Spatter: Posts from November 2008

Not too long ago I watched The Lost City, a movie about a family and the city of Havana at the time when guerrillas ousted Fulgencio Batista from power as the President of Cuba. As historical dramas tend to do, it got me to wondering about what the times they depicted were like to live through...and too...looking back at history with the benefit of hindsight. It also got me to thinking about how many times our country has supported a dictator for pragmatic reasons.

So who was this tyrant Batista? It's a bit of a lengthy Friday Fact, but take a minute or two...and while you do, try to not only learn the history of what happened, but the understanding of how and why things happen. Maybe, just maybe we can learn from it. Certainly though, we can appreciate what we just experienced here in America: a peaceful transition of power.

225px-Fulgencio_Batista,_president_of_Cuba

Born in 1901 to parents who were actively involved in Cuba's fight for independence from Spain, Batista joined the Cuban army in 1921, became the union leader of Cuba's soldiers, and in 1933, led the Sergeant's Revolt that replaced the corrupt provisional government led by President Machado. Did I say revolt? Let me back up a minute...

After freeing itself from the clutches of Spain during the Spanish-American War, Cuba found itself facing another foe of sorts: the United States. You see, The United States had gotten involved in Cuban politics during the war and saw Cuba as part of its Manifest Destiny. Before you know it we issued a set of articles and guidelines known as the Platt Amendment...which, by the way, stipulated some things that were completely inconsistent with the principles of our own constitution. In a nutshell, it damaged the concept of Cuba being a sovereign nation by stating that the government of Cuba consented that the United States could exercise its right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence and for the maintenance of a government it likes. I'm paraphrasing, of course.

In short, Cuba had become a haven for the United States. Vast tracks of land were gobbled up by U.S. investors...in fact...United States' interests came to control about three quarters of the Cuban sugar industry. Downtown Havana became a high rise outpost of America, and its luxury hotels housed gambling casinos run by the Mafia.

A guy named Gerardo Machado y Morales got into power in 1925 and by 1931 he began to suspend constitutional guarantees. The United States did not object. I guess we had our own little problem called the Great Depression to keep us busy. Besides, did we really care? Anyway, Morales had done some good, but in the end, he was just another dictator...and as dictator's are apt to do...he decided to hold onto power instead of stepping down. There were objections and uprisings, but they failed until Batista and his Sergeant's Revolt. Now we're back at the beginning..

Since the revolt was a fait accompli, the United States approved. Batista became Army Chief of Staff and effectively controlled the presidency. The evil dictator had been dethroned. But what's this? In the years to come Batista conducted himself in much the same way. People objected, but he violently suppressed attempts to defeat his control. Interesting isn't it how one problem is replaced by another.

Batista's chance to officially sit in the president's chair came in 1940. Supported by a coalition of political parties which included the old Cuban Communist Party, he defeated his rival in the first presidential election under the new Cuban Constitution.

During his presidency, trade relations with the United States increased. Batista was well liked by the United States, who had feared the previous president's socialistic reforms. We saw Batista as a stabilizing force for American interests. Cuba furthered its favored status when it entered World War II on the side of the Allies in December 1941.

But then, what do you know...Batista was peacefully defeated for re-election in 1945 by an old rival Grau. Remarkable actually, considering his brutally violent tactics.

Batista took off for Daytona Beach, Florida and lived there until he ran for and won a seat in the Cuban Senate in 1948. Four years later in 1952, he ran for president but when it became apparent that he wasn't going to win, he solved that problem by staging a coup. Simple. Batista once again held power as "provisional president" for the next two years. Batista was quick to declare that although he claimed complete loyalty to Cuba's constitution of 1940, he felt the need to suspend its constitutional guarantees...including the right to strike.

Just a year later, a small group of revolutionaries led by a young attorney from a rich family named Fidel Castro, tried to oust Batista. Here's a picture of Castro in high school:

The coup was easily crushed. Many who led the revolt died, but Fidel Castro escaped death and was one of many who were jailed instead.

Popular unrest and acts of civil disobedience increased. Washington DC was getting nervous. In order to calm them, Batista held an election in 1954. The only problem was he was the only legal candidate. Obviously, he won. More civil unrest followed.

In 1955, Batista expectantly released Castro and the remaining survivors of the 1953 coup. He was trying to calm down his critics. It didn't. Demonstrations became frequent and Batista, in turn, used more and more violence to deal with them. People were getting beaten, imprisoned, and killed. It was getting very ugly. Instead of losing his grip, Batista suspended more constitutional guarantees and established tighter censorship of the media. His military police brutally patrolled the streets for anyone who was even remotely suspected of insurrection. Even the University of Havana was closed for its continued opposition to Batista. The situation got worse and worse. Confident in his ability to defeat any coup, Batista refused to consider a proposal calling for elections. Conditions were ripe for revolution. Many tried, many failed. But since some of the coups came from within the army, Batista was forced to break the backbone of the Cuban armed forces. Top commanders were sentenced to prison and the military academies were closed. This later contributed greatly to Castro's success. You see, without officers, the army could not sustain a fight against him.

Castro had fled to Mexico right after his release from prison...he rightly didn't trust that Batista wouldn't conveniently have him killed. It was that he met Ernesto "Che" Guevara and there that he organized the 26th of July Movement with the goal of overthrowing Batista. Sounds like a good idea, no? They all returned to Cuba in 1956 and their armed conflict began.

Most of Castro's men were killed or taken prisoner even as they landed in Santiago. Castro managed to escape to the mountains with a handful of comrades. ded by urban and rural opposition, he then began a guerrilla campaign against the regime. The rebel army grew more and more effective and the country was soon driven into chaos. Ultimately, Batista was forced to flee the country. In 1959 he held a nice little photo op at the airport and said so long. He had arranged for his family and some close friends to get to the United States, but the rest of his supporters? Sorry Charlie.

Castro took control. He moved to consolidate his power by...surprise, surprise...brutally marginalizing other resistance groups and figures and imprisoning and executing opponents. The names had changed but the story remained the same. Like I said above, interesting isn't it how one problem is replaced by another.