Castro, Fidel

Widely hailed as a liberator, Castro proved to be a charismatic leader who was often ruthless when politically challenged. He proceeded to collectivize agriculture and to expropriate native- and foreign-owned industry. He instituted sweeping reforms in favor of the poor, disenfranchising the propertied classes, many of whom fled. In Dec., 1961, he declared himself to be a Marxist-Leninist and veered the revolution toward the Soviet Union and the socialist block, though his regime was and remained more of a personal dictatorship than a collective Communist one. Tensions with the United States steadily grew. In 1961, the United States organized an invasion of Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs (see Bay of Pigs InvasionBay of Pigs Invasion,
1961, an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles, supported by the U.S. government. On Apr. 17, 1961, an armed force of about 1,500 Cuban exiles landed in the Bahía de Cochinos (Bay of Pigs) on the south coast of Cuba.
..... Click the link for more information. ). A year later, the world came to the brink of nuclear war when the Soviet Union placed nuclear weapons capable of reaching the United States on the island (see Cuban Missile CrisisCuban Missile Crisis,
1962, major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In response to the Bay of Pigs Invasion and other American actions against Cuba as well as to President Kennedy's build-up in Italy and Turkey of U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. ). The crisis was defused following negotiations between the superpowers and the removal of the missiles. For Castro, it was a humiliating, though temporary, defeat.

Castro's goal of extending the Cuban revolution to other Latin American countries suffered a setback with the capture and death (1967) of "Che" GuevaraGuevara, Che
(Ernesto Guevara) , 1928–67, Cuban revolutionary and political leader, b. Argentina. Trained as a physician at the Univ. of Buenos Aires, he took part (1952) in riots against the dictator Juan Perón in Argentina, joined agitators in Bolivia, and worked
..... Click the link for more information.  in Bolivia. The Cuban revolution nonetheless remained influential, both in Latin America and the developing world. Pro-Castro groups appeared throughout Latin America, and the SandinistaSandinistas,
members of a left-wing Nicaraguan political party, the Sandinist National Liberation Front (FSLN). The group, named for Augusto Cesar Sandino, a former insurgent leader, was formed in 1962 to oppose the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
..... Click the link for more information.  revolution triumphed in Nicaragua in 1979. Later, Castro inspired Hugo ChavezChávez Frías, Hugo Rafael
, 1954–2013, Venezuelan political leader, president of Venezuela (1999–2013). Raised in poverty, he was educated at the Military Academy of Venezuela (grad. 1975).
..... Click the link for more information. , who became president of Venezuela in 1999. From 1975 to 1989, he also sent troops to support the socialist government of Angola.

Castro's government improved health care and education, but it also was politically repressive and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and many Cubans continued to live in poverty. The Cuban economy came to depend on the sugar crop and billions of dollars in Soviet aid, although Castro maintained political independence from the Soviet Union. In 1980, Castro opened the port of Mariél and encouraged dissidents (and criminals) to leave. Tens of thousands of Cubans left for the U.S. mainland on makeshift rafts and boats; most were granted political asylum by the United States.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Cuba entered a crisis period. Popular unrest grew in the face of extreme austerity measures. In desperate need of foreign capital, the regime opened Cuba somewhat to foreign investment, promoted tourism, and took other measures to ease the crisis, while clamping down on dissent. In mid-2006, Castro underwent surgery and stepped aside as president and party leader temporarily; his brother Raúl CastroCastro, Raúl
(Raúl Castro Ruz) , 1931–, Cuban revolutionary and government official, younger brother of Fidel Castro. A loyal supporter of his brother and a Communist, Raúl Castro joined Fidel in the unsuccessful 1953 uprising against Fulgencio Batista
..... Click the link for more information.  became acting president. Castro did not resume his presidential duties before the next election, and in 2008 he declined to stand for reelection. He was not officially replaced as leader of the Cuban Communist party, however, until 2011. Although his prestige had diminished, Castro remained a symbol of social justice and revolutionary progress for many Cubans, and he continued to be influential in the Cuban government until his death.

Bibliography

See his memoirs (2 vol., 2012, in Spanish); his Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography (with I. Ramonet, 2007, tr. 2009); M. Llerena, The Unsuspected Revolution: The Birth and Rise of Castroism (1978); P. Bourne, Fidel (1986); T. Szulc, Fidel: A Critical Portrait (1986); A. Oppenheimer, Castro's Final Hour (1992).