Fidel Castro: The Cuban revolutionary leader’s rule came to an end on April 19, 2011
New Delhi: One of the most well-liked world presidents in history is Fidel Castro, also known as Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz. From 1959 to 2008, this Cuban politician and revolutionary ranked as the most powerful person in the nation. He is credited for influencing the movements of millions of individuals worldwide.
Fidel Castro’s Rise to Power
Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926, into a wealthy family. His father immigrated to Cuba from Galicia in Spain and made his fortune cultivating sugarcane. He initially took his domestic helper as his mistress and then later as his second wife when his first marriage collapsed. Fidel was one of the seven children born to the marriage.
At the University of Havana, Castro studied law and had a strong interest in Leftist and anti-imperialist concepts. He participated in uprisings against the right-wing administrations in the Dominican Republic and Colombia. Following that, he made the decision to overthrow Cuba’s President and his administration, Fulgencio Batista. After his first attempt at attacking in 1953 failed, he spent a year in prison. After that, he traveled to Mexico, where he founded the “26th of July Movement,” a revolutionary organization. Ernesto “Che” Guevara was, incidentally, one of the group’s founders.
After his return, Castro rose to prominence as the head of the Cuban Revolution. He oversaw the guerilla fight against Batista’s army, which resulted in his downfall in 1959. Castro rose to become Cuba’s prime minister and the country’s political and military leader. The US opposed Castro’s regime and made unsuccessful efforts to overthrow him via economic embargoes, counterrevolutions, and even assassinations. Castro teamed up with the Soviet Union, granting them permission to station nuclear weapons in Cuba. It resulted in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, a pivotal point in the Cold War.
Castro’s presidency and eventual fall of the Communist Party saw Cuba transform into a socialist one-party state. Improvements were made in healthcare and education, but internal dissension and the press were silenced. Castro supported the establishment of Marxist regimes in Chile, Grenada, and Nicaragua. In addition, he sent troops to support friends in the Ogaden, Yom Kippur, and Angolan Civil Wars. Castro led to a rise in Cuba’s prominence on the international scene. From 1959 to 2008, he was Cuba’s paramount leader. From 1959 to 1976, he was the Prime Minister of Cuba; from 1976 to 2008, he was the country’s President. From 1965 to 2011, he served as the Communist Party of Cuba’s first secretary. His last big resignation, as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee, came on April 19, 2011, signaling the end of an era in both Cuban and global politics.
