Revolution Through Communism

Throughout Latin American history, many ideas about how to run government came and went. This stemmed from all the different groups of people that had come to settle in these new places. From Europe, the ideas of Karl Marx eventually made their way over.

Karl Marx believed in communism, which is a form of government where everyone is equal. The idea is for everyone to work for society, and receive everything they need from society. Everyone contributes, and everyone receives. Marx was a big advocate for this type of government. He wrote the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts when he first became a communist, where he first wrote down his views. His more famous work, however, is The Poverty of Philosphy and The Communist Manifesto.

I think communism would be a great form of government. But it sounds too perfect to be true. In theory everyone would be very well off, however in reality, there is always corruption and someone has to take power. In the case of Cuba, it was no different.

Fulgencio Batista had gained power in 1952 after being elected president. After he was elected he got rid of any elections for power, and basically became a dictator. Fidel Castro, who was a young politician, did not want this. He quickly organized a rebellion and in 1953 tried to steal weapons from the Moncada barrack. It was a disaster and his whole group was put to trial. Castro, being an effective leader, had a way with words and was able to get only prison time. After being released early, he didn't give up on the revolution. He regrouped in Mexico with other Cuban exiles and set sail back for Cuba. There he started a guerilla war with Batista's men. By 1958, the rebels started storming villages and capturing them, then advancing more. Batista and his men knew they could not win, so they fled the country. After winning, Castro and his brother quickly took power. Fidel Castro did not come out as a communist until years later. When he did, America put up a trade embargo because of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban economy suffered greatly because of this.

Although the revolution had good intentions, the end result was not the best. The realistic communism took power and Fidel Castro became a dictator to what should have been a free and equal country. He also became what he had set out to defeat. Power does bad things to good people. I believe Castro started off as a good person and a good leader. His intentions were good. But as history teaches us through many examples, not every good person will be good in the end. I also believe Marx's ideas could make the world a much better place. It's just too hard to keep everyone equal. It's human nature to think we deserve more than someone else.

http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/marx.html

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/p/08cubanrevo.htm