How did Castro establish a Communist state in Cuba?
The fact that a Communist government could take hold so close to the U.S. is indeed amazing. The Castro experience has had repercussions which extended well beyond the borders of this small country. As a young revolutionary born to the privileged class, Fidel Castro led a successful revolution against the corrupt government of Batista in February 1959. Either as a dictator or through surrogate “Presidents”, Batista had controlled Cuba for over 20 years. By the late ’50’s, Batista’s rigging of elections and stifling of dissent had placed pressure on the U.S. to stop supporting him. Thus when Castro was successful, the U.S. welcomed the change in power although there was uncertainty regarding Castro’s intentions. At the time of Castro’s accession there was no clear indication that he had a Marxist agenda. Indeed, following the toppling of Batista, the first cabinet contained a judge, a lawyer, the head of the Havana Bar Association, a member of the Orthodox Party, and the ex-president of
