Equity, Equality, and Fairness
What does the term "Mulato" mean?
Mulato is a specific label for people with both Black and White/Spanish ancestry.
Light skinned, caramel coloration
What was Cuba's biggest export?
Sugar Cane
Which two Cold War superpowers most influenced Cuba’s foreign policy after 1959?
USA and Soviet Union
What economic system did Fidel Castro establish in Cuba after the 1959 Revolution?
Communism
Why were many Cubans dissatisfied with Batista’s government before the revolution?
Racism, classism, education disparity, police state, executions
Describe the wages earned for Cuban workers during Castro's rule?
Everyone got same wage no matter what.
What happens to the economy when everyone is given a guaranteed wage?
People will not try as hard in their job, no incentive, no reason to innovate, no new ideas because the government will just hand out equal pay for everyone doing the minimum.
Why did relations between Cuba and the United States worsen after Castro came to power?
USA hated communism
What did the Cuban government do to private businesses and land after adopting communism?
The government bought out, seized, took over all private businesses and land and operated them.
How did guerrilla warfare help Castro and his supporters succeed against Batista’s forces?
It allowed Castro's people the ability to fight against a larger, more powerful army AND allowing his small force to offset the numerical and equipment superiority of Batista's conventional army through strategic mobility, psychological operations, and the cultivation of widespread popular support.
What did women gain under Castro's rule?
Fair wages, jobs, same rights in divorce, healthcare
What were some products the USA sent Cuba during Batista's time, that stopped when Castro took over?
Hint: Helps with Cuba's biggest export.
Fertilizer, pesticides, products that helped sugarcane grow.
Why did Cuba support revolutionary movements in Africa and Latin America during the Cold War?
Counter USA ideology, get more countries to be more like Cuba
How did nationalization of industries, especially sugar, change everyday life for Cuban workers and farmers?
Workers received the same wages from the government, business slowed down due to bureaucracy, no incentive to innovate or worker harder because the government paid everyone the same, the government dictated the amount of product demanded and supplied, the government decided consumers for farmers, workers basically were dependent on the government for everything, had no choice in decisions, and had to deal with the government's way of handling business.
Why did rural peasants support Castro during the revolution?
movement addressed their long-standing grievances by promising and implementing significant land reform and providing access to essential services like education and healthcare that were previously unavailable to them.
Why did Cuban's in the inner cities not like Castro?
Poor people and peasants using their housing, government take over of private buildings, businesses run by government, dislike of mulatos getting same rights, once rich now becoming the same as the poor.
What were some benefits to Castro's economic changes?
State could own and refurbish buildings, no landlords for tenants to be forced to pay extra, no paying to rent housing, poor people could be homeowners, struggling businesses could be bailed out by the government, no monopolies, owned land was distributed equally among the population
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis change how safe Cuba felt from the United States?
less safe. Cuba only had Soviet Union and missiles to keep itself safe. USA was big and had more missiles.
Why did Cuba’s communist system lead to increased dependence on the Soviet Union during the Cold War?
USA placed an Embargo on Cuba, Cuba losing their best buyer, due to the country now being communist. Cuba got into a relationship with the Soviet Union, because the SU loved that Cuba was Communist. Cuba had little choice but to go into the SU's arms due to USA getting more countries to embargo the country.
How did propaganda and media coverage help the revolution gain popular support?
Castro used media to gather support outside Cuba, interviews with foreign journalists, got USA to stop supporting Batista
What was something that Castro wanted EVRY SINGLE PERSON ON CUBA to be able to do?
READ, literacy
Who's farmland did Cuba forcefully take over, and why?
USA's land bought for sugarcane production, Cuba did not want to be influenced by foreign powers any longer.
How did Soviet economic aid influence Cuba’s decisions in international affairs?
Cuba only wanted to make Soviet Union happy, and would do whatever the SU wanted regarding international affairs. Cuba was too dependent on SU and did not want to lose or be punished by SU, so Cuba became obedient.
How did increased literacy help Castro’s communist government strengthen control over Cuban society?
Taking over education means you decide what the next generation should know. To improver literacy, the government used communist propaganda for education purposes. As literacy rose, so did indoctrination because the only ideas people were exposed to were of communism being good.
Why did parts of the Cuban middle class and students support the revolutionary movement?
primarily due to widespread dissatisfaction with the corruption, political repression, and economic inequality of Fulgencio Batista's regime, and the promise of a return to democracy and social justice.