Raúl Castro he was one of the revolutionaries who took part in the Cuban Revolution of 1959, a movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and brought Fidel Castro, his brother, to power in Cuba. Raúl was one of the most important men in the country and assumed the presidency for ten years, from 2008 to 2018.
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Origins
Raúl Modesto Castro Ruíz born June 3, 1931 , being a native of Birán, Cuba. He is the son of Ángel Maria Bautista Castro y Argiz, a Spanish farmer who had moved to Cuba during the Spanish-American War and who thrived on the Caribbean island with a farm that grew sugar cane.
Raúl Castro's mother was Lina Ruz González, Cuban a descendant of Spaniards who had worked as a domestic on Ángel's estate, but who became his wife. Together, Ángel and Lina had seven children, of which Raúl Castro was the fourth. Another notable son of the couple was Fidel Castro.
The financial condition of Raúl Castro's family was quite comfortable l, which allowed him to have a good education, studying at one of the best schools in Cuba, Colegio Belen. This was a Jesuit college that had students from the richest families in Cuba. Quality education, however, did not motivate him to be a good student — Raúl's biographers say his performance was poor.
In his youth, Raúl Castro adhered to the ideals of Marxism and began to attend revolutionary groups. Soon he linked up with the People's Socialist Party, a left-wing party that advocated Marxism-Leninism. It is clear, therefore, that Raúl, unlike his brother, was an adherent of Marxism from a young age.
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Revolutionary struggle
Raúl Castro opposed the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista , who had taken over Cuban power after a military coup supported by the US government. Fulgencio's government stirred up opposition, and a revolutionary group led by Fidel Castro was formed. Raúl Castro took part in this group and their first action took place in 1953.
This year, this revolutionary group decided to carry out an attack against the Moncada Barracks , located in the city of Santiago de Cuba. The objective was to take the weapons that were stored there. Raúl Castro was not part of the group that attacked the barracks, but was assigned to a second group, made up of a few men, whose role was to occupy the city's Palace of Justice.
Raúl Castro and his companions occupied the palace, but abandoned the building after the attack on the barracks failed. Raúl Castro fled, hid for a few days, but was arrested and put on trial . His sentence came out at the end of 1952 and he was sentenced to imprisonment for 13 years.
The situation of Raúl Castro — and his brother — changed unexpectedly when Fulgencio Batista decided to grant amnesty to the country's political prisoners. Both were released and fled Cuba to ensure their safety. During exile in Mexico , Fidel Castro founded the July 26 Movement (M-26-J) and began planning to fight the Cuban dictator.
During his stay in Mexico, Raúl Castro met an Argentine doctor who had fled the military coup in Guatemala. That young man was Ernesto Che Guevara, who joined the movement led by Fidel Castro. In 1956, the members of M-26-7 decided to return to Cuba and start the fight against Fulgencio Batista.
Cuban Revolution
Raúl Castro was aboard the yacht Granma , which crossed the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea with 82 people on board. The crossing was complicated and the group arrived late in Cuba. To make matters worse, the Cuban government was aware of the arrival of the revolutionaries, which mobilized troops to receive them.
As soon as they arrived in Cuba, the 82 aboard the yacht were attacked by the Cuban army, resulting in the death of most of the guerrillas. Raúl Castro was one of 12 who survived and who took shelter in the Sierra Maestra mountains. From there, the revolutionary effort was rebuilt from scratch.
From 1957 onwards, the M-26-7 regained its strength, counting on the support of the peasants and, little by little, facing the government of Fulgencio. From 1958 onwards, the strength of the Cuban guerrillas increased and significant victories began to take place. Raúl Castro held the rank of commander , but many historians question his military prowess, claiming that he did not achieve major victories in the role.
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Government positions
On January 1, 1959, Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic, fearful of the advance of the guerrillas. On January 8, Raúl and Fidel Castro enter r am victorious in the country's capital , Havana. The victory of the revolution meant the assembly of a new government. Immediately, Raúl became responsible for conducting the trial of soldiers who defended the Batista government.
From 1959 onwards, Raúl Castro was recognized as the second most important man from Cuba , second only to his brother Fidel Castro. Raúl assumed positions within the Communist Party of Cuba, was the country's vice president and minister, commanding the Cuban Armed Forces.
From 2006, he was considered to take over the presidency of Cuba, as his brother began to have serious health problems. This came to fruition in 2008, when Fidel Castro definitively removed himself from the Cuban presidency. Thus, Raúl Castro assumed the presidency country, with expectations that he would bring about profound changes on the Caribbean island.
He stayed in the presidency for ten years and carried out some reforms, promoting greater openness on the island, expanding certain freedoms for Cuban citizens, guaranteeing greater access for the population to new technologies and seeking to improve Cuba's relations with the United States, especially with regard to the embargo imposed by the government American in the 1960s.
In 2018, Raúl Castro resigned from the presidency of Cuba, being succeeded by Miguel Diáz-Canel, and remained only in the presidency of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2021, he also decided to resign from the presidency of the party.
Image credits
[1] Harold Escalona and Shutterstock