Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) has ruled Cuba since 1959, when, leading the 26th of July Movement, he overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista and transformed Cuba into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere.

Early life

Castro was born into a wealthy farming family in Birán, near Mayarí, Holguín province (formerly Oriente province) and not far from the birthplace of Fulgencio Batista, the man whose regime he was to overthrow. The son of Ángel Castro y Argiz (an immigrant from Galicia, Spain) and his cook, Lina Ruz González, Castro has two brothers: Ramón, who has a position in the agriculture department and is said to run the family estates; and Raúl, who is more involved in central government. Castro also has at least one sibling, a sister, in exile.

Related Topics:
Birán - Mayarí - Holguín - Oriente province - Fulgencio Batista - Galicia, Spain - Ramón - Raúl

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Castro was educated at Jesuit schools in Cuba, including the La Salle private school in Santiago de Cuba and the Colegio Belén in Havana, graduating in 1945. He then enrolled at the University of Havana to study law. Here he joined the Union Insurreccional Revolucionaria (UIR, the Insurrectional Revolutionary Union) and became involved in political disputes that were often violent and sometimes murderous. In 1947 he joined the Partido Ortodoxo (Orthodox Party, also known as the Partido del Pueblo Cubano, Party of the Cuban People) and its campaign to expose government corruption and demand reform. In the summer of 1947, Castro, along with Rolando Masferrer, became part of the Carribean Legion that attempted to travel to the Dominican Republic and overthrow its government. The attempt failed, however, when the Cuban police intervened. Thanks to this and his other activities, Castro became known through local radio and the Alerta newspaper.

Related Topics:
Jesuit - La Salle - Santiago de Cuba - Colegio Belén - Havana - 1945 - University of Havana - Union Insurreccional Revolucionaria - 1947 - Partido Ortodoxo - Partido del Pueblo Cubano - Government corruption - Rolando Masferrer - Carribean Legion - Dominican Republic - Jose Figueres - Costa Rica - Alerta

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In 1948, Castro traveled to Bogotá in Colombia as a delegate of the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria (FEU, the Cuban University Student Federation) for the ninth Pan-American Union Conference. During his visit, however, the Colombian Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitán was assassinated and Castro, suspected of collaborating with the Colombian Communist Party in the killing, had to flee the country. The plane with which he made his escape was provided by the Cuban president, Carlos Prío Socarrás, despite Castro being one of his political opponents.

Related Topics:
1948 - Bogotá - Colombia - Federación Estudiantil Universitaria - Pan-American Union - Colombian Liberal Party - Jorge Eliecer Gaitán - Colombian Communist Party - Carlos Prío Socarrás

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That same year, 1948, Castro married Mirta Díaz Balart, a philosophy student from another wealthy Cuban family, with whom he later had a son, Fidelito Castro. Amongst the wedding presents received was a substantial gift (US$500) from Batista, by then a general in the Cuban army.

Related Topics:
Mirta Díaz Balart - Philosophy - Fidelito Castro - US$ - General

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In 1950 Castro graduated and began practising law in a small partnership. He had by now become known for his nationalist views and his opposition to the United States' influence in Cuba. In 1951, after the Partido Ortodoxo's founder Eduardo Chibás committed suicide, he claimed leadership of the party and prepared to stand for parliament the following year. However, a coup d'état led by Batista on March 10 1952 overthrew Socarrás' government and the elections were cancelled. Castro broke away from the Partido Ortodoxo and, in court, charged Batista with violating the Cuban constitution. His petition was refused.

Related Topics:
1950 - Nationalist - 1951 - Eduardo Chibás - Suicide - Parliament - Coup d'état - March 10 - 1952 - Constitution

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Attack on Moncada Barracks

Castro responded to Batista's coup by organizing an armed attack on the Moncada Barracks, the main provincial garrison of Batista's armed forces, in the Oriente province on July 26, 1953. Castro divided his forces and also attacked the Cespedes garrision in Bayamo. During these ill-fated attacks, more than sixty of the one hundred thirty-five militants were killed. The attackers were lightly armed, and the group with the best weapons got lost on the way, since most of them weren't from Santiago.

Related Topics:
Moncada Barracks - July 26 - 1953 - Santiago

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After the failed attack, Castro managed to escape into the Sierra Maestra. But on August 1, after gaining assurances through Monseñor Enrique Pérez Serrantes that they would not be killed or tortured, and that they would get a fair trial, Castro arranged to surrender with various other members of the group.

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During the trial, Castro used the closing arguments in the case to deliver a speech, "La historia me absolverá" ("History Will Absolve Me" complete translation), in which he defended his actions and explained his political views, but was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.

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In 1954, Mirta Díaz-Balart divorced him. While in prison, his enemies tried to poison him. He was released in a general amnesty in May 1955 due to international pressure, and went into exile in Mexico on July 7.

Related Topics:
1954 - 1955 - Exile - Mexico - July 7

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Some historians claim that although Castro's group took part in the Moncada attack, Castro himself was not involved in the fighting. This is, however, disputed. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/peopleevents/e_moncada.html They claim that Castro and his inner circle hid at a nearby location away from the bloodshed. It has also been claimed that Castro's unit killed members of Batista's military who were sleeping or incapacitated in the Moncada's infirmary. By many, this is seen as just another attempt by Castro's enemies to discredit him. In the above mentioned speech, Fidel said: "Everyone had instructions, first of all, to be humane in the struggle.... From the beginning we took numerous prisoners--nearly twenty.... Those soldiers testified before the Court, and without exception they all acknowledged that we treated them with absolute respect.... In line with this, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the Prosecutor for one thing in the trial of my comrades: when he made his report he was fair enough to acknowledge as an incontestable fact that we maintained a high spirit of chivalry throughout the struggle." http://www.marxists.org/history/cuba/archive/castro/1953/10/16.htm

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