Chapter Abstract:
In 1959, Fidel Castro's revolutionaries toppled Cuba's corrupt regime and assumed control of the country. The new leadership began a program of nationalization by taking ...Show MoreMetadata
Chapter Abstract:
In 1959, Fidel Castro's revolutionaries toppled Cuba's corrupt regime and assumed control of the country. The new leadership began a program of nationalization by taking over land and businesses, first from American owners and then from middle-class Cubans. In contrast to the previous regime's self-serving graft, the new leadership justified its appropriations with appeals to the greater good. But the new leadership, too, was soon tainted by corruption, and those who lost their lands and businesses resented it all the same. Some tried to speak up, some resorted to arms; all were eventually subdued. Those who could became refugees: between 1959 and 1980, an estimated 500,000 Cubans—about 5 percent of the national population—fled to the United States.
Page(s): 113 - 129
Copyright Year: 2022
Electronic ISBN:9780262371094