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.
About Cuba.
Cuba, largest and westernmost island of the West Indies. It forms, with various adjacent islands, the Republic of Cuba. Cuba occupies a central location between North and South America and lies on the lanes of sea travel to all countries bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. For most of its history, Cuba's fertile soil and abundant sugar and tobacco production made it the wealthiest island of the Caribbean. The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago, or group of islands, consisting of the main island (named Cuba); Isla de la Juventud, the second largest island; and numerous other islands. Havana is the capital city with a population of 2,189,716 in 2000. In 2005 the nation's population was estimated to be 11,346,670.
Cuba's proximity to Haiti, the United States, Mexicoâs Yucatán Peninsula, and Jamaica has allowed people to migrate easily onto and off of the island. This movement contributed to the rich mixture of people and customs in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean area. Although agriculturally rich, Cuba exports only a few products, such as sugar, tobacco, citrus fruits, and several manufactured products.
Map Cuba
Cuba's rich soil, abundant harbors, and mineral reserves have enticed foreign powers such as Spain, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to use Cuba for their own interests. For 400 years Cuba was a colony of Spain. Spain's conquistadores (Spanish for âconquerorsâ) launched their invasion of Mexico and South America from the island. In the mid-19th century, the Cuban people formed an independence movement, decades after most of Spain's other colonies had become independent. By 1868 Cubans began to fight the first of three wars of independence. In 1898 the United States entered the war against Spain and declared Cuba independent but under the protection of the United States. In 1959 Fidel Castro and a number of other revolutionaries overthrew the Batista government. Since that time Castro has been the head of state and the ultimate authority on all policy decisions. In the 1960s Castro split with the United States and became an ally of the USSR, then the world's leading Communist nation. In 1961 Castro formally embraced Marxism, the political philosophy that forms the basis for communism.
Cuba adopted the form of Marxism that had been practiced up to that time in the USSR, where a highly organized Communist Party controlled the government. Cuba has since been governed according to socialist economic and political principles, with a centralized economy and a government under the control of the Cuban Communist Party. Under socialism, individual freedoms were sacrificed for the social advancement of all Cubans. In addition, religion was discouraged, although not forbidden, so that the allegiance of citizens would belong solely to the state. However, Cuban socialism could not and did not directly mimic the Soviet model because Cuban history and culture were entirely different from that of Eastern European nations. Governing offices and agencies were similar, but in Cuba Castro personally retained ultimate control over the Communist Party, all governing bodies, and the military.
i am fydia cobel and i think that it is very important to be cruel and "shit" to pupils.
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Cuba Libre written by Ricardo,
February 25, 2009
Obama debe terminar el embargo contra Cuba ahora y dejar que Cuba se integre a la globalización de todas las naciones. Los EE. UU. acabaron con la tiranía de Iraq; por qué no puede acabar con la tiranía de Cuba? Hay un tratado secreto entre EE.UU. y Cuba para que Cuba permanezca en la manera en que se encuentra? Fue por los Casinos que estaban en Cuba y que se fueron para Las Vegas, Nevada, USA? Hay gato encerrado en cuanto al status de Cuba en el mundo.
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