Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro was recognized for his beard and olive green outfit. He was Cuba’s leader for nearly 50 years. He has put his imprint on the country since the revolution in 1959. He brought Cubans socialism, an excellent education and health system, as well as privations and restrictions.

Fidel Castro is an enigmatic pupil.

The official date of birth of Fidel Castro, the son of landowner ngel Castro y Argiz and his housekeeper and cook Lina Ruz González, is August 13, 1926. His father was an authoritative figure, and he had a strained relationship with him.

His parents took Fidel out from his finca in eastern Cuba at the age of six to a Catholic school in Santiago de Cuba. There, the boy was cared for by foster parents.
His teachers were immediately drawn to him because of his intelligence and outstanding recall. At the age of 16, Fidel Castro enrolled at Havana’s Jesuit College Belén, a strict and prestigious boarding school. Castro had already demonstrated a high level of ambition in class and in sports.

Even as a boarding school student, the future “Máximo Lder” gained notoriety as he attempted to demonstrate his iron will and courage: Fidel Castro’s bicycle collided with a stone wall after he braked. He was knocked out and escaped with a concussion. His exceptional graduation diploma was awarded to him by the Jesuit padres in 1945.

Transitioning from a lawyer to a guerilla leader

Castro went to the University of Havana to study law after finishing Jesuit college. His ambition was to become a lawyer. Armed gangs dominated Cuban politics and university campuses at the time. It was the era of “gangsterismo,” and Castro began interfering in university politics in this context. He battled the corrupt administration and stood with the socially weak as a student leader and then as a lawyer.

Castro orchestrated the legendary storming of the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba in 1953, in which 160 inadequately equipped men attempted but failed to storm the country’s second largest army base. Castro was overthrown and imprisoned. His notoriety and prestige, on the other hand, skyrocketed across the country.

Castro defended himself after his detention by giving a fiery speech against tyrant Fulgencio Batista. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Castro, on the other hand, was released early in 1955. In order to prepare for the violent battle – his revolution – he went into exile in Mexico.

82 insurgents boarded the ship “Granma” heading for Cuba in November 1956. The landing, however, did not proceed as planned. Many of Castro’s troops were killed or captured in an army ambush.

Only a tiny group of people, including Che Guevara and Raul Castro, were able to flee with Fidel into the Sierra Maestra highlands. Castro’s rebel army and influence against Batista rose steadily from this point forward. The guerrilla forces were increasingly successful in their battles. Batista fled to exile on January 1, 1959. The win had gone to Castro.

The revolution’s victor.

Fidel Castro arrived in Havana to a standing ovation on January 8, 1959. He knew how to enthrall and rouse the masses from the start. Castro did not waste any time after the revolution’s victory. Rents, power, and telephones became cheaper after he had Batista sympathizers hanged in public show trials. Wages increased, particularly for sugar cane workers.

Large landowners were expropriated, and American companies were handed to Cuban hands. The United States retaliated with a trade embargo. The revolutionary hero, on the other hand, stayed true to his combative approach. The war between the United States and Cuba reached a head in 1961, when the Americans attempted but failed to overthrow Castro’s government at the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Fidel Castro immediately began reforming the education and health-care institutions after the revolution. The motto was “equal and free care for all,” and the massive literacy drive was just one step in that approach. Many countries praised this strategy as excellent. Fidel Castro declared the “socialist state” on May 1, 1961. It’s a form of socialism inspired by Cuba, or simply “Fidelism.”

Crisis in Cuba

In the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the world was on the verge of nuclear war. Fidel Castro was looking for a powerful ally, and he found it in the Soviet Union. He had given the Soviets permission to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Cuba. The crisis was averted after the chiefs of government of the two superpowers reached an agreement.

Fidel Castro is the president of Cuba.

In the 1990s, the breakup of the Soviet Union threw Castro’s Cuba into a profound economic crisis. Many people turned against Castro, but the “Máximo Lder” stayed true to his socialist principles. With his policies, Castro frequently imprisoned and exiled dissidents and critics of the dictatorship, including many artists. Despite this, Castro was backed by the majority of the population.

During his presidency, there were some attempted loosenings of the system both within the country and between the US and Cuba. Fidel Castro, on the other hand, stuck to his firm position. He was and continues to be chastised for human rights violations as well as his extravagant lifestyle.

Cuba was led by Fidel Castro for over 50 years. After undergoing intestinal surgery in 2006, he temporarily handed over his official duties to his brother Ral Castro. The “Máximo Lder” finally retired in February 2008 due to health issues, and Ral took over as his successor. At the age of 90, the Cuban revolutionary and former president died in Havana in 2016.