Impact of Cold War on two nations

Question 1

Dicuss the impact of the Cold war tensions on Cuba ( Economically)

Answer 1

Cold war tensions caused the USA to implement laws such as the Truman Doctrine and the Domino effect theory which made them feel that countries who didn’t side with capitalism or capitalist laws where going down the communist road

In the aftermath of the Cuban revolution, Castro sought to deliver an egalitarian society and nationalise Cuban resources and foreign-owned businesses ( the assets seized totaled US$9 billion)
○ Agrarian Reform Act (July 1959): broke up large holdings,
redistributed land to peasants
○ Removal of US monopolies (sugar cane, tourism, etc.)
Consequence
○ 1960 Suspension of Cuba sugar imports by Eisenhower;
economic sanctions (trade embargo on oil, sugar & weapons); aslo - CIA operatives carried out an operation to burn vast amounts of Cuban sugar cane production sites, harming the economy greatly.

○ 1961 : JFK extended these sanctions&raquo_space;
■ and forced the exclusion of Cuba from Organisation of American States (OAS)&raquo_space;> isolated Cuba economically

Significance:
These actions encourage cuba to turn to soviets

■ Operation Mongoose, authorized on November 30, 1961 by JFK
[was an extensive campaign of terrorist attacks against civilians, and covert operations by CIA attacks aimed at removing Castro’s remove from power through aiding/abetting anti-Castro movements in Cuba]

○ 1962: In the Aftermath of the Bay of Pigs invasion; Missile Crisis (October)
● Cuba becomes increasingly dependent on USSR aid & subsidies, which restricts Castro’s foreign policy
● Soviets also agreed to buy cuba’s surplus sugar (signed a 10 year contract) and supplied oil at a cheaper price than US did, opened a trade exhibition)&raquo_space;>saved Cuba’s economy

○ 1970s : Cuban economy aided by global rise in sugar prices&raquo_space;
Castro initiated “Battle for sugar” campaign to boost outputs
○ In july 1972 : Cuba joins COMECOM
Shortages, rationing, limited opportunities for individual
development & progression worsened in the country
○ Castro even called for “self-sacrifice” in the face of economic
hardships&raquo_space; resulted in frustration, anger, hostility towards
Castro’s regime.
■ Mass migrations (illegal under Cuban law) of people
fleeing the island for a better life in the USA (e.g. 1980:
125,000 through the port of Mariel to get to the USA).

Question 2

Dicuss the impact of the Cold war tensions on Cuba ( Socially)

Answer 2

Cuba’s dependence on the Soviet union post the bay of pigs invasion arguably influence Castro regime to mirror the USSR. On 23 August 1968, Castro made a public gesture to the Soviet Union that reaffirmed his support. Two days after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia to repress the Prague Spring, Castro took to the airwaves and publicly denounced the Czechoslovak “rebellion.” In exchange, the Soviets bailed out the Cuban economy with extra loans and an immediate increase in oil exports.
- One could argue Cuba dependency on Soviets led Castro to pursue a Political repressive & authoritarian rule.
- Opposition to the regime was sparked
○ Emergence of counter-cultures in late 1960’s
○ Canciones de protesta (protest songs)
○ Silvio Rodriguez & Haydee Santamaria ( Casa de las Americas )
denounce Castro’s regime and spark movement of freedom of expression through their work
○ They also encouraged other artists to speak out; provided access to state TV & radio (platforms for the to do so)
○ Heberto Padilla (poet), Feura del juego (Out of the game);
imprisoned for speaking out against the Castro regime .
● Government response to counter-culture; attempted to control the arts
& culture
○ National Movement of the Ballad (MNT): screened music & lyrics
for “appropriateness”; provided instruments, equipment, training
& recording music
○ Neuva Trova (new ballad movement) was embraced by the
government; they were permitted to perform in international
festivals
The bay of pigs invasion also solidified the censorship of the arts
○ Castro organized a congress of Cuban writers and artists and he gave a speech defending the censorship
○ Artists were no longer free to create what they wanted but rather had to serve the revolution
and strengthen its values

Question 3

Dicuss the impact of the Cold war tensions on Cuba (Culturally)

Answer 3

US economic sanction caused a change in the role of women as Castro
- Also fueled because Women fought alongside Castro
1960 - Federacion de Mujeres Cubanas (Cuban Women’s Federation or FMC)
- Started by Vilma Espin
- Goal to bring change for women
- Began attacking attitudes and illiteracy
- Wanted to created a national healthcare system
- Would provide women with job opportunities too
- Other programs:
- One was to teach women vocational farming skills
- FMC successfully lobbied govt to pass legislation to help women
- they were able to obtain the 1975 Cuban Family Code. The code gave men and women equal rights and equal responsibilities in the home and increased state social services.
- Made sexual equality in a marriage a legal and moral obligation
- Both men and women were entitled to education or rewarding employment
- Equal sharing of housing chores and child raising
■ E.g. By 1990, 57% of university students were women;
+57% in medicine.
■ E.g. number of women in the workplace triples between
1959 and 1990
● Women & the revolution&raquo_space; Cuban policies progressive by comparison
with other nations of the time; however, women were underrepresented in
govt.

Question 4

Dicuss the impact of the Cold war tensions on China ( Socially)

Answer 4

Repression and Terror
The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 created an atmosphere of fear at the survival of the Communists and was enhanced by the US through the UN pursuing the policy of containment in Korea.
Exploiting this, Mao justified his more radical actions as eradicating enemies of the state.
Mao began campaigns to target enemies, such as people of Western influence, bourgeois class, etc.
State officials and party members were also purged.
Common methods of terror were labour camps (Laogai), public executions and, most importantly, group criticism sessions.
The mas population was often involved. Mao wished to exert control by instilling fear among the general public.
According Jung Chang,Chinese-British writer - “Mao intended most of the population … to witness violence and killing. His aim was to scare and brutalize the entire population.”
Jung Chang also acknowledges that this was thought reform as much as it was terror. Again this reflects Mao’s intention to manipulate the human psyche as a means to gain control.
Despite some executions, many died by suicide. Repression from public humiliation saw victims unable to withstand psychological torture and commit suicide.

Question 5

Dicuss the impact of the Cold war tensions on China ( Economically)

Answer 5

Influenced by Western trade embargo on China in November 1949 as well as the US refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of Mao’s regime, arguably led Mao to pursue a Five Year Plan that ran from 1953 to 1957. It was an economic program adapted from the Soviet economic model that ran from 1953 to 1957. Five-Year Plan was quite successful, especially in Key industries, including iron and steel manufacturing, coal mining, cement production, electricity generation, and machine building were greatly expanded and were put on a firm, modern technological footing. Thousands of industrial and mining enterprises were constructed, including 156 major facilities. Industrial production increased at an average annual rate of 19% between 1952 and 1957, and national income grew at a rate of 9% a year.Program Concentrated on heavy industry with Soviet assistance. Though there was an industrial boom, there was poor-quality construction as Mao was keen on quantity, not quality. Furthermore, it didn’t result in a rise in consumer goods nor improve poor living conditions in the industrial urban areas.