Revolutions Essay Research Paper Almost every nation

1957, the leader of the rebellious students, Jos Echeverr a, and his supporters attacked thepresidential palace in order to kill Batista. Immediately after this, he declared on national radio thatthey killed Batista. Minutes later, police entered the studio and shot him, while the Cubans rejoiced tohear that their dictator had been killed. Later, it was confirmed that Batista had actually escaped theattack. Today, March 13 is a national holiday. The Cuban Revolution, however, was double-fronted. “In a taped interview shown in the United states in May, Castro called it a useless waste ofblood. The life of the dictator is of no importance. . . . Here in the Sierra Maestra is where tofight.’”(Suchlicki,170) After the unsuccessful battle of Alegr a de P o, Castro and his few followersfled to the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Here Castro healed his wounds, the failed attempts to destroythe military, through support. The peasants who lived in the hills favored Castro easily over Batista. This population provided Castro with supplies and supporters. They also protected them against theBatistan military, traveled to the cities to obtain information, and directed those who wanted to becomerebels to the premier himself, Fidel Castro. After gaining more popularity, Castro began to use atechnique that was to become a tool in winning the Cuban Revolution: Guerilla Warfare. Using hit and runtactics, the power of the Batistan Dictatorship declined, mostly due to !the lack of preparation for guerillas on Batista’s part. With seven rifles in total, the guerillas wontheir first victory at La Plata Barracks. In May 1957, the peasants delivered a shipment of ammunitionand explosives to Castro. With these they began to destroy bridges, railroads, and telephone lines. Without this communication, Batista did know what was happening on the rural war front, thus he neverknew when to send out the military. During the battle of El Uvero on May 27, 1957, the guerillas gaineda major victory. Because they overtook a coastal military base in daylight, the guerillas received agreat boost in self confidence. Batista was eventually forced to remove his troops from the SierraMaestra. With the student protests occurring simultaneously, it looked as though an end to the CubanRevolution was in sight. Historians argue on whom the “hero” of the revolution was. Some look upon the students as heros,yet others see Castro as the person most affiliated militarily with the Cuban Revolution, and Guevara themost affiliated philosophically. If we look closer, we can see how Castro is the one who made therevolution possible in the first place. Without his actions and ideas, the revolts in Cuba would befailures. Fidel Castro organized the guerrilla warfare in Cuba, which helped bring a decisive beginningto the end of the Revolution. His general presence, one of determination and results, also fueled theCubans. The minds of all the so-called heros did share a certain ideology. In the summer of 1958,Castro signed the Caracas Pact, which would formerly restore the Constitution of 1940. The ideals in theconstitution focused on a democratic nation over a military dictatorship. Guevara believed that having ajefe m ximo was necessary. This translates in English into “maximu!m boss.” Fidel Castro was chosen to fill this position for the rest of Cuba’s history. Castro alsoenvisioned a moral society in which everyone acted humanely with respect to others. He believed infreedom of the press (without television and radio, the revolution would have never gained support fromthe middle class in Cuba) and direction of justice through the courts. After working with the peasants,Guevara thought of himself as an “agrarian revolutionary.” He wanted farmers to have more rights withtheir land and political power. Castro and Guevara both did not support student protests, for theybelieved that they were not fighting for any particular reason. During 1958, guerrilla warfare in rural areas and also urban movements increased. The Batistanrule weakened until its collapse on January 1, 1959, when Batista fled to the Dominican Republic. The”power vacuum” created was filled by the 26 of July Movement, lead by Fidel Castro. He brought uponrapid changes and gained Cuba worldly prestige and power. The six-year revolution was finally over withinfluential results. Changes in Cuba have been made that reflect democracy, agrarianism, and a humanesociety. A hero has been celebrated and declared el jefe m ximo. The Cuban Revolution, bothintellectual and physical, has lived up to its prestige and will alter history forever.