of the Sierra). This law included the death penalty for serious crimes, whether perpetrated by the Batista regime or by supporters of the revolution. In 1959 the revolutionary government extended its application to the whole of the republic and to those it considered war criminals, captured and tried after the revolution. According to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, this latter extension was supported by the majority of the population, and followed the same procedure as those in the

Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

held by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

after World War II. To implement a portion of this plan, Castro named Guevara commander of the

La Cabaña Fortress LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

prison, for a five-month tenure (2 January through 12 June 1959). Guevara was charged by the new government with purging the Batista army and consolidating victory by exacting "revolutionary justice" against those regarded as traitors, ''chivatos'' (informants) or

war criminals A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostag ...

. As commander of

La Cabaña ''Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña'' (Fort of Saint Charles), colloquially known as La Cabaña, is an 18th-century fortress complex, the third-largest in the Americas, located on the elevated eastern side of the harbor entrance in Havana, ...

, Guevara reviewed the appeals of those convicted during the revolutionary tribunal process. The tribunals were conducted by 2–3 army officers, an assessor, and a respected local citizen. On some occasions the penalty delivered by the tribunal was death by firing-squad. Raúl Gómez Treto, senior legal advisor to the Cuban Ministry of Justice, has argued that the death penalty was justified in order to prevent citizens themselves from taking justice into their own hands, as had happened twenty years earlier in the anti-Machado rebellion. Biographers note that in January 1959 the Cuban public was in a "lynching mood", and point to a survey at the time showing 93% public approval for the tribunal process. Moreover, a 22 January 1959,

Universal Newsreel Universal Newsreel (sometimes known as Universal-International Newsreel or just U-I Newsreel) was a series of 7- to 10-minute newsreels that were released twice a week between 1929 and 1967 by Universal Studios. A Universal publicity official, S ...

broadcast in the United States and narrated by

Ed Herlihy Edward Joseph Herlihy (August 14, 1909 – January 30, 1999)Cox, Jim (2008). ''This Day in Network Radio: A Daily Calendar of Births, Debuts, Cancellations and Other Events in Broadcasting History''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . was an Ameri ...

featured Fidel Castro asking an estimated one million Cubans whether they approved of the executions, and being met with a roaring "''¡Si!''" (yes). Between 1,000 and 20,000 Cubans are estimated to have been killed at the hands of

Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...

's collaborators, and many of those sentenced to death were accused of having committed

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and physical atrocities. The newly empowered government carried out executions, punctuated by cries from the crowds of ''"¡al paredón!"'' (

o the O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), ...

wall!) It is widely believed that those executed were guilty of the crimes of which they were accused, but that the trials did not follow

due process Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual p ...

. File:Fusilamiento de Cornelio Rojas.jpg, Shooting of Colonel Rojas. (January 7, 1959) File:Ejecución de Espia de Batista en 1959.jpg, Execution of suspected ''Batistiano'' spy (January 10, 1959) File:Fusilamiento_de_Aristides_Diaz.jpg, Execution of Arístidez Díaz in Manzanillo, assisted by Father José Luis Sarragoitia Lazpica. Behind are bodies, recently executed. (January 12, 1959). File:Pelotón de fusilamiento durante la masacre de la Loma de San Juan.jpg, Firing squad for Lieutenant Enrique Despaigne Noret, during the San Juan Hill massacre. (January 12, 1959). File:Frank Sturgis sobre una fosa común de la masacre de la Loma de San Juan.jpg,

Frank Sturgis Frank Anthony Sturgis (December 9, 1924 – December 4, 1993), born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the five Watergate scandal, Watergate burglars whose capture led to the end of the presidency of Richard Nixon. He served in several branches ...

stands over a mass grave, after the San Juan Hill massacre. (January 12, 1959). File:Last rites of Jose Rodriguez.jpg, Former corporal Jose Rodriguez, gets last rites from Father Domingo Lorenzo at San Severino Castle. Andrew Lopez received the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Photography for his execution photos. (January 17, 1959) File:Sacramentos a Ramon Llópiz Reytor antes de su ejecución.jpg, Priests from Manzanillo give last sacraments to Ramón Llópiz Reytor before his execution by firing squad (January 30, 1959). File:Fusilamiento de Alejandro García Olayón.jpg, Captain Alejandro García Olayón is executed by a rebel firing squad led by René Rodríguez Cruz (December 10, 1959). File:Fusilamientos en Santa Clara.jpg, Victims of an execution. Unclear date.

Reforms and electoral delay

Fidel Castro firma como Primer Ministro - 1959

Disagreements arose in the new government concerning pay cuts, which were imposed on all public officials on Castro's demand. The disputed cuts included a reduction of the $100,000 a year presidential salary Urrutia had inherited from Batista. On February 7, 1959, the Fundamental Law of the Republic went into effect. The law eliminated the legislature, and the irrevocability of ministers and judges. A

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

was formed which directed government, with Prime Minister

José Miró Cardona José Miró Cardona (22 August 1902 – 10 August 1974) was a Cuban politician. He served as Prime Minister for a period of some six weeks in early 1959, following his appointment by President Manuel Urrutia on 5 January 1959. On 13 February ...

as head. The President was not allowed to attend council meetings, and could only veto decrees made by the council. The law in total, suspended the Constitution of 1940. Following the surprise resignation of Miró in February, Castro assumed the role of prime minister; this strengthened his power and rendered Urrutia increasingly a figurehead president. As Urrutia's participation in the legislative process declined, other unresolved disputes between the two leaders continued to fester. His belief in the restoration of elections was rejected by Castro, who felt that they would usher in a return to the old discredited system of corrupt parties and fraudulent balloting that had marked the Batista era. Starting in March 1959, Fidel Castro announced in a speech he would attempt to end racial discrimination in Cuban society. He detailed a plan to bring black and white Cubans together in shared schools and other institutions, via equal opportunity. In a later televised discussion Castro claimed his plans were mostly to improve economic conditions for black Cubans and that he is not encouraging total social integration. Social clubs were to be totally integrated, private beaches opened, and schools totally nationalized. Private schools that once had majority white student bodies were now nationalized and faced an influx of new black and mulatto students. Social clubs were told to integrate as early as January 1959. White and black social clubs began to dissolve. Racism became branded as counterrevolutionary and critics of the government were often branded as racists. Some white Cubans were fearful of integration, while some black Cubans were fearful of the closing of black social clubs and its effects on

Afro-Cuban Afro-Cubans () or Black Cubans are Cubans of full or partial sub-Saharan African ancestry. The term ''Afro-Cuban'' can also refer to historical or cultural elements in Cuba associated with this community, and the combining of native African a ...

cultural life. On April 9, 1959, Fidel Castro announced a delay in elections, under the slogan " revolution first, elections later". The cause of the delay was a supposed focus on domestic reforms. Urrutia was accused by the '' Avance'' newspaper of buying a luxury villa, which was portrayed as a frivolous betrayal of the revolution and led to an outcry from the general public. He denied the allegation issuing a writ against the newspaper in response. The story further increased tensions between the various factions in the government, though Urrutia asserted publicly that he had "absolutely no disagreements" with

. Urrutia attempted to distance the Cuban government (including Castro) from the growing influence of the

Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

within the administration, making a series of critical public comments against the latter group. Whilst Castro had not openly declared any affiliation with the Cuban communists, Urrutia had been a declared

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

since they had refused to support the insurrection against Batista, stating in an interview, "If the Cuban people had heeded those words, we would still have Batista with us ... and all those other war criminals who are now running away".

Fidel Castro's visit to the United States

Fidel Castro during a visit to Washington

On 15 April 1959, Castro began an 11-day visit to the United States, at the invitation of the

American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of m ...

. Fidel Castro made the visit in hopes of securing U.S. aid for Cuba. While there he openly spoke of plans to nationalize Cuban lands and at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

he declared Cuba was neutral in the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. He said during his visit: "I know the world thinks of us, we are Communists, and of course I have said very clear that we are not Communists; very clear." On April 19, 1959, 97 soldiers left on the yacht Mayari, from Puerto Surgidero in Batabanó, Cuba, to Playa Colorada, San Blas, Panama; arriving at 8:00 pm on Friday, April 24. The invasion party was made up of three Panamanians, one Puerto Rican, one Argentinean, and the others being Cuban. Fidel Castro was touring the United States at the time of the invasion, and declared that the Cuban government took no direct part in plotting the invasion.

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...

, the wife of Panamanian invasion leader

Roberto Arias Roberto Emilio Arias (26 October 1918 – 22 November 1989), known as "Tito", was a Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat and journalist who was the husband of ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn. Arias was from a prominent Panamanian political fam ...

, later claimed in her memoir that Arias had met with Castro earlier in January, and was promised soldiers and weapons. While touring the United States, Fidel Castro met with Vice President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

and discussed developments in Cuba. They disagreed as to the timeliness of elections, and economic plans for Cuba, but both agreed that Latin America did not need American weapons, but instead American investment. At the end of their meeting, Nixon wrote of Castro that: The invasion force in Panama eventually surrendered, on 1 May 1959 after negotiating with the investigating committee of the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

consisting of representatives from Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Paraguay. The invading force claimed that their surrender was in accordance with Castro's orders.

Agrarian reform and resignations

In the summer of 1959, Fidel began nationalizing plantation lands owned by American investors as well as confiscating the property of foreign landowners. He also seized property previously held by wealthy Cubans who had fled. He nationalized sugar production and oil refinement, over the objection of foreign investors who owned stakes in these commodities. On July 17, 1959, Conrado Bécquer, the sugar workers' leader demanded Urrutia's resignation. Castro himself resigned as

Prime Minister of Cuba The prime minister of Cuba (), officially known as the president of the Council of Ministers () between 1976 and 2019, is the head of government of Cuba and the chairman of the Council of Ministers (cabinet). The prime minister is the third-hi ...

in protest, but later that day appeared on television to deliver a lengthy denouncement of Urrutia, claiming that Urrutia "complicated" government, and that his "fevered anti-Communism" was having a detrimental effect. Castro's sentiments received widespread support as organized crowds surrounded the presidential palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which was duly received. On July 23, Castro resumed his position as premier and appointed

Osvaldo Dorticós Osvaldo may refer to the following people: Given name *Osvaldo Alonso (born 1985), a Cuban football player * Osvaldo Ardiles (born 1952), an Argentine football player and coach *Osvaldo Bagnoli (born 1935), an Italian football coach *Osvaldo Bido ...

as the new president. Arresto de Huber Matos

In July 1959, army commando Huber Matos grew suspicious of the new government after the deposition of President

, and attempted to soon resign. On 26 July, Castro and Matos met at the

Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.astro Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (born Terence Wilson) (1957–2021), rapper and member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie ro ...

and Che uevaraare flirting with Marxism ... but you have the situation under control ... Forget about resigning ... But if in a while you believe the situation is not changing, you have the right to resign."

Huber Matos Huber Matos Benítez (26 November 1918 – 27 February 2014) was a Cuban military leader, political dissident, activist, and writer. He opposed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista from its inception in 1952 and fought alongside Fidel Castro, ...

, military chief of

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

province, had complained to Fidel Castro that communists were being allowed to occupy leadership positions in the revolutionary government and the army. Finding Castro unwilling to discuss his concerns, Matos sent a letter to Castro resigning his command. Castro denounced Matos and sent troops to occupy key positions in Camagüey, expecting incorrectly that Matos would lead a revolt, and named Cienfuegos to take command and to arrest Matos. Matos pleaded with Cienfuegos who was a close friend, to listen to his concerns, but Cienfuegos assured him it could be worked out and arrested Matos. Shortly after Hubert Matos' detention various other disillusioned economists would send in their resignations. Felipe Pazos would resign as head of the National Bank and be replaced within a month by

. Cabinet members Manuel Ray and Faustino Perez also resigned. The scandal is noted for its occurrence alongside a greater trend of removals of Fidel Castro's former collaborators in the revolution. It marked a turning point where Fidel Castro was beginning to exert more personal control over the new government in Cuba. Matos' arresting officer and former collaborator of Fidel Castro:

Camilo Cienfuegos Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán (; 6 February 1932 – 28 October 1959) was a Cuban revolutionary. One of the major figures of the Cuban Revolution, he was considered second only to Fidel Castro among the revolutionary leadership. The son of An ...

, would soon die in a mysterious plane crash shortly after the incident. The

was already suspicious of Fidel Castro after he enacted the Agrarian Reform Law banning foreigners from owning land and his appointment of communist Nuñez Jimenez as head of the reform program. U.S. President

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

refused any aggressive action against Cuba knowing it would push Cuba towards an alliance with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the Cold War.

Emigration

By the middle of 1959 various new policies had affected Cuban life such as the redistribution of property, nationalization of religious and private schools, and the banning of racially exclusive social clubs. Those that began to leave the island were driven by them being negatively affected by new economic policies, their distaste with new national public schools, or anxiety over government supported racial integration. Many middle class emigrants were often professionals that were tied to American companies that were nationalized. Many of the emigrants that would leave believed they would be returning soon to Cuba, believing the U.S. would soon intervene and overthrow the Fidel Castro government. Some of those exiled in the United States would organize a militant resistance to the Fidel Castro government. The flight of many skilled workers after the revolution caused a “ brain drain.” This loss of trained professionals sparked a renovation of the Cuban education system to accommodate the education of new professionals to replace those that had emigrated.

1960: "Year of Agrarian Reform"

Sanctions and internal repression

Journalists and editors began to criticize Castro's left-ward turn, the pro-Castro printers' trade union began to harass and disrupt press actions. In January 1960, the government proclaimed that each newspaper need to publish a " coletilla": a clarification, by the printers' union at the end of every article that criticized the government. These "clarifications" signaled the start of press censorship in Castro's Cuba. As the United States began to grow colder in relations with Cuba, the Soviet Union began much warmer relations. In February Soviet Deputy Premier

Anastas Mikoyan Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan (; , ; ; – 21 October 1978) was a Soviet statesman, diplomat, and Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, the head of state of the Soviet Union. As a member of th ...

visited Havana which resulted in a major Cuban-Soviet trade agreement which gave Cuba Soviet oil in exchange for sugar. CheLaCoubreMarch

Cuba-United States relations were heavily strained after the explosion of a French vessel, the '' La Coubre'', in Havana harbor in March 1960. The ship carried weapons purchased from Belgium, and the cause of the explosion was never determined, but Castro publicly insinuated that the U.S. government was guilty of sabotage, and wanted to use the explosion as the first stage of an invasion. He ended this speech with "''¡Patria o Muerte!''" ("Fatherland or Death"), a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years. There had already existed for months a popular desire for some form of urban-based civil defense against sabotage but the actual formation of such an institution came after the La Coubre explosion. The

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (), or CDR, are a network of neighborhood committees across Cuba. The organizations, described as the "eyes and ears of the Revolution," exist to help support local communities and report on "counte ...

were formed. Local CDR groups were tasked with keeping "vigilance against counter-revolutionary activity", keeping a detailed record of each neighborhood's inhabitants' spending habits, level of contact with foreigners, work and education history, and any "suspicious" behavior. Among the increasingly persecuted groups were

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

men. In April the first shipment of 300,000 tons of Soviet oil arrived in Cuba. Oil refineries owned by United States companies refused to refine the oil so the Cuban government nationalized the refineries in June. On

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

, 1960, Fidel Castro outright condemned elections as corrupt, and canceled all future elections. Castro claimed the revolution had created an informal

direct democracy Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...

, in which the people and the government had a close bond, thus elections were pointless. In the summer of 1960, major fidelistas were breaking with Castro, and forming dissident groups. Former government ministers Manuel Ray, and Rufo Lopez-Fresquet, as well as labor leader David Salvador, formed the ''Movimiento Revolucionario del Pueblo'', advocating for a "Fidelismo without Fidel", meaning that Castro's social reforms should continue, but not Castro's personal consolidation of power. Commander

, along with other members of the Second National Front of the Escambray were becoming increasingly skeptical of Fidel Castro. In the middle of June 1960, Morgan and a select few former SNFE leaders met to discuss Castro's turn towards socialism and protecting the Revolution. As the arrests of Morgan's former rebel comrades for counter-revolutionary activities started to increase, Morgan organized weapons to be smuggled to the counter-revolutionaries in the Escambray. In June 1960, the

Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front The Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front () was founded in May 1960 by anti- Castro Cuban exiles and was initially headquartered in Mexico. It was known in Spanish as the Frente Revolucionario Democrático (FRD) and was composed of five major anti- ...

announced its existence in Mexico City. It hoped to serve as an umbrella organization for various Cuban opposition groups. The included groups were the Constitutional Democratic Rescue Organization, the Movement for Revolutionary Recovery, the Montecristi Organization, the Christian Democrat Movement, the Triple A Organization, and the Anti-Communist Associations Bloc. The super-group criticized Castro's removal of civil liberties, and demanded the restoration of the constitution of 1940. Most of the participating opposition groups had already been active in the earlier opposition to Batista. In July the United States suspended the purchase of 700,000 tons of sugar from Cuba, four days later the Soviet Union announced they would buy one million tons of Cuban sugar. In August the United States announced a total economic embargo on Cuba and threatened other Latin American and European nations with reprisals if they did not do the same.

Fidel Castro's visit to New York City

Fidel Castro made a trip to New York City starting September 18 to attend the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. While there, international tensions were much higher than during his 1959 trip and he was restricted to only staying on Manhattan island. Castro checked in to the Shelbourne Hotel then checked out a few hours later, complaining that the Shelbourne had asked for a $10,000 cash advance. Castro would then threaten the United Nations that he would camp in Central Park if he couldn't find lodging, eventually checking into the

Hotel Theresa The Hotel Theresa is located at 2082–96 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 124th and 125th Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. In the mid-20th century, it was a vibrant center of African American li ...

in Harlem. While there Castro would meet with various interviewers with African-American newspapers, and other notable people such as

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, and

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

. During his stay various Castro supporters and opponents would crowd the outside of the hotel, often fighting. Various sensationalist stories came out about Castro at the time, rumors claimed his entourage were harboring prostitutes in the hotel and that Castro was originally kicked out of the Shelbourne for keeping live chickens in the room. By September 26 Castro would finally speak at the U.N. and would speak for over four hours in denouncing United States foreign policy. Two days later Castro would return to Cuba in a Soviet jet, after his jets were repossessed at the airport.

Further nationalization

In September 1960, when

was asked about Cuba's ideology at the First Latin American Congress, he replied, "If I were asked whether our revolution is Communist, I would define it as

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

. Our revolution has discovered by its methods the paths that Marx pointed out." On 13 October 1960, the US government then prohibited the majority of exports to Cuba – the exceptions being medicines and certain foodstuffs – marking the start of an economic embargo. In retaliation, the Cuban National Institute for Agrarian Reform took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October, and on 25 October a further 166 US companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized, including

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

and

Sears Roebuck Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwa ...

. On 16 December, the US then ended its

import quota An import quota is a type of trade restriction that sets a physical limit on the quantity of a good that can be imported into a country in a given period of time. An import embargo or import ban is essentially a zero-level import quota. Quotas, ...

of Cuban sugar. Nationalization took place alongside efforts to ensure affordable housing, healthcare, and employment for all Cubans. Hansing 2002, pp 41–42. In order for a transformation of consciousness to occur alongside political and economic changes, Guevara proposed that structural changes had to be accompanied by a conversion in people's

social relation A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or ...

s and

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live ( normative ethics), or to describe the significance of different a ...

. Believing that the attitudes in Cuba towards race,

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

, and

manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual'' ...

were the product of the island's outdated past, all individuals were urged to view each other as equals and take on the values of what Guevara termed ''"el Hombre Nuevo"'' (the New Man). Guevara hoped his "new man" to be ultimately "selfless and cooperative, obedient and hard working,

gender-blind In education, business, law, and other fields, gender blindness or sex blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions between people and applying equal rules across genders ( formal equality of opportuni ...

, incorruptible, non-materialistic, and

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

". On October 16, 1960, Castro ordered the arrest of

due to

counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution has occurred, in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "c ...

activities. Three days later, Morgan was physically arrested while attending a meeting for the National Institute for Agrarian Reform, to which he had been summoned. Morgan was formally charged with plotting to join and lead the counter-revolutionaries who were active in the Escambray Mountains. On March 11, 1961, shortly after a military trial at La Cabaña fortress, Morgan, then 32 years old, was shot by firing squad with Fidel and Raúl Castro in attendance.

1961: "Year of Education"

Bay of Pigs Invasion

In January 1961, Castro ordered Havana's U.S. Embassy to reduce its 300 staff, suspecting many to be spies. The U.S. responded by ending diplomatic relations, and increasing CIA funding for exiled dissidents; these militants began attacking ships trading with Cuba, and bombed factories, shops, and sugar mills. Both Eisenhower and his successor

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

supported a CIA plan to aid a dissident militia, the Democratic Revolutionary Front, to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro; the plan resulted in the

in April 1961. On 15 April, CIA-supplied B-26's bombed three Cuban military airfields; the U.S. announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots, but Castro exposed these claims as

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrep ...

misinformation. Fearing invasion, he ordered the arrest of between 20,000 and 100,000 suspected counter-revolutionaries, publicly proclaiming that "What the imperialists cannot forgive us, is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses". This was his first announcement that the government was socialist. The CIA and Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army, Brigade 2506, in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. At night, Brigade 2506 landed along Cuba's Bay of Pigs, and engaged in a firefight with a local revolutionary militia. Castro ordered Captain José Ramón Fernández to launch the counter-offensive, before taking personal control himself. After bombing the invader's ships and bringing in reinforcements, Castro forced the Brigade's surrender on 20 April. He ordered the 1189 captured rebels to be interrogated by a panel of journalists on live television, personally taking over questioning on 25 April. 14 were put on trial for crimes allegedly committed before the revolution, while the others were returned to the U.S. in exchange for medicine and food valued at U.S. $25 million. In August 1961, during an economic conference of the

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

, Uruguay, Che Guevara sent a note of "gratitude" to United States President

through Richard N. Goodwin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs. It read "Thanks for Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs). Before the invasion, the revolution was shaky. Now it's stronger than ever." In response to United States Treasury Secretary

Douglas Dillon Clarence Douglas Dillon (born Clarence Douglass Dillon; August 21, 1909January 10, 2003) was an American diplomat and politician who served as the United States ambassador to France from 1953 to 1957 and as the 57th United States secretary of the ...

presenting the

Alliance for Progress The Alliance for Progress () was an initiative launched by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on March 13, 1961, that aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and Latin America. Governor Luis Muñoz Marín of Puerto Rico was a close ...

for ratification by the meeting, Guevara antagonistically attacked the United States' claim of being a "democracy", stating that such a system was not compatible with "financial

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

, discrimination against blacks, and outrages by the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

Literacy campaign and Pedro Pan

In April the country began a massive eight-month long effort to abolish illiteracy in Cuba. It began in April 1961 and ended on December 22, 1961, successfully raising Cuba's literacy rate to nearly one-hundred percent. Supporters of the revolution who were too young or otherwise unable to participate in the downfall of Fulgencio Batista saw the campaign as an opportunity to contribute to the success of the new government and hoped to instill a revolutionary consciousness in their students. Educators became a militarized profession during the Cuban Literacy Campaign. Castro himself claimed in a speech given in May 1961, that the Cuban Revolution had two armies, the militias commonly associated with the revolution, and his "army of literacy teachers" or ''alfabetizadores'' who were responsible for waging war against illiteracy. Some parents who were fearful of their children being put under military supervision and made to leave their homes to teach, had their children leave Cuba through

Operation Peter Pan Operation Peter Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a clandestine exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors ages 6 to 18 to the United States over a two-year span from 1960 to 1962. They were sent by parents who feared, on the basis of unsu ...

P.M. affair

After a brief period of artistic optimism beginning in 1959, where exiled artists returned to Cuba, the banning of the film ''P.M.'', in 1960, triggered a slow wave of emigration of Cuban filmmakers, who grew more frustrated with growing censorship in Cuba. The banning of the film ''P.M.'' was not a lone act of censorship which caused pessimism among filmmakers, instead, the censorship of ''P.M.'' was viewed to exemplify a growing atmosphere of artistic overwatch. The debates that followed the banning of ''P.M.'' among film critics, caused the intervention of

, who met with the contesting writers and delivered his famed "Words to the Intellectuals" speech. In "Word to the Intellectuals", delivered June 1961, Castro stated: While Castro's proclamation was vague in defining to who was considered loyal to "the revolution", Castro also later defined in his speech, a need for the National Cultural Council to direct artistic affairs in Cuba, and for the

National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Unión Nacional de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba, UNEAC) is a social, cultural and professional organization of writers, musicians, actors, painters, sculptors, and artist of different genres. I ...

to publish literary debate magazines.

Integrated Revolutionary Organization

By July 1961, Castro was inspired by Soviet pressure, to create a ruling party for Cuba. Up until that point the provisional government was mostly managed by veterans of the

without a party. The Integrated Revolutionary Organization was formed in July, as a merger of the

, the

Revolutionary Directorate of 13 March Movement Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo was a Cuban activist group in the Cuban Revolution. They attempted an assassination on Batista, the dictator of Cuba at the time, in 1957. History The DR-13-M, at the time just called “Directorio Revolu ...

, and the Popular Socialist Party. Of the three organizations, the 26th of July Movement, and the Revolutionary Directorate, were inactive at the time of the merger. The PSP was the only group still active. Anibal Escalante was placed in charge of staffing the organization. Since he was a leader of the PSP, he placed PSP members in important positions of authority. The IRO had a complete legal monopoly over public communication and screening candidates.

Four Year Plan

In 1960, Guevara began promoting an idea of rapidly industrializing Cuba, and diversifying Cuba's agriculture. In 1961, Guevara proposed a four-year plan for rapid industrialization that would create a 15% annual growth rate, and a tenfold increase in the production of fruits. As head of the Ministry of Industries, Guevara announced on the radio program ''People's University'' on March 3, 1961, that "accelerated industrialization" would require the centralization of all economic decision making. In 1961, various Marxist economists from throughout the world were invited to Cuba to assist in economic planning. The central planning board of Cuba: JUCEPLAN, was tasked with creating a four-year economic plan. Regino Boti, the head of JUCEPLAN, announced in August 1961, that the country would soon have a 10% rate of economic growth. The plan drafted by JUCEPLAN in 1961, was a four-year plan devised to be implemented in 1962 through 1965. The plan supposed that Cuba could quickly deemphasize the importance of sugar cultivation in its economy, and instead become a diverse industrial economy. According to Guevara, through the nationalization of industries, and a strong moral enthusiasm for labor taught to the working class, Cuba could rapidly industrialize.

Night of the Three Ps

The Night of the Three Ps () occurred on October 11, 1961, in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Virgilio Piñera Virgilio Piñera Llera (August 4, 1912 – October 18, 1979) was a Cuban author, playwright, poet, short story writer, essayist and translator. His best known works are the poem ''La isla en peso'' (1943), the collection of short stories ''Cuento ...

was arrested the morning after the raid but quickly released to avoid international scandal. The raid was the first moralist round up of the new Castro government and would be the beginning of various round-ups in Cuba of people considered undesirables. The raid took place at a time of heightened moral campaigns in Cuba demonizing homosexuality and other qualities considered uncompatible with the Cuban revolutionary " new man". The raid of the Night of the Three Ps officially targeted prostitutes (), "pájaros", and pimps (). Scholars and observers have noted that the police raid making the Night of the Three Ps could be better understood as having taken place for longer than that one night.

Carlos Franqui Carlos Franqui (December 4, 1921 – April 16, 2010) was a Cuban writer, poet, journalist, art critic, and political activist. After the Fulgencio Batista coup in 1952, he became involved with the 26th of July Movement which was headed by Fidel ...

noted in his memoir that the real targets of the raid included homosexuals, intellectuals, artists, vagrants, voodoo practitioners, and anyone deemed suspicious.

Marxist-Leninist turn

Although the USSR was hesitant regarding Castro's embrace of socialism, relations with the Soviets deepened. Castro sent Fidelito for a

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

schooling and while the first Soviet technicians arrived in June Castro was awarded the

Lenin Peace Prize The International Lenin Peace Prize (, ''mezhdunarodnaya Leninskaya premiya mira)'' was a Soviet Union award named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel ...

. On December 2, 1961, Castro proclaimed on national television that he was a Marxist-Leninist, stating: In Castro's Second Declaration of Havana he called on Latin America to rise up in revolution. In response, the U.S. successfully pushed the

to expel Cuba; the Soviets privately reprimanded Castro for recklessness, although he received praise from China. Despite their ideological affinity with China, in the

Sino-Soviet split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

, Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets, who offered economic and military aid.

Declining relations with Latin America

Relations between Cuba and other Latin American states had begun declining by 1961, often due to a distaste for soviet influence in Cuba or worries of an antidemocratic turn in Cuban government. In November 1961, Venezuelan President Betancourt, of the progressive Demoratic Action Party installed the

Betancourt Doctrine The Rómulo Betancourt Doctrine is a doctrine of foreign policy promoted by the president of Venezuela Rómulo Betancourt that requires the termination of diplomatic relations with governments without democratic legitimacy. History When he was sw ...

, which demanded Venezuela not have ties with governments that had come to power by non-

electoral An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated s ...

means. Soon after, Venezuela broke all relations with Cuba.Ewell, Judith. ''Venezuela: A Century of Change'', p.145. Stanford University Press (1984), Following the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion, the U.S. suggested that Columbia call a new meeting of OAS representatives in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in December 1961, to exclude Cuba from the Organization. On December 6, Fidel Castro made a speech condemning Colombia, and three days later Columbian President Lleras broke off relations with Cuba.

1962: "Year of Planning"

Economic decline

Historian Jorge I. Domínguez claims that throughout 1960 to 1962, there was no discussion within the Cuban government about altering the four year economic plan for accelerated industrialization. It wasn't until after the sharp decline in sugar production during the 1962 harvest, that ministers began recognizing the plan's failure, and began considering reform. In March 1962, Guevara admitted in a speech that the economic plan was a failure, specifically stating it was "an absurd plan, disconnected from reality, with absurd goals and imaginary resources." Scholar Richard Legé Harris has contested that the demise of the economic plan was the result of a lack of machinery which was typically imported from the

, but was prevented from being imported due to the embargo, as well as a lack of educated technicians. The failure of the industrialization plan had immediate impacts by 1962. In that year, Cuba introduced a rationing system for food, and froze prices. A new currency was also introduced, which tangentially made all financial savings in the old currency worthless overnight.

Escalante affair

The economic decline and food rationing in Cuba resulted in protests in Cárdenas. Security reports indicated that many Cubans associated austerity with the "Old Communists" of the PSP, while Castro considered a number of them – namely Aníbal Escalante and Blas Roca – unduly loyal to Moscow. In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent "Old Communists" from office, labelling them "sectarian". On a personal level, Castro was increasingly lonely, and his relations with Che Guevara became strained as the latter became increasingly anti-Soviet and pro-Chinese. On 26 March 1962, the IRO became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC) which, in turn, became the modern

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba (, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26th of July Movement and Popu ...

on 3 October 1965, with Castro as First Secretary. Castro remained the ruler of Cuba, first as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and, from 1976, as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

, until his retirement on February 20, 2008. His brother Raúl officially replaced him as president later that same month.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Militarily weaker than

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet R-12

MRBM A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the U.S. Department of Defense, a medium-range missile is defined ...

nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance. Although conflicted, Castro agreed, believing it would guarantee Cuba's safety and enhance the cause of socialism. Undertaken in secrecy, only the Castro brothers, Guevara, Dorticós and security chief

Ramiro Valdés Ramiro is a Spanish and Portuguese name from the latinisation of the Gothic given name *𐍂𐌰𐌽𐌰𐌼𐌹𐍂 (*Ranamir). Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ramiro I of Asturias (c. 790–850), king of Asturias * Ramiro ...

knew the full plan. Upon discovering it through aerial reconnaissance, in October the U.S. implemented an island-wide

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

to search vessels headed to Cuba, sparking the

. The U.S. saw the missiles as offensive, though Castro insisted they were defensive. Castro urged Khrushchev to threaten a nuclear strike on the U.S. should Cuba be attacked, but Khrushchev was desperate to avoid

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a War, military conflict or prepared Policy, political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are Weapon of mass destruction, weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conven ...

. Castro was left out of the negotiations, in which Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. commitment not to invade Cuba and an understanding that the U.S. would remove their MRBMs from Turkey and Italy. Feeling betrayed by Khrushchev, Castro was furious and soon fell ill. Proposing a five-point plan, Castro demanded that the U.S. end its embargo, cease supporting dissidents, stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters and withdraw from

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (), officially known as Naval Station Guantanamo Bay or NSGB, (also called GTMO, pronounced Gitmo as jargon by the U.S. military) is a United States military base located on of land and water on the shore of Guant ...

. Presenting these demands to

U Thant Thant ( ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974), known honorifically as U Thant (), was a Burmese diplomat and the third secretary-general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971, the first non-Scandinavian as well as Asian to hold the positio ...

, visiting

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

, the U.S. ignored them, and in turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.'s inspection team into Cuba.

Aftermath

International relations

In February 1963, Castro received a personal letter from Khrushchev, inviting him to visit the USSR. Deeply touched, Castro arrived in April and stayed for five weeks. He visited 14 cities, addressed a

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

rally and watched the

parade from the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

, was awarded an honorary doctorate from

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

and became the first foreigner to receive the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

. Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas; inspired by Soviet newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

'', he amalgamated ''Hoy'' and ''Revolución'' into a new daily, '' Granma'', and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation. The government agreed to temporarily permit emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26, thereby ridding the government of thousands of opponents. In 1963, his mother died. This was the last time his private life was reported in Cuba's press. In 1964, Castro returned to Moscow, officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement, but also to discuss the ramifications of the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

. Despite Soviet misgivings, Castro continued calling for global revolution and the funding militant leftists. He supported Che Guevara's "Andean project", an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of Bolivia, Peru and Argentina, and allowed revolutionary groups from across the world, from the Viet Cong to the Black Panther Party, Black Panthers, to train in Cuba. He considered western-dominated Africa ripe for revolution, and sent troops and medics to aid Ahmed Ben Bella's socialist regime in Algeria during the Sand War. He also allied with Alphonse Massemba-Débat's socialist government in Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville. In 1965, Castro authorized Guevara to travel to Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo-Kinshasa to train Simba rebellion, revolutionaries against the western-backed government. Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was subsequently Bolivian Campaign, killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Che's disregard for his own safety. In 1966, Castro staged a Organization of Solidarity with the People of Asia, Africa and Latin America, Tri-Continental Conference of Africa, Asia and Latin America in Havana, further establishing himself as a significant player on the world stage. From this conference, Castro created the Latin American Solidarity Organization (OLAS), which adopted the slogan of "The duty of a revolution is to make revolution", signifying that Havana's leadership of the Latin American revolutionary movement. Castro's increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the Soviets, now under the leadership of Leonid Brezhnev. Asserting Cuba's independence, Castro refused to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, declaring it a Soviet-U.S. attempt to dominate the Third World. In turn, Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro, though in January 1968, he and his supporters were arrested for passing state secrets to Moscow. Castro ultimately relented to Brezhnev's pressure to be obedient, and in August 1968 denounced the Prague Spring as led by a "fascist reactionary rabble" and praised the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Economic planning

In 1962

invited Marxist economists around the world to debate two main propositions. One proposition proposed by

was that Cuba could bypass any capitalist then "socialist" transition period and immediately become an industrialized "communist" society if "subjective conditions" like public consciousness and vanguard action are perfected. The other proposition held by the Popular Socialist Party was that Cuba required a transitionary period as a mixed economy in which Cuba's sugar economy was maximized for profit before a "communist" society could be established. Eventually

would implement ideas of both and use the moral incentives proposed by Guevara but also focusing on developing the sugar economy rather than industrialization. Cuba then began what was referred to as the "radical experiment", where the country was to be reorganized to promote revolutionary consciousness and an independent economy. Rural to urban migration was regulated, excess urban workers were sent to the countryside, and agricultural labor became common for students, soldiers, and convicts. The Military Units to Aid Production were established and used "anti-social" prisoners as penal laborers in agriculture. In September 1966, Fidel Castro gave a speech to representatives of the

. In the speech, he gave his ruling that workers would no longer receive material bonuses for extra labor and instead be encouraged by "moral enthusiasm" alone, which distanced Cuba from the Soviet model of using material incentives. This independent approach to economic policy fell into a global trend during the

in which Third World countries adopted independent economic strategies in relation to the industrialized dominant power blocs. In February 1968, a group in the Communist Party of Cuba and other official organizations known as the "microfaction" was completely purged from the government. The group numbered almost forty officials who endorsed Soviet-style material incentives over moral enthusiasm to encourage workers. They were accused of conspiring against the state, and made to serve prison sentences. In 1968, Castro announced a "Revolutionary Offensive" to completely nationalize all remaining private businesses. The effort was modeled after China's Great Leap Forward and aimed at restructuring society with the sole aim of harvesting sugarcane for the 1970 zafra.

Further emigration

On 28 September 1965, Fidel Castro announced that Cubans wishing to emigrate could do so beginning 10 October from the Cuban port of Camarioca. The administration of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Johnson tried to control the numbers it would admit to the U.S. and set some parameters for their qualifications, preferring those claiming political persecution and those with family members in the U.S. In negotiations with the Cuban government it set a target of 3,000 to 4,000 people to be transported by air. Despite those diplomatic discussions, Cuban Americans brought small leisure boats from the United States to Camarioca. In the resulting Camarioca boatlift, about 160 boats transported about 5,000 refugees to Key West for immigration processing by U.S. officials. The Johnson administration made only modest efforts to enforce restrictions on this boat traffic. Castro closed the port with little notice on 15 November, stranding thousands. On 6 November, the Cuban and U.S. governments agreed on the details on an emigration airlift based on family reunification and without reference to those the U.S. characterized as political prisoners and whom the Cubans termed counter-revolutionaries. To deal with the crowds at Camarioca, the U.S. added a maritime component to the airborne evacuation. Both forms of transport started operating on 1 December. From December 1965 to early 1973, under the Johnson and Nixon administrations, twice daily "Freedom Flights" (''Vuelos de la Libertad'') transported émigrés from Varadero Beach to Miami. The longest airlift of political refugees, it transported 265,297 Cubans to the United States with the help of religious and volunteer agencies. Flights were limited to immediate relatives and Cubans already in the United States with a waiting period anywhere from one to two years. Many who came through Camarioca and the Freedom Flights were much more racially diverse, of lower economic standing, and of more women compared to earlier emigration waves. This is mainly due to Castro's restriction not allowing skilled laborers to leave the country.

One-party state

In October 1965, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the "Cuban Communist Party" and published the membership of its Central Committee. Cuba was officially a one-party state after a long period of political solidification by

. The first official congress of the

was conducted years later in December 1975. In 1976, a new constitution was also approved. The constitution was modeled off the Soviet system, and introduced the National Assembly of People's Power as the institution of indirect representation in government. Cuba had no constitutional government for 16 years. The adoption of the 1976 constitution finally ended the period of provisional non-constitutional government which started after the

Historiography

Ideology

The ideology used to justify Cuban policy changes during this period has been a point of significance for scholars. Historian Antoni Kapcia claims that the rhetoric of the Cuban state that developed during this period is best described as "''Guerrillerismo, guerrillerismo''", and is a style of rhetoric that praised selflessness, and considered Cubans to be citizen-soldiers, whose participation in government projects was considered a part of the same guerrilla struggle that the

birthed. Historian Anna Clayfield claims that ''guerrillerismo'' did not die out after the Revolutionary Offensive, and with the Sovietization of Cuba, but has never completely left Cuban politics.

Political turn

The political turn Castro experienced, and the Cuban government undertook, from 1959 to 1962, has been a point of debate amongst scholars. There are various theories as to what exactly motivated Castro, and Cuban officials, to radicalize their political beliefs. In the immediate aftermath of the

and Fidel Castro's consolidation of power, a historical interpretation developed, known as the "betrayal thesis". This thesis heralded the original struggle against Batista, and considered the revolution's democratic aims to be endearing, but Castro's rise to power is considered a "betrayal" of the original revolution. This thesis was propagated by Cuban exile organizations such as the

, and the Cuban Revolutionary Council. The thesis was also famously propagated by anti-Stalinist historian Theodore Draper. The biographer of Fidel Castro: Tad Szulc, has claimed that Fidel Castro entered into a secret agreement with the Popular Socialist Party in 1958, to turn Cuba communist after the

. Historian Samuel Farber has criticized this idea of a long-term communist conspiracy, noting that Fidel Castro and the PSP were often at odds in early 1959, and no PSP documents at the time refer to Castro as like-minded. Farber admits that Castro's political proclamations were often opportunistic, but that does not indicate a long term conspiracy. Castro's embrace of Cuban communists came after the summer of 1959.

Society

The period of political consolidation between 1959 and 1962, has also been considered the beginning of the "militarization of Cuba", which lasted from 1959 to 1970, and climaxed with the Revolutionary Offensive, that was organized by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. A chief proponent of the "militarization" periodization is historian Irving Louis Horowitz, who argues the militant origins of the revolution, the popularity of militarism in Latin America, Cuba's single-crop economy, desires to resist U.S. hostility, military support of regimes abroad, and Cuba's role as the USSR's lone ally in the Americas caused the militarization of Cuba. Another historiographical interpretation is that the political system that developed during the political consolidation of 1959–1962, was a "grassroots dictatorship". This label was developed by historian Lillian Guerra, and is used to describe how citizens themselves participated in the removal of liberal rights, and the mass deputization of citizens by the government, to act as citizen spies in the

References

Citations

Cited sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{cite news , ref={{harvid, ''The Manchester Guardian'', 1959a, author=, title=A Panama Invasion: Hunt for fifty men , url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21163419/the_guardian/ , access-date=21 June 2018 , agency=United Press International, British United Press , newspaper=The Manchester Guardian , date=27 April 1959 , location=London, England , page=5 , via = Newspapers.com Aftermath of the Cuban Revolution, 1959 in Cuba Anti-communism in the United States Anti-imperialism in North America Cold War history of Cuba Cold War history of the United States Cuba–United States military relations Fidel Castro Imperialism Presidency of John F. Kennedy Rises to prominence by individual United States involvement in regime change Cuban Missile Crisis Anti-capitalism Anti-American sentiment in North America