Fidel Castro

Fearing Castro was a socialist, the U.S. instructed Cantillo to oust Batista.; Cantillo entered Havana's , proclaimed the judge to be president, and began appointing the new government. and ordered Cantillo's arrest by sympathetic figures in the army. Cienfuegos and Guevara led their columns into Havana on 2 January, while Castro entered Santiago and gave a speech invoking the wars of independence. Castro reached Havana on 9 January 1959.[124]

Provisional government: 1959

At Castro's command, the politically moderate lawyer was proclaimed provisional president but Castro announced (falsely) that Urrutia had been selected by "popular election". Most of Urrutia's cabinet were MR-26-7 members... He ensured that the government implemented policies to cut corruption and fight illiteracy and that it attempted to remove Batistanos from positions of power by dismissing Congress and barring all those elected in the rigged elections of 1954 and 1958 from future office. He then pushed Urrutia to issue a temporary ban on political parties; he repeatedly said that they would eventually hold multiparty elections.

We are not executing innocent people or political opponents. We are executing murderers and they deserve it.

– Castro's response to his critics regarding the mass executions, 1959[129]

In suppressing the revolution, Batista's government had killed thousands of Cubans; Castro and influential sectors of the press put the death toll at 20,000, but a list of victims published shortly after the revolution contained only 898 names—over half of them combatants. More recent estimates place the death toll between 1,000 and 4,000. In response to popular uproar, which demanded that those responsible be brought to justice, Castro helped to set up many trials, resulting in hundreds of executions. Although popular domestically, critics–in particular the U.S. press, argued that many were not . Castro responded that "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction."[133]
Acclaimed by many across Latin America, he traveled to Venezuela where he met with President-elect , unsuccessfully requesting a loan and a new deal for Venezuelan oil. resigned, going into exile in the U.S. and joining the anti-Castro movement.[135]

Consolidating leadership: 1959–1960

On 16 February 1959, Castro was sworn in as . where President would not meet with him, but instead sent Vice President , whom Castro instantly disliked.

Proceeding to ,, unsuccessfully proposing a $30 billion U.S.-funded "" for Latin America., setting a cap for landholdings to 993 acres (402 ha) per owner and prohibiting foreigners from obtaining Cuban land ownership. Around 200,000 peasants received title deeds as large land holdings were broken up; popular among the working class, it alienated the richer landowners, including Castro's own mother, Within a year, Castro and his government had effectively redistributed 15 percent of the nation's wealth, declaring that "the revolution is the dictatorship of the exploited against the exploiters."[143]

Castro appointed himself president of the National Tourist Industry, introducing unsuccessful measures to encourage tourists to visit, advertising Cuba as a tropical paradise free of . and in March 1959, Castro declared rents for those who paid less than $100 a month halved. said Cuba "ruined" him.[147]

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.[152]

Although then refusing to categorize his regime as socialist and repeatedly denying being a communist, Castro appointed Marxists to senior government and military positions. Most significantly, Che Guevara became Governor of the Central Bank and then Minister of Industries. President Urrutia increasingly expressed concern with the rising influence of Marxism. Angered, Castro in turn announced his resignation as prime minister, blaming Urrutia for complicating government with his "fevered anti-Communism". Over 500,000 Castro-supporters surrounded the Presidential Palace demanding Urrutia's resignation, which he submitted. On 23 July, Castro resumed his Premiership and appointed Marxist as president.[153]

Castro's government emphasised social projects to improve Cuba's standard of living, often to the detriment of economic development. Health care was nationalized and expanded, with rural health centers and urban polyclinics opening up across the island to offer free medical aid. Universal vaccination against childhood diseases was implemented, and infant mortality rates were reduced dramatically. Over 800 houses were constructed every month in the early years of the administration in an effort to cut homelessness, while nurseries and day-care centers were opened for children and other centers opened for the disabled and elderly.[154]

Castro used radio and television to develop a "dialogue with the people", posing questions and making provocative statements. while opposition came primarily from the middle class; thousands of doctors, engineers and other professionals emigrated to Florida in the U.S., causing an economic . After conservative press expressed hostility towards the government, the pro-Castro printers' trade union disrupted editorial staff, and in January 1960 the government ordered them to publish a "clarification" written by the printers' union at the end of articles critical of the government., Militant anti-Castro groups, funded by exiles, the CIA, and the Dominican government, undertook armed attacks and set up guerrilla bases in Cuba's mountains, leading to the six-year .[162]

At the time, 1960, the raged between two superpowers: the United States, a capitalist , and the Soviet Union (USSR), a Marxist–Leninist socialist state ruled by the . Expressing contempt for the U.S., Castro shared the ideological views of the USSR, establishing relations with several Marxist–Leninist states. , Castro agreed to provide the USSR with sugar, fruit, fibers, and hides in return for crude oil, fertilizers, industrial goods, and a $100 million loan. and – to process Soviet oil, but under U.S. pressure they refused. Castro responded by expropriating and the refineries. Retaliating, the U.S. cancelled its import of Cuban sugar, provoking Castro to nationalize most U.S.-owned assets on the island, including banks and sugar mills.[165]

Relations between Cuba and the U.S. were further strained following the explosion of a French vessel, the , 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. He ended this speech with "¡Patria o Muerte!" ("Fatherland or Death"), a proclamation that he made much use of in ensuing years., in March 1960, U.S. President Eisenhower authorized the CIA to overthrow Castro's government. He provided them with a budget of $13 million and permitted them to ally with the , who were aggrieved that Castro's government closed down their brothel and casino businesses in Cuba.. In retaliation, the National Institute for Agrarian Reform took control of 383 private-run businesses on 14 October, and on 25 October a further 166 U.S. companies operating in Cuba had their premises seized and nationalized.

In September 1960, Castro flew to New York City for the . Staying at the in , he met with journalists and anti-establishment figures like . Castrol had decided to stay in Harlem as a way of expressing solidarity with the poor population living there, thus leading to an assortment of world leaders such as Nasser of Egypt and Nehru of India having to drive out to Harlem to see him., with the two publicly condemning the poverty and in areas like Harlem. The opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 1960 was a highly racerous one with Khrushchev famously to interrupt a speech by Filipino delegate , which set the general tone for the debates and speeches. Subsequently, visited by Polish First Secretary , Bulgarian chairman , Egyptian President and Indian Premier ,.[176]

Back in Cuba, Castro feared a U.S.-backed coup; in 1959 his regime spent $120 million on Soviet, French, and Belgian weaponry and by early 1960 had doubled the size of Cuba's armed forces. In September 1960, they created the (CDR), a nationwide civilian organization which implemented neighborhood spying to detect counter-revolutionary activities as well as organizing health and education campaigns, becoming a conduit for public complaints. By 1970, a third of the population would be involved in the CDR, and this would eventually rise to 80%.[179]

Despite the fear of a coup, Castro garnered support in New York City. In on February 18, 1961, 400 people—mainly Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and college students—picketed in the rain outside of the United Nations rallying for Castro's anti-colonial values and his effort to reduce the United States' power over Cuba. The protesters held up signs that read, "Mr. Kennedy, Cuba is Not For Sale.", "Viva Fidel Castro!" and "Down With Yankee Imperialism!". Around 200 policemen were on the scene, but the protesters continued to chant slogans and throw pennies in support of Fidel Castro's socialist movement. Some Americans disagreed with President 's decision to ban trade with Cuba, and outwardly supported his nationalist revolutionary tactics.[180]

Castro proclaimed the new administration a , in which Cubans could assemble at demonstrations to express their democratic will. As a result, he rejected the need for elections, claiming that systems served the interests of socio-economic elites. announced that Cuba was adopting the Soviet model of rule, with a one-party state, government control of trade unions, suppression of civil liberties, and the absence of freedom of speech and press.[182]

Bay of Pigs Invasion and "Socialist Cuba": 1961–1962

There was ... no doubt about who the victors were. Cuba's stature in the world soared to new heights, and Fidel's role as the adored and revered leader among ordinary Cuban people received a renewed boost. His popularity was greater than ever. In his own mind he had done what generations of Cubans had only fantasized about: he had taken on the United States and won.

– , Castro biographer, 1986

In January 1961, Castro ordered to reduce its 300-member staff, suspecting that many of them were spies. The U.S. responded by ending diplomatic relations, and it increased CIA funding for exiled dissidents; these militants began attacking ships that traded with Cuba, and bombed factories, shops, and sugar mills. in April 1961. On 15 April, CIA-supplied bombed three Cuban military airfields; the U.S. announced that the perpetrators were defecting Cuban air force pilots, but Castro exposed these claims as misinformation. publicly proclaiming, "What the imperialists cannot forgive us, is that we have made a Socialist revolution under their noses", his first announcement that the government was socialist.[187]

The CIA and the Democratic Revolutionary Front had based a 1,400-strong army, Brigade 2506, in . On the night of 16 to 17 April, Brigade 2506 landed along Cuba's 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 of it. After bombing the invaders' ships and bringing in reinforcements, Castro forced the Brigade to surrender on 20 April. Castro's victory reverberated across the world, especially in Latin America, but it also increased internal opposition primarily among the middle-class Cubans who had been detained in the run-up to the invasion. Although most were freed within a few days, many fled to the U.S., establishing themselves in Florida.[190]

Consolidating "Socialist Cuba", Castro united the MR-26-7, PSP and Revolutionary Directorate into a governing party based on the Leninist principle of : the (Organizaciones Revolucionarias Integradas – ORI), renamed the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC) in 1962. relations with the Soviets deepened. Castro sent Fidelito for a Moscow schooling, and Castro was awarded the . for years, and in his 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., Cuba allied with the wealthier Soviets, who offered economic and military aid.[197]

The ORI began shaping Cuba using the Soviet model, persecuting political opponents and perceived such as prostitutes and homosexuals; Castro considered same-sex sexual activity a bourgeois trait. (Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción – UMAP); after many revolutionary intellectuals decried this move, the UMAP camps were closed in 1967, although gay men continued to be imprisoned. By 1962, Cuba's economy was in steep decline, a result of poor economic management and low productivity coupled with the U.S. trade embargo. Food shortages led to rationing, resulting in protests in . and  – unduly loyal to Moscow. In March 1962 Castro removed the most prominent "Old Communists" from office, labelling them "sectarian".

Cuban Missile Crisis and furthering socialism: 1962–1968

Militarily weaker than , Khrushchev wanted to install Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuba to even the power balance. Undertaken in secrecy, only the Castro brothers, Guevara, Dorticós and security chief knew the full plan. to search vessels headed to Cuba, sparking the . The U.S. saw the missiles as offensive; Castro insisted they were for defense only.. 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 . Proposing a five-point plan, Castro demanded that the U.S. end its embargo, withdraw from , cease supporting dissidents, and stop violating Cuban air space and territorial waters. He presented these demands to , visiting , but the U.S. ignored them. In turn Castro refused to allow the U.N.'s inspection team into Cuba.[211]

In May 1963, Castro visited the USSR at Khrushchev's personal invitation, touring 14 cities, addressing a rally, and being awarded both the and an honorary doctorate from . Castro returned to Cuba with new ideas; inspired by Soviet newspaper , he amalgamated Hoy and Revolución into a new daily, , and oversaw large investment into Cuban sport that resulted in an increased international sporting reputation. Seeking to further consolidate control, in 1963 the government cracked down on Protestant sects in Cuba, with Castro labeling them counter-revolutionary "instruments of imperialism"; many preachers were found guilty of illegal U.S.-links and imprisoned. Measures were implemented to force perceived idle and delinquent youths to work, primarily through the introduction of mandatory military service. In September, the government temporarily permitted emigration for anyone other than males aged between 15 and 26, thereby ridding the government of thousands of critics, most of whom were from upper and middle-class backgrounds. In 1963, Castro's mother died. This was the last time his private life was reported in Cuba's press. In January 1964, Castro returned to Moscow, officially to sign a new five-year sugar trade agreement, but also to discuss the ramifications of the . Castro was deeply concerned by the assassination, believing that a far-right conspiracy was behind it but that the Cubans would be blamed. In October 1965, the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations was officially renamed the "Cuban Communist Party" and published the membership of its Central Committee.

The greatest threat presented by Castro's Cuba is as an example to other Latin American states which are beset by poverty, corruption, feudalism, and plutocratic exploitation ... his influence in Latin America might be overwhelming and irresistible if, with Soviet help, he could establish in Cuba a Communist utopia.

– , , April 27, 1964[222]

Despite Soviet misgivings, Castro continued to call for global revolution, funding militant leftists and those engaged in struggles. Cuba's foreign policy was strongly anti-imperialist, believing that every nation should control its own natural resources. He supported Che Guevara's "Andean project", an unsuccessful plan to set up a guerrilla movement in the highlands of , and . He allowed revolutionary groups from across the world, from the to the , to train in Cuba. He considered Western-dominated Africa to be ripe for revolution, and sent troops and medics to aid 's socialist regime in Algeria during the . He also allied with 's socialist government in . In 1965, Castro authorized Che Guevara to travel to to train . Castro was personally devastated when Guevara was killed by CIA-backed troops in Bolivia in October 1967 and publicly attributed it to Guevara's disregard for his own safety.

In 1966, Castro staged a 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 Havana's leadership of Latin America's revolutionary movement.

Castro's increasing role on the world stage strained his relationship with the USSR, now under the leadership of . Asserting Cuba's independence, Castro refused to sign the , declaring it a Soviet-U.S. attempt to dominate the . Diverting from Soviet Marxist doctrine, he suggested that Cuban society could evolve straight to rather than gradually progress through various stages of socialism. In turn, the Soviet-loyalist Aníbal Escalante began organizing a government network of opposition to Castro, though in January 1968, he and his supporters were arrested for allegedly passing state secrets to Moscow. Recognising Cuba's economic dependence on the Soviets, Castro relented to Brezhnev's pressure to be obedient, and in August 1968 he denounced the leaders of the and praised the .[233]

Influenced by China's , in 1968 Castro proclaimed a , closing all remaining privately owned shops and businesses and denouncing their owners as capitalist counter-revolutionaries. The severe lack of consumer goods for purchase led productivity to decline, as large sectors of the population felt little incentive to work hard. This was exacerbated by the perception that a revolutionary elite had emerged, consisting of those connected to the administration; they had access to better housing, private transportation, servants, and the ability to purchase luxury goods abroad.

Economic stagnation and Third World politics: 1969–1974

Castro publicly celebrated his administration's 10th anniversary in January 1969; in his celebratory speech he warned of sugar rations, reflecting the nation's economic problems. The 1969 crop was heavily damaged by a hurricane, and to meet its export quota, the government drafted in the army, implemented a seven-day working week, and postponed public holidays to lengthen the harvest. When that year's production quota was not met, Castro offered to resign during a public speech, but assembled crowds insisted he remain. Despite the economic issues, many of Castro's social reforms were popular, with the population largely supportive of the "Achievements of the Revolution" in education, medical care, housing, and road construction, as well as the policies of "direct democratic" public consultation. Seeking Soviet help, from 1970 to 1972 Soviet economists re-organized Cuba's economy, founding the Cuban-Soviet Commission of Economic, Scientific and Technical Collaboration, while Soviet Premier visited[] in 1971. In July 1972, Cuba joined the (Comecon), an economic organization of socialist states, although this further limited Cuba's economy to agricultural production.

In May 1970, the crews of two Cuban fishing boats were kidnapped by Florida-based dissident group , who demanded that Cuba release imprisoned militants. Under U.S. pressure, the hostages were released, and Castro welcomed them back as heroes. In April 1971, Castro was internationally condemned for ordering the arrest of dissident poet who had been arrested 20 March; Padilla was freed, but the government established the National Cultural Council to ensure that intellectuals and artists supported the administration.