Castro, Fidel (1926, )of Cuba in 1961 and shortly thereafter cancelled elections and suspended Cuba’s constitution. Castro ruled without regard for the 1940 constitution until 1976, when the nation enacted a new constitution that allowed limited electoral participation by Cuban voters. Cuba’s National Assembly elected Castro president of the country in 1976.Castro Leads Rebels In 1956 Fidel Castro led a guerrilla force, the 26th of July Movement, in a revolt against the government of Fulgencio Batista. In 1959 Batista resigned, and Castro became leader of Cuba’s new revolutionary regime.
Castro transformed Cuba into a socialist nation, inaugurating wide-ranging changes in the country’s social and economic systems. He instituted programs that dramatically increased the nation’s literacy rate and provided quality health care to almost all Cubans.
The socialist nature of Castro’s government sent many members of the elite and professional classes into exile. Government seizures of properties and business holdings, the suspension of elections, the militarization of society, control of the media, and the politicization of education convinced conservatives and moderates to seek exile in Spain, Mexico, France, and, primarily, in the United States.
During the 1960s through the 1980s, Castro allied himself with the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); in addition, he supported revolutions of national liberation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and became a leader among heads of state in nations that had recently won their freedom from colonial powers. Castro and his socialist government faced strong opposition from the United States, which formerly had been Cuba’s ally and main trading partner. United States businesses with holdings in Cuba opposed Castro’s seizure of their property and many U.S. politicians saw Castro’s socialist policies and alliance with the USSR as a threat to the security of the United States.
