HIST 360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Fulgencio Batista, Cuban Revolution

• School: McGill University
• Department: History
• Course: HIST 360
• Professor: Catherine Le Grand

Document Summary

Fidel castro--26th of july movement sought to overthrow fulgencio batista. Role that foreign investments play, cuban nationalism. Feel need to give land to peasants--can"t do this bc of foreign private owners. Cuban revolution produces huge change, major shifts in society/econ. Didn"t want equality in poverty--so needed econ growth. Only place in lat amer w nationalized/centrally planned econ. Did say elections would not b held bc foreign interests would subvert them. 1961--diplomatic ties cut, bay of pigs invasion fails. Castro seeks out ussr relations when us is no longer a trade partner. New morality syst also has bad sides--v homophobic, catholic church marginalized, afro-cuban religs regarded as backwards, hiv positive ppl quarantined. 1959-61 radicalization of the revolution: break with the us, turn to the soviet union. Ethic of social equality, provision of basic needs. Social-emphasis on equality--highest salaries no more than 4x the lowest. Effort to get full employment, get women into workforce.