Rise of Fidel Castro
Social Policies ........................................................................................................................ 2
Economic Policies .................................................................................................................. 3
Political Policies ..................................................................................................................... 4
Treatment of Opposition ...................................................................................................... 5
, Social Policies
Healthcare - one of Castro’s most successful social policy areas
Universal Healthcare Systems established: (as right of every Cuban citizen)
• Pre-existing system of free healthcare expanded under Castro (especially in rural areas)
- BUT medical service expansion disrupt by: political/military mobilisations (perceived US
domination) – Kapcia- Castro’s ability to read the popular scene allowed him to gain popular
support
Many healthcare advancements due to 1970s improvement of the economy:
- 1981: infant mortality rate fallen to 18.5 per 1000
- Pre-1959 diseases associated with poverty (Eg TB) greatly reduced
Improve Standard of Living- Unemployment + Housing
Successful Policies to Redistribute Wealth:
Unemployment- Reducing unemployment met (providing jobs) = aim
Food security- Ensuring food security (prices of basic goods kept low + rationing ensured fair
distribution) = aim - (most notably) Improving living standards for rural poor met = aim
Housing - probably least successful of domestic achievements
Before 1959: only 15% of rural inhabitants had running water (80% in urban areas)+9% had
electricity – Camarcho- He had won the sympathy of the rural population… his triumph was
absolute
Some houses built; but not enough to help housing crisis:
1949-1959: (when economy was weaker) 27,000 housing units built annually
- Inefficiencies in construction industries (due to gov giving higher priority to building
hospitals/schools) 1960s: housing units built dropped significantly but rose slightly over time
following Five-Year Plan
Education = most impressive of Castro’s achievements “educational revolution”
Aims: (Before 1959) Cuba had ill-educated population + promised education reform at July 1953
Castro’s attack on Moncada Barracks
Public Verbal Promises of Improvement:
- 1960 Castro’s speech to UN= promised that revolution would end illiteracy within a year
1961 started “Year of Education” (Castro’s drive to end illiteracy):
-Revolutionary government took over all private/Church schools
-100,000 volunteer student teachers (mainly teenagers) recruited into brigades BUT were often
the target of US-sponsored counter-revolutionaries (over 40 teachers killed in terrorist attacks)
-‘Brigade teachers’ taught 1 million to read/write + 300,000 children attended school for first
time (achieved virtual universal attendance at primary schools)
Adult education system improved:
-Cuba made free educational system (unparalleled in Latin America)-helped by USSR
-Average labour force educational levels increase: 1964 6th grade level-1979 8th grade level -
José Ramón Fernández (deputy Minister of Education) played key role in educational
improvements After 1959: education stagnated: inequality + higher education left out + some
studies neglected
• Urban/rural educational inequalities did not equalise (though were reduced significantly)
• Higher education lacked improvement (as: early emigrations + dismissal of “politically
unreliable”)
• Humanities/social sciences academia neglected (bias towards technical education +
engineering)
Social Policies ........................................................................................................................ 2
Economic Policies .................................................................................................................. 3
Political Policies ..................................................................................................................... 4
Treatment of Opposition ...................................................................................................... 5
, Social Policies
Healthcare - one of Castro’s most successful social policy areas
Universal Healthcare Systems established: (as right of every Cuban citizen)
• Pre-existing system of free healthcare expanded under Castro (especially in rural areas)
- BUT medical service expansion disrupt by: political/military mobilisations (perceived US
domination) – Kapcia- Castro’s ability to read the popular scene allowed him to gain popular
support
Many healthcare advancements due to 1970s improvement of the economy:
- 1981: infant mortality rate fallen to 18.5 per 1000
- Pre-1959 diseases associated with poverty (Eg TB) greatly reduced
Improve Standard of Living- Unemployment + Housing
Successful Policies to Redistribute Wealth:
Unemployment- Reducing unemployment met (providing jobs) = aim
Food security- Ensuring food security (prices of basic goods kept low + rationing ensured fair
distribution) = aim - (most notably) Improving living standards for rural poor met = aim
Housing - probably least successful of domestic achievements
Before 1959: only 15% of rural inhabitants had running water (80% in urban areas)+9% had
electricity – Camarcho- He had won the sympathy of the rural population… his triumph was
absolute
Some houses built; but not enough to help housing crisis:
1949-1959: (when economy was weaker) 27,000 housing units built annually
- Inefficiencies in construction industries (due to gov giving higher priority to building
hospitals/schools) 1960s: housing units built dropped significantly but rose slightly over time
following Five-Year Plan
Education = most impressive of Castro’s achievements “educational revolution”
Aims: (Before 1959) Cuba had ill-educated population + promised education reform at July 1953
Castro’s attack on Moncada Barracks
Public Verbal Promises of Improvement:
- 1960 Castro’s speech to UN= promised that revolution would end illiteracy within a year
1961 started “Year of Education” (Castro’s drive to end illiteracy):
-Revolutionary government took over all private/Church schools
-100,000 volunteer student teachers (mainly teenagers) recruited into brigades BUT were often
the target of US-sponsored counter-revolutionaries (over 40 teachers killed in terrorist attacks)
-‘Brigade teachers’ taught 1 million to read/write + 300,000 children attended school for first
time (achieved virtual universal attendance at primary schools)
Adult education system improved:
-Cuba made free educational system (unparalleled in Latin America)-helped by USSR
-Average labour force educational levels increase: 1964 6th grade level-1979 8th grade level -
José Ramón Fernández (deputy Minister of Education) played key role in educational
improvements After 1959: education stagnated: inequality + higher education left out + some
studies neglected
• Urban/rural educational inequalities did not equalise (though were reduced significantly)
• Higher education lacked improvement (as: early emigrations + dismissal of “politically
unreliable”)
• Humanities/social sciences academia neglected (bias towards technical education +
engineering)
