Cuban Revolution

CULTURAL NOTE

Cuban Revolution

The guerrilla campaign (1956-59) which started the Revolución cubana aimed to topple the corrupt regime of Fulgencio Batista and free Cuba from United States economic domination. The new government of January 1959 set in motion wide-ranging social and political reforms. When Fidel Castro Ruz announced the expropriation of foreign-owned companies, the US imposed a trade embargo which has lasted into the new century. After the unsuccessful invasion by CIA-trained Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs (Playa Girón), bilateral relations worsened and Cuba sought political and economic support from the communist block. When the USSR collapsed in 1991 the Cuban economy was in ruins. Some recovery was achieved in the 1990s thanks to the growth of international tourism and new industries such as pharmaceuticals.

Cuba is criticized by the US for not adopting parliamentary democracy and the presence of a politically influential Cuban community in the United States has blocked normal relations between the countries. Castro argues that each country has the right to its own political system. In Latin America revolutionary Cuba has inspired political movements seeking to improve the lot of workers and peasants.