Causes Of Fidel Castro's Rise To Power

Fidel Castro’s rise to power involves different factors but historians disagree concerning which one is directly responsible for Castro’s being in power. However, the factors leading to Castro’s rise to power are separated four ideas. Firstly, Batista’s government played a huge role along with the United States of America. Secondly, Cuba’s economic situation and thirdly the Cuban revolution (1953-1952) which revealed Fidel Castro as a revolutionary and war hero. Lastly, Castro’s ideology, even though historians tend to leave little place to this factor in his rise to power. In fact, ideology is often neglected and the focus is put on the Cuban revolution but arguably it is ideology which ignited the spark of the revolution and imposed Fidel

However, Fidel Castro’s ideology during his rise to power was being primarily nationalist , with a turn towards communism by the end of the Cuban revolution. Castro said that he wanted to elevate the standards of the Cuban people and this is what he did and why people joined him. Fidel Castro’s rise to power began on the 26th July of 1953, also known as the ‘July movement’ where Castro along with other rebels tried to "capture the Moncada army barracks in downtown Santiago de Cuba.”. Its aim was to take over this military site but this attempt failed. This event can be regarded as being a failure but it is an important factor in Fidel Castro’s rise to power as it led Castro and other rebels to face trials, trials in which Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years of prison. Castro only stayed 2 years. This event increased his popularity amongst the Cuban people. In addition, this also marks the start of Castro’s rise to power as he ignited the spark of the revolution with his clear set of aims and most importantly, ideology in his infamous speech called ‘History will absolve me’ which he delivered during his own trial for

In fact, a factor that contributed to a large extent to Castro’s rise to power can arguably be Batista’s government. Batista’s government was the main cause of instability in Cuba from 1952 up to 1st of January 1959. Batista seized power and created a dictatorship. Moreover, adding to this dictatorship, his government was also corrupted. This factor led to Castro’s rise to power as the Cubans did not want to live under such government which used violence as a mean to control the population. It is essential to know that during this time, the United-States of America had influence over Cuba and backed Batista’s government. Those factors influenced Castro’s rise to power as Batista’s response against opposition did not prove to be efficient enough to stop Castro rise to power as guerrilla warfare, a war tactic used by Castro which was a forceful technique and a determining factor in his rise to power. As stated by Leo Huberman and Paul.M.Sweezy , this success also relied on the participation of the Cuban population: "the peasants in increasing numbers joined the rebel army or organized the various civilian links and services which are so crucial to the success of a guerrilla movement." The successful guerrilla war is a direct cause in Fidel Castro’s rise to power as it was effective and linked to ideology as the guerrilla movement rested upon the Cuban peasantry and its cooperation.