Title: 1959 - Cuban Revolution

 

About: After years of fighting in the mountains, Fidel Castro led a band of guerrilla campesinos into Havana, overthrowing President Batista's tyrannical government and launching the Cuban socialist experiment.

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Following a coup in 1952, Fulgencio Batista  installed himself as a dictator and Cuba descended into chaos. Unemployment boomed, the gap between the rich and the poor skyrocketed, and the infrastructure become so neglected that even water was scarce.

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Led by prominent revolutionaries Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, rebel militias and student protests rose up against Batista across the country. Castro's charisma presented a real threat to Batista’s regime. The rebels, although heavily outnumbered, moved through the Sierra Maestra Mountains and used guerrilla warfare tactics to harass Batista’s army. When the US withdrew support for Batista's regime in 1958, the rebels only grew stronger, and began to come down from the mountains and into the cities.

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Two columns led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos moved into the central provinces where they joined forces with another rebel group called the Revolutionary Directorate Rebels. Together they marched on Havana and forced Batista to flee.

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Castro’s revolution was greeted with joy by many Cubans, and the first years of rule were in almost every measurable way an improvement on the days of Batista. Equal rights for women and minorities were ensured, employment skyrocketed, and health and sanitation were reformed.

 

However, the initial gains were soon eclipsed by the realities of an isolated and oppressive Marxist system, with Fidel Castro ruling until being replaced by his brother in 2008 due to ill health. 

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Decade: 1950s

Year: 1959

Region: Latin  America

Country: Cuba

Politics: Revolution

Conflict: Cold War

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Type: Historical Event

Impact: 9

Artist: Mert Genccinar

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Group: Genesis

Number: 59/100

Price: 0.9 ETH

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