Fidel Castro

Castro went into the wedlock with Mirta Diaz Balart in 1948. Though both the families opposed the marriage, the two went with it.

It was through his relationship with Balart, who came from a wealthy Cuban family, that Castro was exposed to the lifestyle of the Cuban elite.

The couple was blessed with a son, Fidelito in 1949. The unison, however, did not last long as Castro broke ties with Balart (1955) on account of her working for Batista.

Born to Angel Castro y Agrgiz and Lina Ruz Gonzalez, Fidel Castro was the illegitimate child of the couple and hence bore the surname Ruz for the first 17 years of his life. He was the third of the seven children of the couple.

At the age of six, young Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago de Cuba. As a child, he attended various schools, finally enrolling himself at the El Colegio de Belen in Havana.

Academically, Castro was just an average student but he had a profound liking for sports and excelled in the same. He played for the school’s baseball team.

In 1945, Castro enrolled himself at the law school in the University of Havana. Although he was politically illiterate at the time of admission, he soon found himself immersed in the political climate of Cuban nationalism, anti-imperialism and socialism.

He joined the University Committee, which opposed the intervention of the US in the Caribbean and fought for the Independence of Puerto Rico. Falling back upon honesty, decency and justice, Castro opposed corruption and openly associated it with US interference.

With time, Castro gained prominence so much so that his speech on the corruption and violence of Grau’s regime earned him a place on the front page of every newspaper.

In 1947, Castro joined the Party of the Cuban People, a socialist group headed by presidential candidate Chibas. An anti-communist political party, it aimed at securing an honest government and political freedom. It also paid significant importance to social reforms and economic independence.

Additionally, Castro acquired the post of the president of the University Committee for Democracy in the Dominican Republic. The committee decided to invade the Dominican Republic and overthrow its right-wing president, Rafael Trujillo, who was an ally of the US.

Castro accepted the position of the Prime Minister of Cuba with a condition that the powers of the Prime Minister should be increased.

In his initial days as the Prime Minister, Castro launched various reforms which resulted in nationalization of factories and plantations. This move was mainly focussed to end the US economic domination. However, the reforms antagonised the US towards Cuba.

Castro’s political tactics made him a favourite with lower classes, including workers, peasants, labors and so on, but he received opposition from the middle class comprising of doctors, engineers and professionals, which ultimately resulted into their mass-migration to the US, causing economic brain drain in Cuba.

Though he denied being a Communist and argued of having Marxist-type governance, much of his policies reflect the Soviet-style control of economy and the communist influence on the governance.

He was widely criticized for his reformative policies which led to the formation of anti-Castro groups. The group opposed the government, which was duly suppressed by Castro. Even journalists and writers who wrote against the government were forced to publish clarification at the end to every article that opposed the government, thus leading to press censorship.