I.

Introduction

Fidel Castro, believed to be born in 1926, Cuba’s head of state from January 1959 until his resignation in February 2008. Fidel Castro claimed power in 1959 following the Cuban Revolution, an armed revolt that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He became prime minister of Cuba in 1961 and shortly thereafter canceled elections and suspended Cuba’s constitution. Castro continued to rule as prime minister without regard for the 1940 constitution until 1976, when the nation enacted a new constitution that allowed limited electoral participation by Cuban voters. Cuba’s National Assembly elected Castro president of the country in 1976, and he was subsequently reelected every five years. He resigned in February 2008 due to ill health and was succeeded by his brother Raúl Castro. However, Fidel remained the head of the Cuban Communist Party.

Castro declared himself a Communist in 1961 and began to transform Cuba into a socialist nation, inaugurating wide-ranging changes in the country’s social and economic systems. He instituted programs that dramatically increased the nation’s literacy rate and provided quality healthcare to almost all Cubans.

The socialist nature of Castro’s government sent many members of the elite and professional classes into exile. Government seizures of properties and business holdings, the suspension of elections, the militarization of society, control of the media, and the politicization of education convinced conservatives and moderates to seek exile in Spain, Mexico, France, and, primarily, the United States, particularly the state of Florida.

During the 1960s through the 1980s, Castro allied himself with the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); in addition, he supported revolutions of national liberation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and became a leader among heads of state in nations that had recently won their freedom from colonial powers. Castro and his socialist government faced strong opposition from the United States, which formerly had been Cuba’s ally and main trading partner. United States businesses with holdings in Cuba opposed Castro’s seizure of their property, and many U.S. politicians saw Castro’s socialist policies and alliance with the USSR as a threat to the security of the United States.