Dario Sokic 28792159

Castros Revolution: Positive or Negative Change?

With the entering of Havana by Fidel Castro on January 1st, 1959 and Batistas fleeing of the
country, the Cuban Revolution that Castro had been planning and executing from the Sierra
Maestra was complete. This revolution was a significant part of Cubas history, as evidenced by
the changes that ensued. Cuba would not only be affected by Castros own policies, but also be
affected on an international scale, including involvement with both the United States and USSR.
Thus, it can be concluded that it was to a great extent that the Cuban Revolution was a success
under Fidel Castro.
The Cuban Revolution, although seemingly beneficial to Cuba, has faltered with the fall
of the USSR. Castro has allowed the reverting of society back to one he opposed greatly under
Batista, as stated by Mark Almond in Revolution: 500 Years of Struggle for Change1. He has
ironically needed to do this due to the problems of dependency, which have not been addressed,
as the reliance on sugar as the main export remained after the Revolution. The USSR had
previously subsidized Cubas economy by buying sugar at fixed prices which were above the
world price, and by supplying Cuba with about 80% of her oil and technological goods2. Castros
inability to shift dependency away from sugar has resulted in massive economic problems with
the fall of the USSR. Capitalist countries that Cuba are still capable of trading to have little
demand for sugar, and its continued fall in value has negatively influenced Cubas economy.
Cubas foreign debt also hampered its economic growth, as it was unable to pay back 3.5 billion
1 Mark Almond Revolution: 500 Years of Struggle for Change. London: De Agostini, 1996.2 Special

Period and Recovery." Cuba History .org -. Accessed April 01, 2016.
http://www.cubahistory.org/en/special-period-a-recovery.html
3
"Cuba - Overview of Economy." Cuba Overview of Economy, Information about Overview of
Economy in Cuba. Accessed March 31, 2016.
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Cuba-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY.html.

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dollars to Western banks and over 7 billion dollars to the USSR3. Furthermore, Castros promises
of a better life have not been fulfilled, and he has instead called time and time again for the
people to tighten their belts and sacrifice more for the future of the Revolution4. Castro has
allowed capitalism to slip back into Cuba due to his socialist reform from the Revolution not
working after Cuba has been left to stand alone with the sudden absence of a world power to rely
on. Thus, the Cuban Revolution has been faced with many challenges and problems left
unsolved.2
However, on the other hand, Castros promised reforms had also been carried out and
have benefitted Cuba. Although the dependency on sugar had continued to exist, efforts to lessen
this dependency has resulted in the creation of a market in other products such as rice, coffee,
cotton, and tobacco. The living standard in Cuba has also been higher than the rest of Latin
America with the shift of power from Batista to Castro. This has been due to the reforms
promised and carried out by Castro. By putting education as a priority in the Castro-led Cuba, the
majority of the population became literate. Castro himself states in his autobiography My Life
The Revolution has graduated about 800,0005. Before Castros Revolution, the average life
expectancy was 58 years old, whereas by 1988 the life expectancy had risen substantially to 74.4
years. As supported by Burns in Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History, the Revolution
was a success due to this increase of standard of living and creation of free education system
available to all 6. Even with the embargo of trade established by the United States, Cuba has
managed to not only survive, but to flourish when compared with her Latin American
24 "Cuba's Castro: Tightening the Reins to Save the Revolution." Stratfor. Accessed April 01, 2016.
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/cubas-castro-tightening-reins-save-revolution. 5 Fidel Castro, and
Ignacio Ramonet. My Life. London: Allen Lane, 2007
6
Burns, E. Bradford. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1972.

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neighbours. Even with the collapse of the USSR, more Cubans have lived better during the
1990s than at any time before the Cuban Revolution. Reforms passed in the Cuban Revolution
have thus been capable of dealing with previous problems.
Castros Revolution has not necessarily been completely beneficial to both Cuba and her citizens,
but it has definitely been successful. Although the collapse of the USSR has had significant
economic impact upon Cuba, the problems of dependency have been somewhat addressed by
Castros reforms. Furthermore, the living standard under Castro has increased to such a great
extent that even with economic stagnation as a result of the fall of the USSR, the standard of
living has still remained high in Cuba compared to her Latin American neighbours, and to the
years before the Cuban Revolution. Literacy rate has increased dramatically in Cuba and
education and healthcare are much more accessible. As a result, the Cuban Revolution was a
success to a great extent under the leadership of Fidel Castro.

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Bibliography
Almond, Mark. Revolution: 500 Years of Struggle for Change. London: De Agostini, 1996.
Burns, E. Bradford. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1972.
doi:http://mrsgiannosa.weebly.com/uploads/8/2/2/0/8220347/latin_america__a_concise_interpretive_history_burns.pdf.
Castro, Fidel, and Ignacio Ramonet. My Life. London: Allen Lane, 2007
"Cuba's Castro: Tightening the Reins to Save the Revolution." Stratfor. Accessed April 01,
2016. https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/cubas-castro-tightening-reins-save-revolution.
"Cuba - Overview of Economy." Cuba Overview of Economy, Information about Overview of
Economy in Cuba. Accessed March 31, 2016.
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Cuba-OVERVIEW-OFECONOMY.html.
"Special Period and Recovery." Cuba History .org -. Accessed April 01, 2016.
http://www.cubahistory.org/en/special-period-a-recovery.html.

"Cuba's Castro: Tightening the Reins to Save the Revolution." Stratfor. Accessed April 01, 2016.
https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/cubas-castro-tightening-reins-save-revolution.