The Demise of Cuba's Most Powerful Man in the 1930s

Charles Kirby Manuyag

PUBMAT | Anthony Beronque

DID YOU KNOW?

On the 10^th of March, Mr. Fulgencio Batista, a soldier and political leader who ruled Cuba twice, returned to power as a dictator through a military coup. With little hope of victory in the presidential election, he took force.

It was the year 1952 that Mr. Batista returned as a brutal dictator. He controlled the press, and Congress, and embezzled vast sums of money from the Cuban economy. From students and mothers to politicians and businessmen, Cubans of different status united in opposition to Mr. Batista. The talk of the country was about democracy, freedom, and respect for human rights, as stated by Mr. Carlos Alberto Montaner, an exiled Cuban author and journalist.

Before the coup happened and Mr. Batista’s return to power, he worked in various positions that led him to join the army in 1921. He organized the “Sergeants’ Revolt” in 1933, which led him to be the most powerful man in Cuba and had the position of the country’s de facto leader. A 'de facto' leader acts as the group leader without votes to assign them to that position.

This further led him to be elected as president in 1940. He governed the country most effectively and fostered the growth of the economy. After his term ended, he lived for a while in Florida. Living abroad, the country went through a large scene of corruption. This was the start of his bloodless coup and return to power which was widely welcomed by Cubans. However, it did not last long as he returned as a brutal dictator who was soon opposed by Cubans who once held him well.

The following two presidential elections led him to be the sole candidate running for the position of president. His regime ended when he was finally overthrown by Mr. Fidel Castro, a president who kept his position from 1976 to 2008.

Mr. Batista fled with his family to the Dominican Republic in 1959. Later, he went into exile and settled in Estoril, a town in Portugal.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fulgencio-Batista

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/months-past/coup-cuba

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/castro-failed-coup-moncada-barracks/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/comandante-pre-castro-cuba/

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=De%20Facto%20Leader

https://www.amnesty.org.au/fidel-castros-human-rights-legacy-tale-two-worlds/

https://www.britannica.com/place/Estoril