C: Under President Fulgencio Batista Flashcards
Establishment of Batista’s rule
1952: Staged a coup, as he was losing the presidential race
Suspended the Cuban Constitution so he could maintain his authority without needing to adhere to civil liberties.
Batista’s populist reforms (pre-coup)
Through puppeteer president-
Shortened working day, women’s voting rights, minimum wage
Agrarian reform- peasants the right to their land.
These were foundational for Castro’s reforms
Political Landscape
Corruption was a prominent feature in the government
Majority of the profits went to American companies, not public infrastructure.
Economic Landscape - US ownership
40% of sugar production
80% of public utilities
25% of bank deposits from America
Economic Landscape - uneven economy development
- Primary production of sugar - fluctuating with world prices and demand.
- 90% of other industry (tobacco, mining, railway, electricity, railway) was owned by American companies.
* Great proportion of ownership was American - little profits back to the country to develop/industrialise
Social landscape - social divide
Rural poor:
* 1.5 million suffered from unemployment, living in poverty, starving, malnourished, poorly dressed. Shanty slums
Struggled to get by:
* 3.5 million barely managed to survive with living costs
Beneficiaries:
* Less than a million benefitted from 43% of the national income.
* Ridiculously rich, multiple luxury houses.
Social landscape - immorality
Due to American investment, Cuba became “America’s playground” - prostitution, casinos, gambling
Political landscape - crime
Batista cooperated with Mafia to be a throughway for drug trafficking to the U.S.
Majority of tourism industry (casinos and brothels) were run by American mafia.
Oppression example
Student protestors at a national baseball game - violently oppressed by police. This was broadcasted to the nation -> outrage
