...the Cuban Revolution, 1953-1959 The year was 1953 and Fidel Castro was a dashing and daring reformer that was determined to make a impact in a country that was ruled by an unjust president. With the Movement strong and confident, Castro delivered these strong words to his group of men: “In a few hours you will be victorious or defeated, but regardless of the outcome – listen well, friends – this Movement will triumph. If you win tomorrow, the aspirations of Martí will be fulfilled sooner. If we fail, our action will nevertheless set an example for the Cuban people, and from the people will arise fresh new men willing to die for Cuba. They will pick up our banner and move forward... The people will back us in Oriente and in the whole island. As in '68 and '92, here in Oriente we will give the first cry of Liberty or Death!” These words by Castro illustrates what type of leader he was and still is to this day. Castro is one of the most polarizing figures in Cuban history, with many natives of Cuba arguing that he was the central cause of the destruction of Cuba, while others consider him to be the visionary that saved Cuba from the destruction that would have come about if a capitalist system had been instituted instead of a communist one. Actions taken by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution shaped Cuba politically and socially to what we know it to be today. Fidel Castro was born in southeast Cuba, in the Oriente Province on August 13, 1926. Castro’s father was Angelo...
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...Castro was an extraordinary leader who fought for the good of his people and led them to victory in the Cuban revolution. This victory did not only prove Fidel's courage by standing up against the Cuban government and standing up for the poor, but it also demonstrated his determination to become victorious. However, in order to overthrow the government, Castro would have needed supporters for his cause, in which his charisma helped influence. Such a revolution would be impossible to achieve if Castro was not an extraordinary leader. Fidel Castro was courageous, charismatic, and determined. First, Castro always displayed courage and bravery throughout his lifetime. After he witnessed what was truly occurring in Cuba, Fidel began to doubt the political system and the rein of Batista. As a result, Fidel had begun to participate in revolutionary campaigns and speaking out against Batista. On July 26 1953, Castro participated in a battle between the guerillas and the military. Many of the guerillas were killed, but luckily for Castro, he was sent to prison and later exiled to Mexico, where he formed a revolutionary group. Forming another group displayed courage by attempting another assault on Batista and risking death. Since Castro supported communism, he was put at further risk because the concept of communism was looked down upon. "The Communist Party with only some ten thousand members, was in an uphill battle and did not have any influence to speak of"(Diary of the Cuban Revolution...
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...do not have the self discipline needed in order to make a more democratic, stable society. There were Catholics, lacking a protestant work ethic. Americans also pictured Latin Americans to be lazy individuals. •Modernization Theory: Once the previous idea was settled, it came to the reality that the Latin American countries had to go through modernization, such as the United States, and their feeble network on which their society rested upon was that being criticized. •Dependency Theory: Students were sure that these two previous explanations were merely methods to blame the victims of abuse. They believed that Latin American economies stood in a dependent position relative to the world’s industrial powers. Therefore other nations took their overpowering stand, and forestalled Latin America’s industrialization. “Economic dependency” is why the nation did not follow the path it was supposed to follow. •Social Constructionism: The way race, gender, class, and national identities are “constructed” in people’s minds. Discuss Michel Rolph Trouillot’s theory of historical narratives •History understood as the distinction and overlap of the socio-historical process (“what happened”) and the narratives about it (“what is said to have happened”). •Three capacities people have within socio-historic processes: actors, agents, subjects a) Agents: or occupants of the structural positions. (b) as actors in constant interference without a context. (c) as subjects, thats is...
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...mini-essay answer; 40-60 multiple-choice questions; 5-10 fill-in-the-blank questions; and 5-10 two-sentence answers. Short-essay answer: concisely answer the following questions. Be prepared to answer all of them. ACTUAL QUESTIONS FOR THE EXAM 1) Consider what you learned in lecture and from the readings by Rohter, Guimarães, Goldstein, Vaughan, and Stout. Discuss how people are racialized in Brazil and Cuba. Be sure to cover the following issues: a. What historical conditions explain the high level of inequality in these countries? Why are socio-economic conditions connected to race? (10 pts) b. Provide one concrete example from the readings that shows how constructions of race in Brazil and Cuba are similar, and one concrete example from the readings to show how they are different (10 pts) c. Discuss why identities are mediated and how media is used as part of the process of racialization (10 pts). Use one example provided in class to explain your argument (10 pts). 2) Considering the movie “Even the Rain” and from the readings by Barron, Thomson, Spronk, and Monasterios discuss the connections between extraction process, natural resources and social movements in Bolivia. a. Explain what the connections are between the extraction process, natural resources and social movements in Bolivia? Use one example from the movie and one example from the readings to develop your answer. (10 pts) b. Explain...
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...July 14, 1789, a precedent was set for a new brand of political struggle as Parisians stormed the Bastille, sparking the French Revolution and beginning a new era in popular government. This Revolution, in addition to reshaping Europe in the nineteenth century, would be the inspiration for many revolutions to follow, including the Russian Revolution. Furthermore, it established a collection of values which many revolutions would aim to uphold: liberty, equality, and fraternity. Chicago Historian Sheila Fitzpatrick, however, argues that these are aims that “almost all victorious revolutionaries inevitably dishonour.”1 By examining the Cuban and Russian Revolutions, this can be seen to be too general a statement. Under Lenin, the Russian Revolution instituted one of the most progressive constitutions yet seen,2 while Cuba, with its unique role in relations between two Cold War superpowers, stayed mostly true to its primary goals of attaining social justice and equality. The objective that tends to be the most fraught by revolutions is liberty, because in order to completely reshape a society, power must be, at least for a time, concentrated in the hands of few. Thus, the Russian Revolution, particularly under Stalin, can be said to have dishonoured the goals of the original revolution, while the Cuban Revolution under Castro, for the most part, did not. The aim of eliminating inequality was central to both the Russian and Cuban Revolutions. Since before its independence...
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...The uprising Cuban Revolution was one of the minor causes to the missile crisis. By 1958 Fidel Castro had taken over the Cuban “presidency” with the full support of his fellow communist followers in the Cuban government. He gradually gained their trust when he was first introduced as a cabinet member for President Batista in 1943. At this point in time Castro had an overwhelming amount of support from his countrymen, and as his first act as the President of Cuba he trimmed the prices of rent throughout the country, however many land owners in Cuba were American, leaving many Americans frustrated with Castro. Despite what Americans thought of Castro he greatly improved the lives of Cubans, he nearly eradicated polio and malaria, installed a...
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...Hesbon ogeka LA history &politics 4/12/2013 The Cuban Missile The Cuban Missile Crisis remains an example of one of the most terrifying events in history for the people of the world. A very real threat existed for the crisis to escalate and create World War III, which would include the annihilation of countries and cause unimaginable damage from the use of nuclear weapons by the United States and the former Soviet Union. The conflict had historical roots in the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union, as well as in the history of relations between the United States and Cuba. The strife between the United States and Cuba culminated when Fidel Castro overthrew a government publicly supported by the United States, although political and military officials in the United States secretly welcomed the events. However, it soon became clear that the takeover of Cuba by Castro would result in escalating conflict between it and the United States, something that quickly became more evident in the Bay of Pigs invasion and Operation Mongoose; both designed to eliminate Castro from the political field in Cuba. The Soviet Union supported Castro’s regime and Cuba’s stand, and forced its hand with the placement of nuclear missiles on the island. The United States countered, and the two countries played out their hands to determine the fate of the world. In the end, the United States and the Soviet Union came to an agreement, both sides attempting to avoid a nuclear...
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...Eron Jenkins History of News Media Jeff Johnson November 28, 2011 Spanish-Language Newspapers in Ybor City and New Mexico In 1898, the Cuban War for Independence ended. 12 years later, the Mexican Revolution against the autocratic president Porfirio Díaz began. Not surprisingly, the ramifications of these two events were not limited to Cuba and Mexico. Thousands of Spanish speaking people came to the United States in search work and asylum. In Tampa, Florida, in a neighborhood called Ybor City, cigar manufacturers offered work to immigrants from Cuba and Spain. Conversely, in New Mexico, Spanish speaking people had lived in the region north of the Rio Grande for hundreds of years. However, growth and stability in the region offered new opportunities to Americans from the east and Mexican immigrants from the south. The goal of this paper will be to examine the development and content of Spanish language newspapers in these two areas from 1900-1910 by looking at two newspapers: El Diario de Tampa of Ybor City and La Estrella of La Cruces, New Mexico. To understand any aspect of any culture one must note the historical context in which the event occurs. In this case, the goal is to study the history of the news media, specifically newspapers, in Ybor City and New Mexico. Because of the corresponding migration and revolutionary atmosphere, the context of the development of the newspapers in these two places is similar. However, they diverge in terms of their...
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...This paper will explain why united States order a trade embargo against Cuba? What are the results for both countries? [What was the effect of the embargo on the citizens of Cuba and what was the result of the embargo on the US?], and what did the Cuban Government do to retaliate against the Trade Embargo? Finally, look at the strategic results and necessity for trade embargo in a globally interconnected economy. When the United States defeated Spain in the Spanish American war of 1898, Cuba along with Puerto Rico and Guam were signed over to the United States by Spain. The United States had the right to involve in the affairs of Cuba at any time. When Castro overthrew the existing government, run by President Batista, the United States supported this action by imposing arms embargo against the Batista government in 1958. Then in or about 1960, Castro not only seized private lands and companies of Cuban citizens, but also subsidiaries of the United States of America. This is when the Eisenhower administration imposed trade restriction with the exception of food and medical supplies. Not only was Castro started trading with the Soviet Union; but the Soviet Union also building missile bases in Cuba; the United States severed all ties and imposed a permanent embargo on Cuba at the direction of President Kennedy on February 7th, 1962 He first ordered 1200 Cuban cigars, before signing the Embargo. Trade embargoes have long been...
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...of those who risks his skin to prove his platitudes. ---Che Guevara. Who was Ernesto “Che” Guevara and why did he chose to live the life of a revolutionary when he could have been an affluent doctor in Buenos Aires? Why was he to always be a “foreigner” when he loved his Argentina? What motivated him to leave his opportune life in an aristocratic family to attempt to achieve a better world for others? Che was a man with a lust for battle. No matter what he attempted, he went for it with everything he could possible give. But, what did he accomplish in that life? When his life is examined and his endeavors looked at closely, did he really make a difference in helping others to have a better life? Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina on June 14, 1928. His father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch and his mother Celia de la Serna y Llosa were both blue-blooded aristocrats. His father’s family had lived in Argentina for over twelve generations and his mother’s family had land, both signs of money in this land of immigrants. Che’s father was “a cultivated man, very intelligent, he was active in the ranks of the Radical Party” (page 4, Compañero). Che’s mother who with her sister’s influence, would become a”socialist, anticlerical feminist” (page 4, Compañero). This heritage, especially his mother’s influence, was Ernesto’s foundation to his revolutionary life. Ernesto’s early life was ridden with lung ailments. He contracted pneumonia less than two months after...
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... She was born in 1970 and grew up in Florida after her parents had fled from Cuba in 1964 during the Cuban Revolution. Her family having first settled in Los Angeles, California, Menendez could not speak any other language apart from Spanish until she enrolled in Kindergarten. However, she later moved with her family to Florida where she attended high school and thereafter joined Florida International University from where she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts in 1992. Her story Traveling Madness basically involves four main characters who are all “dreamers”. The story is based on and highlights the plight and disillusionment visited on the Cuban population by the communist party and the ways in which different people dealt with the economic and social adversities that typified the era of communism in Cuba. Self-aware of the dangers that confronted them, some wished to fly away to the moon; others desired to set sail and vanish; and others actually thought they could drill a hole from Havana to Miami (Delbanco and Cheuse) From the foregoing, while self-awareness is a critical aspect of personal development and self-exploration, it does not always bear positive fruits – sometimes it acts as a source of frustration, conflict and stress. In spite of her age, Menendez has proven herself to be a prolific fiction writer; a fact attested to by her works of fiction such as In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, Loving Che, and Adios, Happy Homeland. Borrowing from her Cuban heritage...
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...The Cuban Missile Crisis The world was at the edge of a third world war. This was the result of a variety of things: the Cuban Revolution, the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, US anti-communism, insecurity of the Soviet Union, and Cuba's fear of invasion all made causes for war. However, war was not the result due to great cooperation from both President Kennedy and President Khrushchev and each of the decisions made by the leaders was crucial in the outcome of The Crisis. Kennedy's choice to take action by means of quarantine instead of air-strike and Khrushchev's decision to abide by the quarantines were perhaps the two most significant decisions made by the leaders in order to prevent war. The Cuban Missile Crisis showed the world that compromising and discussion can in-fact prevent war. As Khrushchev said in 1962, "They talk about who won and who lost. Human reason won. Mankind won." 1 The world had almost seen another world war, the effects of which would have been devastating because of the weapons involved. Humanity, indeed, was the prevention of the war. The Cuban Revolution was a background cause to the crisis. On January 1st, 1959 a Marxist regime in Cuba would have seemed unlikely. To the communist party in Cuba, Fidel Castro appeared tempestuous, irresponsible and stubbornly bourgeois. In 1943 President Batista appointed a communist to his Cabinet, as he used communists as leaders of the labor unions. Batista started to fail the Cuban communists and their...
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...Venezuela, but this has not been solved yet, and it’s a topic that everybody should knew something. I will start with Cuba and then Venezuela, and then I will compare them so the reader can know the similarities between them. The first intentions to implement socialism in Cuba come with Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara and his attempts to overthrow the dictatorship of then-President Fulgencio Batista, the dictatorial president was unconditional ally of the United States . They had already had approaches with communist leaders especially from Mexico, there was brewing a plan for the dissemination of communist ideas and policies, especially at the head of Leon Trotsky. In the Cuban revolution that culminated in Batista fled and the establishment of Fidel Castro in power in 1959, who in four years as the island proclaimed socialist who raises concerns in the US ahead in the time of President Eisenhower proposes immediate action The geostrategic importance because the island had for American power, however most concern by the government of the United States was the growing communist influence and the improvement in relations Moscow-Havana in terms of economic and political aspects that USA had neglected during the...
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...is one of the most widespread and influential ideologies in modern world history. In this week's reading for James Wood, entitled "Nationalism", it talks about Nationalism and how it affected Latin American countries. An example of how Nationalism affected Latin America is the Cuban war for independence from Spain, which happened from 1868 to 1898. Jose Marti was a apostle of Cuban Independence, in which he earned this title from many years of fighting for this cause. Jose had died on the battlefield fighting for Cuba's independence in 1895. Due to his belief about Cuba being independent, Jose was imprisoned and was also exiled from Cuba. Jose Marti's most famous essay was published in newspapers in both New York and Mexico City in January of 1891. In this essay he talks about the blindness of the previous Latin American governments to what was actually going on in the that region. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 had posed a revolutionary challenge to the neocolonial system. Francisco Madero had led a campaign to overthrow the government, which at the time was a positivist dictatorship ran by Porforio Diaz. This revolution lasted for a decade from 1910 to 1920 and it was very bloody. The Revolution had many twists and turns, but it gradually became institutionalized in the 1920's. With that being said it created space for a variety of nationalistic expressions to appear. An example of this would be Mexican...
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...John F. Kennedy On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die. Of Irish descent, he was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. Graduating from Harvard in 1940, he entered the Navy. In 1943, when his PT boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy, despite grave injuries, led the survivors through perilous waters to safety. Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history. In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the first Roman Catholic President. His Inaugural Address offered the memorable injunction: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country." As President, he set out to redeem his campaign pledge to get America moving again. His economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II; before...
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