Cuban Revolution Essay

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How did Fidel Castro’s actions from 1959-1962 affect the relationship between Cuba and the United States?

Fidel Castro rose to power in 1959 by overthrowing Cuba’s military dictatorship. Castro was a left-winged politician whose goal was to convert Cuba’s current right-winged government to communism. To develop a communist country, Castro took several actions, all of which negatively affected the relationship between The United States and Cuba. The actions that hurt their relationship the most between 1959-1961 were the nationalization of businesses and forming an alliance with the Soviet Union.

One of Castro’s main goals while in power was to nationalize banks and industries. Nationalization caused severe problems with Cuba and America’s trading relationship because it lead to hurting both the U.S. and Cuban economy as well increased tensions between the two countries. Firstly, the U.S. economy suffered when they lost businesses in Cuba due to Castro’s nationalization. The U.S. lost over one billion dollars when their businesses in Cuba were nationalized. The Cuban economy also suffered when the U.S. retaliated and enforced a trade embargo on them. The United States was the primary purchaser of Cuba’s main export, sugar. When Cuba lost their main purchaser many people lost their jobs, hurting the economy. As a result, Cuba and the United States both suffered when their trading relationship deteriorated due to the nationalization of businesses. The second problem that the nationalization of businesses in Cuba caused was it made The United States increasingly concerned with Castro’s communist movement, weakening their relationship. This is due to the fact that tensions were currently high between capitalist America and the communist Soviet Union. America only supported capitalist countries. The U.S. imposed gradual trade restrictions on Cuba. For example, on September 4, 1959, Ambassador Bonsal expressed to Castro “… serious concern at the treatment being given to American private interests in Cuba both in agriculture and utilities.” Castro responded by taking over more privately owned American businesses, which caused the U.S. to enforce more trading restrictions. This demonstrates that the nationalizations of businesses in Cuba caused increasing distrust between the two countries. Subsequently, Castro’s nationalization of businesses hurt Cuba’s relationship with the U.S.

After America’s increasing economic embargo, Castro went to the USSR for help to avoid
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