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Fidel Castro: Power
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In 1952, Fidel Castro was a young Cuban lawyer from a wealthy family. He was interested in politics and planned to run for the Cuban parliament. Then a group of army officers took over the government and cancelled the election. Castro tried challenging the government in court, but failed. He then spent several years trying to organize a successful rebel force to overthrow the government. He finally succeeded, and in 1959 Castro took power.
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Fidel Castro is one of the most successful socialist revolutionary leaders. He transformed Cuba into a much more economically equal place than places like America, but he has been a harsh leader as well. His age is getting up there though and he can't live too much longer. Upon his death, his brother, Raul Castro, will mostly like gain power.
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As Khrushchev admitted later in his memoirs, at the time Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, the Soviets had little contact with the island and, therefore, very little knowledge of what was happening there. (Diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union had been severed since 1952, when Batista took power). To the Soviet intelligence Fidel Castro was a strange and enigmatic figure. By late 1959 they had gathered many fragments of information about him, but had not been able to put all the pieces together into a meaningful whole. 6
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After eleven years in power, Fidel Castro remains the “jefe máximo” (“biggest boss”) of the Cuban people, and his “Fidelesmo”—a unique blend of Marxism-Leninism and Latin American individualism—has transformed the nation. Workers and peasants seem to be benefiting from improved working conditions, health care, and education, and the black and mulatto population—constituting about 27 percent of Cuba’s 8,100,00 people—has largely been integrated into the mainstream of life. On the other hand, Castro himself has admitted that crime, delinquency, illiteracy, and industrial inefficiency continue to plague his country. Vigilante groups known as Committees for the Defense of the Revolution keep a close watch on the citizens’ lives, and thousands of dissenters remain in prison. No opposition press or political party is permitted, and there is little prospect for a return to constitutional government.
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Powerful and puzzling, Cuban leader Fidel Castro remains a mystery decades after his first face-off against the American government. Outliving his foes, he's beloved by some in his native country but feared by many more as he continues to lead his nation through changing times. His life is chronicled in fascinating detail in this documentary, narrated by David Ogden Stiers, that charts Castro's rise from outspoken soldier to political icon.
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BBC Americas - Cuba’s Fidel Castro has held talks with a top delegate from China in what is thought to be his first official act since his illness last year. Mr Castro - who has handed over power temporarily to his brother, Raul - has appeared to play a greater
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