CASTRO'S IMPACT ON CUBA.   Term Paper ID:25954 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Effect of revolution. Historical background, politics, relations with U.S., economics, culture, poverty, communism; focuse on Havana.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Effect of revolution. Historical background, politics, relations with U.S., economics, culture, poverty, communism; focuse on Havana. Paper Introduction: THE CITY AND PORT OF HAVANA SINCE CASTRO TOOK POWER Introduction to Havana According to the CIA World FactBook, Havana, with an estimated population of 2,125,000 is the capital of both Cuba and of Ciudad de la Habana province. It is the largest city and chief port of the West Indies and one of the oldest cities in the Americas. Havana is the political, economic, and cultural center of Cuba. An important hub of air and maritime transportation, it is the focal point of Cuban commerce, exporting sugar, tobacco, and fruits and importing mainly foodstuffs, cotton, and machinery and technical equipment. Havana possesses one of the best natural harbors in the Caribbean and has long been strategically and Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Columbian, 3. (1998, June 14). Cuba in 1997 welcomed1,7 , foreign tourists, up from 5 , in 1993, mostly from Italy,Canada and Spain. It is the largest city and chief port of the West Indiesand one of the oldest cities in the Americas. Butafter 4 years of Castro, is it too late? agreed to accept political prisoners releasedby Cuba some of whom, it was later discovered, were criminals and mentalpatients (Rudolf, 1991, 23). Thatone situation -- okay to visit but do not spend any money -- typifies theUnited States almost schizophrenic attitude toward this nation (Reynolds,1997, 1T). ban, St. presence in Havanawas replaced by that of the Soviet Union, with which the Cuban governmentmaintained close ties. The modern sectionof the city has wide boulevards, impressive public buildings (notably thelavishly decorated capitol), and magnificent residences (Pacheco, 1998, 5). In 1997 almost 84, Americans visited Cuba, includingabout 18, who were there illegally, according to statistics maintainedby the United States-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a private, nonprofitorganization based in New York (Langford, 1998, 3). each year. Under market socialism,everything in Cuba is for sale to foreign investors, "but ordinary Cubansare not participating in, or benefiting from, the Castro regime's marketsocialism. Havanapossesses one of the best natural harbors in the Caribbean and has longbeen strategically and commercially important (Miller, 1992, 14). (1994, May 1). At thesame time, a sandwich and bottle of mineral water in a tourist hotel cost$6.5 , a continental breakfast costs at least $5, and the daily buffetsupper in Habana Libre Hotel starts at $15 per diner (Miller, 1994, 68). By the early 19th century, the city ranked as one of the wealthiestand busiest commercial centers in the Western Hemisphere. Article 61 of Cuba's 1976 Constitution represented Castro's mostinnovative social reorganization, dividing the country into massive groups,with the fiat that "none of the freedoms which are recognized for citizensmay be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution andthe law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialiststate, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialismand communism. Havana is the political, economic, and cultural center of Cuba. The original settlement, called San Cristóbal de la Habana, wasfounded in 1515 by the Spanish explorer Diego de Velázquez on Cuba'ssouthern coast but was relocated to the site of present-day Havana in 1519. Cuban workers can be the indentured servants of foreigninvestors by day and their sexual playthings by night, but Castro allowshis serfs nothing else" (Miller, 1994, 68).A Positive Revolution In 1952, former president Fulgencio Batista seized control andestablished a dictatorship, which grew increasingly harsh and corrupt.Fidel Castro assembled a rebel band in 1956; guerrilla fighting intensifiedin 1958. After the Castro government took control, the U.S. In 1961 a national campaign claimed to have reduced illiteracy to 3.9percent. According to Miller, who wrote a long book on the topic of postrevolutionary Cuba, it is a fiction that market reforms arebeing introduced in Cuba. Before Castro's revolution, 85 percent of Cuba's foreign touristswere U.S. He states that "private ownership of dollars hasbeen legalized, the Cuban government has issued self-employment licenses toabout 2 , people, and Cuba is actively courting foreign investment.The American news media are full of stories about the foreign investmentboom in Cuba" (Miller, 1994, 68). Spanish treasure galleons assembled in Havana's harbor for their returnvoyage to Spain, and the city tempted many English, French, and Dutchbuccaneers (Miller, 1992, 23). strollingthrough Old Havana and quaffing Hatuey, the local beer, at the Floridita orLa Bodeguita del Medio, Ernest Hemingway's haunts" (Langford, 1998, 3).This paper will deal with the events that transpired during these someforty years.Trading With the Enemy Today it is not against American law to travel to Cuba, but one shouldnot spend any money there. Waiting for the end in Cuba: A tropicaldepression persists in the Caribbean, LIFE, 68. (1997). When the SovietUnion supported the coup, the United States adopted an attitude of "noncommunicado" with the island nation less than 9 miles from America. A Crumbling Legacy: Restorationists tryto come to the rescue of the eclectic, grand buildings of Havana. Batista fled January 1, 1959, and in the resulting politicalvacuum Castro took power, becoming premier February 16, 1959. Pacheco, P. CIA World Factbook. government's 1963 Trading With the Enemy Act. Opponents who didnot share his vision were imprisoned and some were executed. The nation was feelingeconomic difficulties in the 199 s as the Soviet-bloc curtailed financialaid. In 1993, a restoration corporation calledHabanaguanex, S.A. 22 warningfrom President Kennedy, the missiles were removed (Cuba, 1997). (1998, March 15). In 1959, Cuban rebel troops led by Fidel Castro overthrew thegovernment of Batista and formed a people's government. As Langford points out, the beach area of modern Havana, 39 yearsafter the revolution still appears on the surface to not have changed much. Rudolf, J.D. learned thatthe USSR had brought nuclear missiles to Cuba. As Langford points out, tourism is Cuba's largest industry, producing$1.54 billion in revenue in 1997, and predicted to reach $2 billion in1998. In 1977, Cuba and the U.S. Until 1959 theclose political and economic relations between Cuba and the United Stateswere strongly reflected in the commercial and cultural life of the city. This, he argues "is the Cuba that exilescall 'Castro's concentration camp,' and it exists just a few steps from thevital street life and coastline scenery of Havana's famed Maleconpromenade" (Reynolds, 1997, T1).The People's Choice Lenin once said that "while the State exists there can be no freedom;when there is freedom there will be no State." Those typify the dilemmathat Castro faces as the head of what some analysts call the last"Communist state." Philosophically, his revolution followed all of the prescribed Marxist-Leninist theories of social control. Langford, D.L. Enduring periodic losses of power and water, they hangragged laundry, prize their rationed foodstuffs, endure vigorous censorshipof information from the outside world and ponder schemes to get somedollars" (Reynolds, 1997, T1). Violation of this principle is punishable by law" (Rudolf,1991, 114). In the mid-198 s the largest and mostimportant of these organizations were the Confederation of Cuban Workers(Confederacion de Trabajadores de Cuba-CTC), the Committees for the Defenseof the Revolution (Comites de Defensa de la Revolucion-CDRs), the FMC, theNational Association of Small Farmers (Asociacio Nacional de AgricultoresPequenos-ANAP), the Federation of University Students (FederacionEstudiantil Universitaria-FEU), and the Federation of IntermediateLevel Students (Federacion de Estudiantes de Ensenanza Media-FEEM). References Cuba. When the Soviet Union collapsed, Castro had to turn to other plans,and "market socialism" became an accepted revolutionary tactic (Cuba,1997).Rebuilding the Future Havana was settled in 156 by the Spanish, and the city is a wonderfulcollection of Moorish and Spanish architecture. In the fall of 1962, the U.S. Louis Post-Dispatch,1T. An export embargo in 1962 put into effect by the American governmentfurther damaged the economy. These multinational corporations lookedupon the island's rich sugar crops as an important asset. For reasons known only toCastro, Cuba resisted the social and economic reforms that have taken placein the USSR and other eastern bloc countries. Reynoldsfound that "in block after block of dilapidated buildings, families live insqualid quarters. Asone art critic described it, Havana's architecture is "a lavish monument tocommerce and society, from Baroque mansions with lavish porticos, loggiasand wrought-iron balconies, to Art Nouveau business offices surprisinglyprofligate with stained-glass, to Art Deco apartment buildings accentedwith elaborate terrazzo floors and bronze and glass doors" (Pacheco, 1998,5). This restoration is beingjointly financed by Castro's government and private investment funds fromEurope, Canada, and Mexico. They would "sip icy mojitos and daiquiris poolside at Havana'sHotel Nacional, savor Cohiba cigars and gaze at the showgirls sunningthemselves prior to their performances at one of the many gambling clubs inthe evening" (Langford, 1998, 3). Castro began a program of sweeping economic and social changes,concentrating initially on education and health care. At the exacttime of the revolution, the sugar crops (the primary export) failed andCastro collectivized the farms and put into force stringent labor controls(Cuba, 1997). Miller, T. signed agreements to exchange diplomats,without restoring full ties, and to regulate offshore fishing. Prior to the Castro revolution, Cuba was considered "private property"by rich American corporations. In this period education continued to be an integral partof the revolutionary program that aimed at providing technical training andideological orthodoxy to the Cuban masses. THE CITY AND PORT OF HAVANA SINCE CASTRO TOOK POWERIntroduction to Havana According to the CIA World FactBook, Havana, with an estimatedpopulation of 2,125, is the capital of both Cuba and of Ciudad de laHabana province. There, many four-star luxury hotels built with foreign investmentfunds from Europe and Asia, are scattered along the beach. Tourists who travel to Cuba will discover that much ofHavana is run-down, power outages are frequent, and there is a severeshortage of food. Forbidden Cuba: The number of Americavisitors keeps growing, despite the U.S. was created for the purpose of reinvesting the profitsgenerated through the restoration efforts. In 1978,and again in 198 , the U.S. (1997, July 13). CD-ROM. Cuba: Study and productive work,Countries of the World, 1-129. (1991, January 1). Habanaguanex also receives income through rents and taxes levied onforeign commercial ventures occupying buildings renovated under itsauspices: "It rechannels those funds into preservation efforts solelyfinanced by the Cuban government, such as the glazed terracotta and pinkgranite folly, the Bacardi building, once the headquarters of the famousrum company, and soon to be one of the most glamorous office buildings inthe world" (Pacheco, 1998, 5).Refurbishing the People The average Cuban salary is 16 pesos per month, or about $5 a monthat the Havana black market exchange rate of 25 pesos to the dollar. Even though there are no scheduled commercial airline flights to Cubaand American travel agents are forbidden to arrange trips to the island,there is always the Internet, and many Americans book their trips throughCuban Web sites. (1992). Miller, T. Castro's policyof directing economic resources towards rural areas resulted inthe deterioration of Havana, particularly the old city. On the other hand, many American journalists do travel to Cuba andfile stories that reflect another side of the Cuban picture. After an Oct. Justwhat would the tourists see today in Havana and how would it differ fromthe pre-Castro days?An Unusual Economy The boom in tourist dollars is not enough to repair much of Havana'saging buildings. It appears, he says, as a throwback to the pre-Revolution Batista dayswhen Havana was the "ribald sin city of the Americas, a playground ofmobsters and royalty, streetwalkers and Hollywood stars... Those Cubans unhappy with the Revolution were allowed to emigrate toAmerica thanks to a 1987 agreement that established a quota for 2 , Cubans to immigrate to the U.S. citizens and many Cubans would like to see them come back. The reasoning is that spending money is aviolation of the U.S. Reynolds, C. Trading with the enemy: A Yankee travels throughCastro's Cuba, New York: Atheneum. Castro set about to "Cubanize" the nation and nationalized Americancattle and tobacco lands and eventually nationalized more than $1 billionworth of U.S.-owned properties, mostly without compensation. Has his revolution outgrownhim? Some 7 , Cubans emigrated in the years after the Castro takeover, mostly to Miamiand other Florida towns. In 1985, Castrodeveloped a philosophy of "market socialism" partly in reaction to unrestand discontent of the Cubans (Miller, 1992, 18 ). Los Angeles Times, 5. Since 1959 the revolutionarygovernment has committed itself to the improvement of life for all Cubans. Animportant hub of air and maritime transportation, it is the focal point ofCuban commerce, exporting sugar, tobacco, and fruits and importing mainlyfoodstuffs, cotton, and machinery and technical equipment. In addition, thecity and port of Havana had been sort of a "millionaires' playground" whererich Americans and Europeans sat, would drink, and gamble in the clubs andcasinos. One of the tolls of therevolution was that much of this architecture is rapidly fading away. Education, health, and social welfare were among the first priorities ofthe Revolution, which tried to create opportunities for all Cubans. Architectural historians around the world have begun a concertedeffort to restore many of these buildings. At about the same time, the government set out to controlinfectious diseases and to improve the overall quality of medical servicesin the country. However, little of this side of the city is seen, sincemost tourists seldom do more than land at the Havana airport before headingfor the luxurious beach community of Varadero, a narrow, sandypeninsula jutting 12 miles into the Caribbean about 8 miles east ofHavana. Internet helps Americans find theirway to Cuba. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.