Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary statesman, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born on August 13, 1926 in Brian, Cuba. Coming from a family of landowners in Galicia, Fidel Castro studied law at the University of Havana, where his doctorate in 1950. His leftist ideology led him to participate in revolutionary activities from an early age, as the uprising against the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in Santo Domingo (1947). Since 1949 he played in the Cuban People's Party (Ramonet, 87).

Exiled in Mexico in 1952 he began his revolutionary activities against the dictatorship of Batista, who had delivered the country into the hands of American interests. His first attempt was the assault on the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba, which resulted in a failure (1953); military failure, because the headquarters was not taken or caused the expected popular uprising, but political failure, since the act gave great popularity to its protagonists, increased during the subsequent trial, in which Castro defended himself and used to deliver a comprehensive political allegations ("History will absolve me"). Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison, of which only served two-in the Isle of Pines, thanks to a pardon that he was released in 1955. Then was exiled to Mexico, from where he prepared a second attempt, but, having learned that their struggle would be unlikely to succeed in an urban environment, this time opted to create a rural guerrilla warfare, in the most remote and mountainous country: Sierra Maestra in eastern Cuba. He landed there in late 1956 with a quota of only 80 men (the "Group July 26 ') on board the yacht Granma. Two years later, based in the Sierra were strong enough and effective enough nourished to successfully carry out the occupation of Santiago (1958). From there, Fidel Castro launched the final offensive that swept the island from east to west to get into Havana in 1959, backed by his colleagues Ernesto Guevara (Che), Camilo Cienfuegos and his brother Raul Castro (Leonard, 77).

The initial support of the rural poor had continued to the reluctance of the Communist Party, which opened the possibility of finding support in the cities, the dictatorship, undermined by corruption was unable to cope with the popular movement. The military victory put Castro in front of the Cuban government, accumulating charges of Prime Minister and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Without loss of time began to realize the ...