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Batista remains to this day the single most important personality in Cuban history, more so than Castro himself. Jaime Figueras
Why is Fulgencio Batista described as a "semi-constitutional" leader? Perhaps it could be better explained that he was constitutional at one point and unconstitutional at another. I think the best would be to eliminate this word, "semi-constitutional," entirely. -- Daniel C. Boyer
Does anyone know of a specific source linking FDR to the Sergeant's revolt? - Hephaestos 05:25 Feb 20, 2003 (UTC)
Hammer away at your forge lame one and try Welles, Benjamin. 1997.Sumner Welles; FDR's global strategist. St. Martin's Press, NY starting on page 156. There is much more but this a start. There is also talk of a US secret operative said to be Cuban-American (more of that later) (El Jigüe, 9/24/2005).
I think that this page needs more information on Batista's life and activities after his exile. Rvinall 21:34, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC).
Batista essentially retired to the Dominican Republic, where much of his money was stolen by Trujillo, and he ended up in the Portugal. He wrote a few books.....trying to justify his life. (El Jigüe, 9/24/2005)
Paragraph after paragraph of this entry as I find it today is duplicated word for word on this page: http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm
Has it been copied from the Jerry A. Sierra essay wholesale? Or is it the other way around? 75.42.3.130 ( talk) 23:38, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
Just read the question about who was worse, Guevara or Batista. If you haven't already, please take a look at Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Che Guevara. I agree with the answer that both regimes were pretty bloody. There were numerous "trials" of Batista supporters where ordinary Cubans would accuse their neighbors of being traitors to the revolution. But Batista was swift to end any opposition to his regime violently and without trial as well. 63.26.71.242 03:41, 27 November 2005 (UTC)Anna
Castro and Che were worse than Batista. Cuba was able to function economically under Batista. As stated in the article, Havana had more tv's, telephones and Cadilacs per household than any city in the US. The regular citizen was able to go to school, choose their own carriers and have hope for a future. Under Castro, no one has any hope, Cuba's average citizen has no civil rights and is destined to poverty. Under Castro, Cubans are throwing themselves into the ocean on rafts made of inner tubes and anything that floats. Castro has taken hope away from the Cuban people, without hope, there is nothing.
This remark is so stupid I'm surprised I even find myself responding to it. Under Batista, poverty under the population was more widespread by far than under Castro, Havana was nearly completely in the posession of the American mafia, and the wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays. 82.176.194.151 14:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
"Under Batista, poverty under the population was more widespread by far than under Castro, Havana was nearly completely in the posession of the American mafia, and the wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays." That is a shockingly misinformed statement. The writer might just as well have said man never landed on the moon.
1) Economically, Cuba was a powerhouse pre-Castro, with a huge middle class and a substantial upper class. You're talking about what was once one of the most prosperous nations in the western hemisphere, where huge growths in infrastructure marked the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
2) Havana was nearly completely under the posession of the American mafia? Where on Earth do you get that idea from? While I understand that a great deal of propaganda has been put out by the Castro regime over the years regarding this, it's rather silly, as I have personally met many of the folks who owned casinos and major businesses in pre-castro Cuba. They were Cuban, not American, nor were they "mafiosos." Furthermore, they'd be rather offended to hear someone saying that Cubans were not capable of running their own businesses and thus needed American mafia bosses to do the job for them. Please, don't base your views of history on Godfather II re-runs. LOL
3) "wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays" I can't even begin to address this ludicrous statement but I'll refer you to bullet point number 1.
Batista was an undemocratic dictator, we all know that, but let's not short-change Cuban hard work, ingenuity and love for their country. The statements in the previous post really strike me as a bit prejudicial against latin americans - as if the region's population can't be expected or trusted to build prosperous economy's for their citizens and thus require brutal dictators to keep them in line - ala what some have said about Saddam Hussein/Iraq. Silly, really silly.
Respectfully,
Goatboy95 21:50, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
Sorry for my broken English... ... Our experience - old Yugoslavia - showed that what happens in one country never is the matter of that country alone. I believe people who say it is not easy to live in Cuba nowadays; I can easily believe that Castro or people close to Castro became very rich and powerful; but I also know - from what I saw and read and thought about in my life - that (Castro and/or his associates) becoming extremely rich is just one side of the coin, it is just something that WAS EXPECTED in time when USA imposed blockade and sanctions. For example, in my country - Yugoslavia and now Serbia - we had sanctions for only 2-5 years, and it was like 1,2,3 that some people become powerful over night. So when we discuss Castro (or Milosevic) we should bare in mind that it is a normal thing to become dictator, even if the person in question (Castro, Milosevic, whoever) had good intentions in the beginning. I strongly believe Castro was idealist half a century ago; now I believe that sanctions and USA politics towards Cuba CAUSED this situation where all the blame goes to Castro, at least if you're watching American media. USA presidents and USA secret services didn't succeed in overthrowing Castro's socialism; ok, now USA is in no hurry and they (USA politicians) CAN and WILL wait for Castro to die; but what about Cuban people that are caught in the middle - do they have to be prisoners of American blockade and sanctions and of Fidel's refusal to give America whatever America wants?
What would you do if you were in Castro's shoes?
Thought experiment:
1. There is a dictator in your country.
2. No means to dethrone him, but a revolution.
3. You lead the revolution or take part in it. You win and become new leader.
4. You say: "No more exploiting! We don't want foreign (in this case: USA) companies to dictate our economy!" You become new Tito, Castro, Morales, Chavez...
(like many Latin American, African or Asian politicians tried to say.)
5. Foreign governments impose sanctions to your country.
6. You try to survive.
7. You refuse to play their game and by their rules.
8. You refuse to give them rights to do whatever they want to do.
9. You have to fight against power that wants to eliminate you (asassination tried 637 times - from book "Fidel Kastro - jedan čovek, jedna revolucija" ("Fidel Castro - one man, one revolution") - Borislav Lalić (writer, 50 years Yugoslav news correspondent from Cuba)...
10 ...and against forces that grow in your own country (remember that CIA and the like is not only in USA, but all around the world) and that are trying the same thing, that are working against ideals you fought for, and would like to restore foreign interests and interests of the rich.
Now, apart from my bad English, I strongly believe that what we see in Cuba, what we saw in Iraq (Saddam as "American buddy" for years), what we see in Afghanistan, what we saw in Vietnam, in Korea, in Africa, in Latin America, in Yugoslavia and later in Serbia and Montenegro, and nowadays in Serbian southern province Kosovo and Metohia ( from a terrorist organisation to a "Liberation Army" - how USA politicians changed oppinion or Google this article: Members of the Ministry of the Interior - Victims of Albanian Terrorism in 1998 - original page dissapeared few days ago after I wrote an article about the subject), is the same "money drills where drill won't" story: interests, interests and only interests ( The Albright Group financing huge Thermo Plant in Kosovo, article in Serbian)... of the oligarchy, of course. So USA politicians can wait untill Fidel dies, and then they will "transform" Cuba into "American dream". Cuban people, hungry of normal life, will accept every promise they hear, hopeing for the best. However, wolves that have eaten their lives, and lives of their parents, will be the same wolves that will bring "new democracy" to their "new lives", and poor will still be poor, but rich will become richer.
I believe - since I saw it in action - that if you deliberately put one county under the wall of sanctions, that country will sooner (rather than later) have dictatorship of some kind. Castro's dictatorship is much better than dictatorships that USA governments backed through the history of all continents, but it is still not a good solution. The best solution would be if there were no pressures from the rich, if USA did not impose sanctions, if this world was a better place than it is now.
However, as Steven Hawking said last year in Japan: we will most probably dissapear from the face of Earth before 2100, unless... [1]
WikiNeutrino 13:24, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
The article should mention what he did after his ouster. Did he plot his return to power? Travel the world? Gamble at Monte Carlo? Work on his knitting?...... A2Kafir 04:17, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
Batista tired of being robbed by Trujillo went to Spain and Portugal, where he wrote his own apologia and then died. Will try to find time to reference these. El Jigüe 12-28-05
It would be interesting to know to which political camp Batista belonged. Was he a fascist or a socialist, was he left wing or right wing or something completely different? 62.46.177.113
Batista, born poor of Taino and Black stock, is best described as a left of center strongman. See Argote-Freyre, Frank, 2006 Fulgencio Batista: Volume 1, From Revolutionary to Strongman. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey ISBN 0813537010 El Jigue 7-28-06
Batista was right-leaning. Ambassador Earl E.T. Smith, the last U.S. ambassador to Cuba, described him as a "Rightist dictator." He was also staunchly anticommunist. Smith mentions that, among other things, Batista outlawed the Cuban Communist Party, broke off relations with every single communist country, and established a Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities.
At that time, communists were considered the allies of the West. Remember, this was the Nazi/WWII era. Even then, he was anticommunist, though, as he admits in his memoir. I suggest you read The Fourth Floor if you want proof Batista was anticommunist.
Most south American caudillos were/are firmly alligned with one specific ideology -- personalism. And one overarching national goal -- promotion of themselves-- Dudeman5685 00:44, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Clicking through the President of Cuba "Succeeded by:" links, I got:
Fulgencio Batista - succeeded by - Ramón Grau - succeeded by - Carlos Prío Socarrás - succeeded by - Fulgencio Batista
The link just leads in a circle. How was he succeeded (eventually) by himself?
He did have two rules. When Machado fell in 1933 due to general strikes, Batista and his armed forces gained control and then there were presidents before he assumed power in 1940-44 and then again from 1952-59. Presumably Grau and Prio Socarras were the presidents in between his rule
It is also worth mentioning that Dr. Andres Rivero Aguero won the presidential elections of 1958. Of course, the revolutionaries put an end to the elections rather quickly. lol
Goatboy95 22:46, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
Sorry but I find it kind of hard to accept that Batista's second rule was economically and socially beneficial to Cubans. This article kind of makes it seem like he was a good leader not a dictator that Kennedy later regretted the US had backed. Castro couldn't gain the support he did and literally walk into power if there hadn't been something wrong with the Batista regime. It's true that illiteracy was at 25% (but not the 4% Castro made it by 1970) and Cuba had, for example, the greatest ownership of televisions in Latin America. Yet behind this, the economy was failing and the US was controlling more and more of this economy. Sugar, Cuba's main export, provided 1/10 of the global market. However, in the nineteenth century, they had provided 1/3 of the market. Wealth and living standards were unevenly distributed and this is why Castro's ideology of Socialism was so appealing. 75% of arable land was owned by foreigners and 250,000 servants served the foreigners in the playground that was Havana. This article also states that the Cuban people were tired of corrupt governments and repression? It was because of Batista's brutal execution of Castro's followers after the Moncada Barracks affair that Castro gained so much more support. Not to mention, when Castro finally did get to power, he asked a crowd of thousands if he should imprison and execute Batista followers and they replied in a unified "Yes!". It seems that the rule wasn't quite as admired as expressed in this article.
/"something wrong with the Batista regime" yes, a dictatorship, most decent people wanted him out.
/ "Wealth and living standards were unevenly distributed" think: the richest people would hardly have been even close to the richest Americans, and the poorest, at least in the sense of not freezing to death or lynched, would have been better off than the poorest Americans; illogical but repeatedly bleated comment.
/ "75% of the land... 250,000 servants" sources please; think: if in a population of less than 1M in Havana, 1/4 were servants, that'd be about 1/2 to 1/3 of the adults (after excluding children and the elderly), just can't be, physically impossible, you would not have the income to support mailmen or firemen.
/ "brutal execution of Castro's followers after the Moncada Barracks affair that Castro gained so much more support", since Fidel (who did not participate in the attack, stayed safely behind and took refuge with the local cardinal), Raul and the rest are still around, the number of those executed (i.e., after the attack) from the small band would have had to be small, the brutality debatable; these barracks included a medical facility where it has been said the assailants stabbed and killed patients. Publicity was years after the fact and hardly emotionally charged.
/ Whatever Castro would ask of a fanaticized mob would be taken as holy, as with Hitler and such, and is mindless and irrelevant. We have seen similar effects recently, in the USA, in the 21st. century.
/ As noted earlier, most decent people wanted Batista out, not a trade down to a perennial communist dictatorship. Apologies on the formatting.
Ardipithecus Maximus
04:29, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
I know absolutely nothing about Fulgencio Batista, but have just noticed a comment from User:Aldenpjohnson, on the main article:
The following two sentences are the last in the 'Youth and first rule' section and the first in the 'Aftermath' section, respectively. I don't which is correct, but suspect that he died in Spain, since there is more than one reference to his death in Spain and only one reference to Portugal. Someone needs to verify the correct place of death and make the suitable correction.
- Batista died on August 6 1973, in Estoril, Portugal.
- Aftermath: Batista later moved to Portugal and then Marbella, Spain, where he lived and wrote books the rest of his life. He died on August 6, 1973, in Guadalmina, Spain.
Given the inconsistency, and given that the inline web-link supporting the second of these appears to be broken, I'm removing information about the place of death for the time being, until an expert can put this right. – Stuart. ( Sjb90 | talk) 15:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
Ok, I fixed the place of death, but there are a number of other inconsistencies that I did not fix.
Rees11 04:06, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
I think the best line was towards the bottom, "But that did not end the flow of student blood..." Good luck making this a legit article. 67.82.47.139 02:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
Castro killed far more than Batista, although this does not justify Batista's killings, this is an fact. If you view this as POV you need to widen your reading. El Jigue
208.65.188.149
04:00, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
Critics of this article have demonstrated much ignorance, and they certainly have had time to do something about it. Enough is enough I removed the POV tag, and will start to insert corrections, e.g. Batista's claim to Native American inheritance is sound and should replace the mulatto label. The role of the communist party in supporting Machado needs to be made clear... El Jigue 208.65.188.149 04:06, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
I just want to say this is the most ridiculous sentence I have ever read:
"In the words of scholars just like..."? For Pete's sake, you cannot invoke a random quotation and say this is LIKE what scholar X or scholar Y WOULD have said. Either credit the quotation to a specific author or take it out. What IS this, a middle school English paper? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.247.43.50 ( talk) 19:33, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
I'm trying to decide if Batista was any better than the regime that replaced him. Che Guevara is described as torturing and killing members of Batista's government, but I want to know if Batista did the same kinds of things. I have a poor opinion of Che Guevara, and I want to decide if he was at all justified in overthrowing Batista. Any Comments?
MAJOR ERROR- Batista was never politically affiliated with the Communist Party of Cuba. This is a gross misinterpretation of the practice, at the time in Cuba, of forming a coalition of many parties for the purpose of political election/support- akin to what presently occurs in the U.S. More specifically, prior to the formation of this coalition, the Communist Party of Cuba was outlawed, and Batista legalized the party so that it might commence political activity alongside many other political parties in a legal manner. In fact, the political party to which Batista always belonged was the "PAU- Partido de Accion Unitaria".
MORE ERRORS in earlier comments - 1. "Batista was known for having his army mutilate opponents and display their dead bodies on television" this is simply not true, though quaint if compared to GW Bush. 2. "pretty much a toss-up" the crimes (and stupidity) of Castro, Guevara and associates has been much greater and longer lasting, destroying the society and economy. 3. Since Messrs Grau and Prio were duly elected, they would normally be and were recognized, "despite their opposition to Batista" is a non-sequitur. Ardipithecus Maximus 03:47, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
"el che and fidel maybe 2,000"
Is my understanding that the Cuban regime has executed almost 10,000 people since its installation and it was responsible also for over 13,000 deaths for Castro`s failed foreign wars to "expand socialism in the world".
In all some say close to 30,000 victims of the socialist dictatorship. 190.45.74.50 ( talk) 19:46, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
meyer lansky and his compadres ran havana like a whorehouse. it was the las vegas for rich gringos from america. batista was not even allowed in some casinos. there should be more about the mafiosos of cuba and how they fled to miami and now spread lies about cuba and castro. to them batista was great cause he did not get in there way. 170.170.59.138 ( talk) 09:11, 16 January 2009 (UTC)
In October, 1938, Batista, who formed a coalition with the Cuban Communist Party [4] was elected President of Cuba. During his tenure, he drafted the 1940 constitution (later approved by President Grau), widely regarded as a progressive document with regards to labor, unemployment, and social security, and implemented several liberal economic reforms.
I believe it was 1940.
Yes also suspened the constitution when he took over Cuba with a coup backed by the Auban army and tortured and killed anyonme who was against his rule. I was statiopned in Cuba in the 50s and know more about Cuba than you do. You only know about Havana. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.18.171.96 ( talk) 17:43, 1 June 2009 (UTC)
User: Luis Napoles has attempted to remove the above information recently claiming:
"What comes to your word choice, nowhere in your source it says "backed". Try to find a historian who substantiates how he was "backed".
Now leaving aside the fact that the NPR audio report I utilized the given link ---> (click on the first "Listen Now") states in the first 13 seconds (00:9-00:13) this EXACT verbatim phrase ... in anticipation of a likely deletion forthcoming again, per - WP:VERIFY - I figured I would utilize this talk page to list "several" sources which corroborate the phrase "U.S.-backed Dictator" in reference to Fulgencio Batista.
The following below are all book titles (accessible by Google books) followed by the page number and verbatim phrase contained within the source:
Cuba: idea of a nation displaced - page 77 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Born in blood and fire: a concise history of Latin America - Page 262 .... "US -backed military dictatorship"
The Columbia history of Latinos in the United States since 1960 - Page 149 .... "US -backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Breaking the real axis of evil: how to oust the world's last dictators by 2025 - Page 231 .... "overthrow of the US -backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista"
America's other war: terrorizing Colombia - Page 27 .... "overthrowing the US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
The Puerto Rican movement: voices from the diaspora - Page 39 .... "the fall of US -backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Rockets and Missiles: The Life Story of a Technology - Page 74 .... "overthrown US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia - Page 157 .... "against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture - Page 75.... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Greenwood Dictionary of World History - Page 41 .... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution - Page 46 .... "US -backed Cuban government led by Fulgencio Batista"
Perils of Empire: The Roman Republic and the American Republic - Page 127 .... "the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union - Page 134 .... "Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista … against the US-backed Batista regime"
Facts about the 20th century - Page 285 .... "overthrew US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society - Page 542 .... "oust the US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Cuba and the coming American Revolution - Page 65 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press - Page 122 .... "with Fulgencio Batista, the US-backed dictator"
Children of Cain: violence and the violent in Latin America - Page 111 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Iraq war: causes and consequences - Page 36 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Robert F. Kennedy and the death of American idealism - Page 54 .... "The US -backed dictator, General Fulgencio Batista"
Changing the history of Africa: Angola and Namibia - Page 105 .... "US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Endless enemies: the making of an unfriendly world - Page 256 .... "Fulgencio Batista, the US -backed dictator"
If you don't prefer books, a quick web search also lists these web articles from the
Telegraph ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Reuters ... "overthrow U.S.-backed dictator"
Washington Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Capitalism Magazine = (now there's a bastion of Communism) ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Boston Globe ... "US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
CNN ... "toppled a longstanding U.S.-backed dictator."
Irish Times ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
BBC ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
National Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator"
Miami Herald ... "U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Now Luis Napoles, I trust that you would agree that listing all of the above ref's in the lead might "be a bit much", thus if you can not provide any evidence to dispute this well known and accepted historical fact (which I document above) per Wp:Undue, WP:Verify, Wp:Reliable - and if there is not editor Wp:Consensus to dispute the above material or its inclusion - then please refrain from removing this important historical detail from the article going forward. Thanks Redthoreau ( talk)RT 15:39, 22 April 2009 (UTC)
The last sentence in the opening section of this guy's page says that he wrote 6 books. This doesn't really fit with the rest of the section and isn't much of an achievement anyway, so is it alright to remove it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Owen214 ( talk • contribs) 09:12, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
New section on portrayals in popular culture as per other wikipedia biogs eg per Tony Blair http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair#Portrayals_and_cameo_appearances If I was a carpenter ( talk) 12:04, 5 May 2009 (UTC)
He died of a heart attack on August 6, 1973 at Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain,[29] two days before a team of assassins from Castro's Cuba could carry out a plan to kill him.[9]
...right. Someone's fibbing here. This claim doesn't even make sense.
149.99.76.176 ( talk) 11:33, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
This support was mainly due to Batista's labor laws and his support for labor unions, unions which the communist movement had infiltrated.
Infiltrated? Communist members in labor unions have been around since the 1920s (IWW). They did not "infiltrate" the unions. They were already union members. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.230.61.23 ( talk) 13:36, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
The paragraph about the 1946 Mob Summit seems out of place: according to the rest of the article, Batista wasn't in power and wasn't even in the country when it happened. Any objections to axing it (or moving it to a more germane article)? Francis Lima ( talk) 23:56, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
I deleted the following text from the article:
"Under Batista's rule a new constitution was drafted. It called for government intervention in the economy and provided a social safety net."
The statement was under the section concerning his first term as president. Batista became president on Oct 10, 1940. The 1940 Constitution was drafted before that and was adopted in July of 1940. He was elected under that constitution. It was drafted and adopted before his election. Franklin Moore ( talk) 05:02, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
The lede refers to Batista as a General. Everything I have read always states that the highest rank he ever held was that of a Colonel. He was chief of staff of the Cuban Army from 1933 until 1939, so one might argue that he was a de facto general, but considering the issue, I would propose replacing "General" with the phrase "military leader." Is there any objection? Franklin Moore ( talk) 21:48, 22 February 2010 (UTC)
I attempted a shorter expansion of the intro in an attempt to make it a concise summary of the entire article. Comments please! Kaisershatner ( talk) 01:13, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
Per - WP:VERIFY - I figured I would utilize the talk page to first list several sources which corroborate the phrase "U.S.-backed Dictator" in reference to Fulgencio Batista.
The following below are all book titles (accessible by Google books) followed by the page number and verbatim phrase contained within the source:
Cuba: idea of a nation displaced - page 77 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Born in blood and fire: a concise history of Latin America - Page 262 .... "US -backed military dictatorship"
The Columbia history of Latinos in the United States since 1960 - Page 149 .... "US -backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Breaking the real axis of evil: how to oust the world's last dictators by 2025 - Page 231 .... "overthrow of the US -backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista"
America's other war: terrorizing Colombia - Page 27 .... "overthrowing the US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
The Puerto Rican movement: voices from the diaspora - Page 39 .... "the fall of US -backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Rockets and Missiles: The Life Story of a Technology - Page 74 .... "overthrown US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia - Page 157 .... "against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture - Page 75.... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Greenwood Dictionary of World History - Page 41 .... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution - Page 46 .... "US -backed Cuban government led by Fulgencio Batista"
Perils of Empire: The Roman Republic and the American Republic - Page 127 .... "the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union - Page 134 .... "Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista … against the US-backed Batista regime"
Facts about the 20th century - Page 285 .... "overthrew US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society - Page 542 .... "oust the US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Cuba and the coming American Revolution - Page 65 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press - Page 122 .... "with Fulgencio Batista, the US-backed dictator"
Children of Cain: violence and the violent in Latin America - Page 111 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Iraq war: causes and consequences - Page 36 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Robert F. Kennedy and the death of American idealism - Page 54 .... "The US -backed dictator, General Fulgencio Batista"
Changing the history of Africa: Angola and Namibia - Page 105 .... "US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Endless enemies: the making of an unfriendly world - Page 256 .... "Fulgencio Batista, the US -backed dictator"
If you don't prefer books, a quick web search also lists some web articles from the
Telegraph ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Reuters ... "overthrow U.S.-backed dictator"
Washington Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Capitalism Magazine = (now there's a bastion of Communism) ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Boston Globe ... "US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
CNN ... "toppled a longstanding U.S.-backed dictator."
Irish Times ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
BBC ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
National Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator"
Miami Herald ... "U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Now obviously listing all of the above ref's in the lead might "be a bit much". However I believe a few key points point to why the phrase "U.S.-backed" is important in the lead ... [1] Batista was in power in Cuba for 18 years (33-44, 52-59). He was indisputably backed by the U.S. for 17-17.5 years of that time, thus he was "U.S.-backed", the phrase the majority of sources utilize. [2] All of the refs I provide above are speaking of Batista ON JAN 1 1959. [3] Batista received military aid from the U.S. for the first 2 years of the Guerrilla conflict against J26M (1956-58). The U.S. ambassador was only "pulled" when it became obvious that Batista was about to be toppled, at the very end of the conflict. [4] Sure, you can find a few minor sympathetic or partisan sources which paint Batista as someone 'betrayed' by the U.S. who wanted him to be overthrown for Fidel Castro (a view common among some of the CIA in late 1958, but not the U.S. State Dept or Govt), but the majority of Wp:Reliable sources do not state such a thing. [5] Lastly, the fact that Batista was (and was viewed) as being backed by the U.S. (i.e. a puppet, lackey etc) by the Cuban people, was a key "selling point" for those rebelling against his rule during the Cuban revolution (both communists and non-communists alike). Keeping in mind that many of the rebels took up arms out of "nationalist" ("Get the Yanquis out of Cuba once and for all") tendencies.
Now with all that said, what are other editors views on the issue? Should "U.S.-backed" be in the intro paragraph? Redthoreau -- ( talk) 20:37, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
Thanks all. Red- you do the honors. Kaisershatner ( talk) 16:14, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
I don't know what the issue is, or if this is even the right way to attend to it, but there is some kind of scripting error in the described section that makes a large part of it unreadable. I have tested this in Firefox and Chrome so it's not a browser error. I am just pointing this out so that someone who knows what they are doing can fix it. 94.170.90.42 ( talk) 16:31, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
User:Pajfarmor, per your attempted addition of adding the "Social Democrat Coalition" as Batista's "political party" for 1940 - a fellow Wikipedia page is not allowed to be used as a reference per policy. Moreover, this alliance in 1940 of non-Auténtico parties formed an alliance that was actually called the "Democratic Socialist Coalition", which only rallied around Batista because he was considered to be the one figure that could defeat Grau. But this was not Batista's political party. After the 1940 presidential election, Batista formed a broad-based cabinet, representing all of the various parties which had backed him - which lasted until 1944. Redthoreau -- ( talk) 23:15, 22 January 2011 (UTC)
Hey, I am new to Wikipedia, and I am still getting the hang of how it works. I made a few changes to this article before, I apologize if in doing so I violated any Wikipedia rules. However, upon reading this article, I thought I could be of help, and I made several changes, mainly adding further details to the subheading titled Batista, Castro, and the Cuban Revolution. Specifically, I added more detail to the paragraph that made reference to the 1954 elections. I have been doing extensive academic research on this period, and I have had contact with a number of primary and secondary sources, both English and Spanish language sources. Specifically, I added a short sentence on why Grau withdrew from the 1954 campaign, and specified that Batista ran in the elections as the candidate of a coalition of political parties; I also cite my sources there.
I also added additional details to the paragraph that mentioned the attack on the Presidential Palace on March 13, 1957. Specifically, that the attack was planned by the FEU and DR, who were the University Student Federation and the Revolutionary Directorate. The former is mentioned in the Wikipedia article on the University of Havana. Moreover, the article also previously mentioned that Colonel Ramon Barquin had been appointed Head of the Army in 1956. I took a look at the article's source; although this was a Washington Post article, it was inaccurate. The Chief of Staff of the Army was General Francisco Tabernilla Dolz up until 1958. I can prove this by pointing either to the source I cited, or to Batista's memoirs, which were published in English as "Cuba Betrayed". Barquin was recalled to prepare for a defense of Cuba against a potential invasion by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. I have also added a different point of view as to why Batista's Army was unable to defeat Castro's rebels, and I also cite my source, which is a book by one of Batista's top military aides, General Francisco Tabernilla Palmero, and the son of the Army Chief of Staff, General Francisco Tabernilla Dolz.
I have also added extensive detail on the 1958 elections, which I have also done a lot of research on for an academic project. Specifically, I dispute the assertion in the previous state of the article which stated "In March 1958, President Eisenhower, disillusioned with Batista's performance, suggested he hold elections. Batista did, but the people showed their dissatisfaction with his government by refusing to vote." I feel that this statement is misleading, in that it implies that Batista held elections because Eisenhower wanted him to. In reality, this was not the case. Batista held elections as required by the Constitution of 1940, which was nominally in effect at the time. Furthermore, Batista held these elections in keeping with the concessions that he made to the legal non-revolutionary opposition in 1956, 1957, and 1958, specifically through the Civic Dialogue, the Plan de Vento, and the Bicameral Commission. For further evidence of this, I can direct you to Manuel Marquez Sterling's Cuba 1952-1959: The True Story of Castro’s Rise to Power. Wintergreen, VA. Kleiopatria Digital Press. 2009. I can also direct you to a Spanish language source, by a present day Cuban scholar, El fracaso de los moderados en Cuba : las alternativas reformistas de 1957 a 1958 La Habana : Editora Política, 2000. In English this is "The failure of the moderates in Cuba: the reformist alternatives of 1957 and 1958". However, this is very hard to get a hold of in the United States. Furthermore, I also mention who the candidates were in the elections, and briefly mention how Batista rigged the election, as well as Castro's attempts to assassinate those who participated in the elections, and I explain his motives for doing so. I also cite my sources within the changes I made, some of which are Spanish language sources.
Lastly, I inserted a short paragraph listing another perspective regarding the claimed 20,000 dead under the Batista regime. Some have disputed this number, as I have explained in the article, and I have cited my source.
Overall, I would like to know the other users' opinions regarding my changes and would appreciate a spirited discussion. Again, I apologize if I violated any rules with any of my previous changes. I have done my best to add to the article, have not deleted anything that was already there, except in the instances I mentioned above. Again, thank you all very much for reading, and I look forward to hearing from everyone! Crazybus911 ( talk) 08:55, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
Crazybus, many of your recent additions have been helpful, and if nothing else - added some information from a more moderate position regarding Batista's actions. However, the one area I would dispute is your added contention that the 20,000 death toll under Batista is heavily disputed - which I believe to be WP:UNDUE and a WP:FRINGE point of view. Part of the confusion I believe arises because Sterling (your source and I believe son of Carlos Márquez Sterling) may be addressing civilian murders during the Revolution from 1957-1959 and thus 2,000 deaths - whereas the cited 20,000 killed in the article under Batista is the given number of people killed by Batista's regime collectively during his years in office (1933-1944) & primarily (1952-1959). The 2,000 deaths during the armed insurrection from 1957-59 is often cited by anti-Castro writers as an attempt to call into question the more commonly accepted mainstream 20,000 figure (which was repeatedly echoed by President John F. Kennedy of all people). For instance, the 1959 United States Senate Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws by the Committee on the Judiciary (digitized online), noted that = "Batista in Cuba was regarded as the butcher of some 20,000 or 25,000 of its finest youth." This matches the belief 10 years later by the 1969 United States National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence which published a report entitled: 'Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives: A Report' - where on Page 582 it states that = "It is clear that counter terror became the strategy of the Batista government ... It has been estimated by some that as many as 20,000 civilians were killed." Now admittedly many historical events have a death count that is altered over time as more information comes about, however, the 20,000 total has remained consistent in the majority (see Wp:Undue) of sources from 1959 to the present day ...
Some published examples of this include:
Lastly, I would point out ---> this short clip from the documentary Fidel: The Untold Story and the section of the clip from [1:03-1:09] right after testimony by Wayne Smith (former head of the United States Interests Section in Havana). Redthoreau -- ( talk) 20:23, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
I was trying to figure out if the Quaker school Batista was educated in was in Cuba or the U.S....? The reference just says American Quaker school.... But where was the school? I am just trying to get a clearer picture of his early life....The lack of dates and specifics in the entry (regarding his early life) is frustrating. Thank you. 173.17.155.121 ( talk) 01:46, 13 April 2011 (UTC)12 April 2011 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.17.155.121 ( talk) 01:43, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
Some additional detail that I added to this section derived from the Hugh Thomas history "Cuba" has been reverted with the comment that the word "mulatto" is not used on the page cited. I have checked my copy of this book and both the reference and phraseology are correct. It may be that the other editor involved is referring to a different edition - mine is the Pan Books one published in 2002. If the term used by Hugh Thomas is in any way outdated or offensive then I will leave it deleted. However I am more concerned that the other new material expanding on Batista's youth and early military career has also been deleted, without explanation. None of it contradicts the brief summary to which it was added, with the intention of filling gaps in a well written article Buistr ( talk) 00:25, 19 October 2012 (UTC)
According to the person who managed Batistas fortune Rafael Diaz Balart the amount of money Batista left with was a fraction of what he had at his peak. The figure given in the article $ 300 million more closely matches what he had within the country not what he left with. He also gave a lot of money out in his final years in office to maintain the support of his army and other politicians. According to the money manager what he started with abroad were the assets of a parastatal which had been set up to establish a Cuban national shiping line and airline. RichardBond ( talk) 18:58, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
No it is not it is sourced from a book which was biased in favor of Ernesto "Che" Guevera and against Battista. I mention it here because it was told to me personally when I was with Rafael and his son. Other wise I would have changed the article and given an online citation. They were rather proud in rebuilding the fortune. RichardBond ( talk) 14:55, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
The 20,000 deaths supposedly happened under Batista's government. This news came out first on the cuban Bohemia magazine, owned and directed by Miguel Ángel Quevedo who before he committed suicide, he confessed that he wrote that to support Fidel Castro, in other words, that amount was a lie.
Véase "Mea Culpa de Migue Ángel Quevedo antes de suicidarse"
http://www.economiaparatodos.com.ar/ver_nota.php?nota=657 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.235.219.123 ( talk) 21:22, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
This is likely to be an exageration and your sources are quoting each other without original research. RichardBond ( talk) 15:00, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
I'd like to call into question the paragaph near the end of the article discussing the Election of 1958. The paragraph in question relies on the writings of Carlos Márquez Sterling, one of the candidates in the election, and Manuel Márquez Sterling, his son. This material is not presented as the opinion of those two authors, but fact. The personal involvment of the authors in said events and the opinionated way in which the material is delivered render them at least questionable as sources, if not unreliable. There is no evidence cited to back up any of the assertions made in the paragraph aside from the words of these two individuals, and some of the material seems conjectural. Rscannix ( talk) 20:01, 5 February 2013 (UTC)
...the Sierra Maestra mountains where Fidel Castro's rebels were held up
I think you mean were holed up. Dick Kimball ( talk) 19:17, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
Admittedly this is a minor point but there are two acronyms - "FEU" and "DR" - in the "Batista, Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Revolution" section that haven't been introduced previously - see my flags thereat. 99.112.158.209 ( talk) 07:34, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
I find:
"He divorced his wife, Elisa, and married Marta Fernández Batista in 1945."
But in the information box further up, I see 1946, not 1945. Please fix the discrepancy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 ( talk) 19:12, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Fulgencio Batista/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
This looks like a 'B' to me. Irrespective of the facts or the lack thereof it is very poorly written. Hyperbole abounds and it is poorly compartmentalized, as if each segment is in itself trying to tell the entire story. For me it was NOT a good read. |
Last edited at 23:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 15:28, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
The usage and primary topic of " Batista" is under discussion at talk:Dave Batista -- 67.70.35.44 ( talk) 07:36, 25 November 2014 (UTC)
A 1959 newspaper article states that a son named Fulgencio Ruben Batista is 25 years old at that time, making him born in 1934. He was living in New Orleans and flew with his wife and 1 year old child to Jacksonville and eventually with the rest of clan to Daytona Beach, Florida. That would make him 81 years old today if he is still alive. Ruben stated in the newspaper article that his father has a lot of friends in the USA. The house is described as a "plush villa" and arriving there January 1, 1959 include 18 influential Cubans, mother of his personal secretary in a wheelchair, and his other children. Several newspaper articles mention that five police officers are guarding his house around the clock. These people were molested at airports when transferring on flights to get to Daytona Beach, Florida, because it was known who they were connected with. Source: Tampa Tribune newspaper Jan 1959 97.76.210.2 ( talk) 18:55, 11 May 2015 (UTC)mm
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The Cuban pro-Soviet party that supported Batista in the 1940 election was then titled the Partido Socialista Popular (People's Socialist Party). This may be confirmed at this wikipedia entry: /info/en/?search=Popular_Socialist_Party_%28Cuba%29
The PSP was not the party of Julio Antonio Mella at that time. Mella had been murdered in 1929, as shown at this wikipedia entry:
/info/en/?search=Julio_Antonio_Mella
SuleymanSchwartz ( talk) 02:28, 11 December 2015 (UTC)
An editor just made a bunch of edits making the article a Commonwealth WP:ENGVAR. Was this established anywhere? Given Cuba's and Batista's ties with the US, I imagine there's an argument for maintaining US styling. Curly "the jerk" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 10:59, 26 November 2016 (UTC)
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It is stated that "Fidel threatened voters," and I'm not seeing a source for that. Can someone link a source to that or delete it?
![]() | This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
Batista remains to this day the single most important personality in Cuban history, more so than Castro himself. Jaime Figueras
Why is Fulgencio Batista described as a "semi-constitutional" leader? Perhaps it could be better explained that he was constitutional at one point and unconstitutional at another. I think the best would be to eliminate this word, "semi-constitutional," entirely. -- Daniel C. Boyer
Does anyone know of a specific source linking FDR to the Sergeant's revolt? - Hephaestos 05:25 Feb 20, 2003 (UTC)
Hammer away at your forge lame one and try Welles, Benjamin. 1997.Sumner Welles; FDR's global strategist. St. Martin's Press, NY starting on page 156. There is much more but this a start. There is also talk of a US secret operative said to be Cuban-American (more of that later) (El Jigüe, 9/24/2005).
I think that this page needs more information on Batista's life and activities after his exile. Rvinall 21:34, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC).
Batista essentially retired to the Dominican Republic, where much of his money was stolen by Trujillo, and he ended up in the Portugal. He wrote a few books.....trying to justify his life. (El Jigüe, 9/24/2005)
Paragraph after paragraph of this entry as I find it today is duplicated word for word on this page: http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/batista.htm
Has it been copied from the Jerry A. Sierra essay wholesale? Or is it the other way around? 75.42.3.130 ( talk) 23:38, 22 June 2008 (UTC)
Just read the question about who was worse, Guevara or Batista. If you haven't already, please take a look at Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Che Guevara. I agree with the answer that both regimes were pretty bloody. There were numerous "trials" of Batista supporters where ordinary Cubans would accuse their neighbors of being traitors to the revolution. But Batista was swift to end any opposition to his regime violently and without trial as well. 63.26.71.242 03:41, 27 November 2005 (UTC)Anna
Castro and Che were worse than Batista. Cuba was able to function economically under Batista. As stated in the article, Havana had more tv's, telephones and Cadilacs per household than any city in the US. The regular citizen was able to go to school, choose their own carriers and have hope for a future. Under Castro, no one has any hope, Cuba's average citizen has no civil rights and is destined to poverty. Under Castro, Cubans are throwing themselves into the ocean on rafts made of inner tubes and anything that floats. Castro has taken hope away from the Cuban people, without hope, there is nothing.
This remark is so stupid I'm surprised I even find myself responding to it. Under Batista, poverty under the population was more widespread by far than under Castro, Havana was nearly completely in the posession of the American mafia, and the wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays. 82.176.194.151 14:28, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
"Under Batista, poverty under the population was more widespread by far than under Castro, Havana was nearly completely in the posession of the American mafia, and the wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays." That is a shockingly misinformed statement. The writer might just as well have said man never landed on the moon.
1) Economically, Cuba was a powerhouse pre-Castro, with a huge middle class and a substantial upper class. You're talking about what was once one of the most prosperous nations in the western hemisphere, where huge growths in infrastructure marked the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
2) Havana was nearly completely under the posession of the American mafia? Where on Earth do you get that idea from? While I understand that a great deal of propaganda has been put out by the Castro regime over the years regarding this, it's rather silly, as I have personally met many of the folks who owned casinos and major businesses in pre-castro Cuba. They were Cuban, not American, nor were they "mafiosos." Furthermore, they'd be rather offended to hear someone saying that Cubans were not capable of running their own businesses and thus needed American mafia bosses to do the job for them. Please, don't base your views of history on Godfather II re-runs. LOL
3) "wealth was owned by an even smaller portion of the population than is the case nowadays" I can't even begin to address this ludicrous statement but I'll refer you to bullet point number 1.
Batista was an undemocratic dictator, we all know that, but let's not short-change Cuban hard work, ingenuity and love for their country. The statements in the previous post really strike me as a bit prejudicial against latin americans - as if the region's population can't be expected or trusted to build prosperous economy's for their citizens and thus require brutal dictators to keep them in line - ala what some have said about Saddam Hussein/Iraq. Silly, really silly.
Respectfully,
Goatboy95 21:50, 28 December 2006 (UTC)
Sorry for my broken English... ... Our experience - old Yugoslavia - showed that what happens in one country never is the matter of that country alone. I believe people who say it is not easy to live in Cuba nowadays; I can easily believe that Castro or people close to Castro became very rich and powerful; but I also know - from what I saw and read and thought about in my life - that (Castro and/or his associates) becoming extremely rich is just one side of the coin, it is just something that WAS EXPECTED in time when USA imposed blockade and sanctions. For example, in my country - Yugoslavia and now Serbia - we had sanctions for only 2-5 years, and it was like 1,2,3 that some people become powerful over night. So when we discuss Castro (or Milosevic) we should bare in mind that it is a normal thing to become dictator, even if the person in question (Castro, Milosevic, whoever) had good intentions in the beginning. I strongly believe Castro was idealist half a century ago; now I believe that sanctions and USA politics towards Cuba CAUSED this situation where all the blame goes to Castro, at least if you're watching American media. USA presidents and USA secret services didn't succeed in overthrowing Castro's socialism; ok, now USA is in no hurry and they (USA politicians) CAN and WILL wait for Castro to die; but what about Cuban people that are caught in the middle - do they have to be prisoners of American blockade and sanctions and of Fidel's refusal to give America whatever America wants?
What would you do if you were in Castro's shoes?
Thought experiment:
1. There is a dictator in your country.
2. No means to dethrone him, but a revolution.
3. You lead the revolution or take part in it. You win and become new leader.
4. You say: "No more exploiting! We don't want foreign (in this case: USA) companies to dictate our economy!" You become new Tito, Castro, Morales, Chavez...
(like many Latin American, African or Asian politicians tried to say.)
5. Foreign governments impose sanctions to your country.
6. You try to survive.
7. You refuse to play their game and by their rules.
8. You refuse to give them rights to do whatever they want to do.
9. You have to fight against power that wants to eliminate you (asassination tried 637 times - from book "Fidel Kastro - jedan čovek, jedna revolucija" ("Fidel Castro - one man, one revolution") - Borislav Lalić (writer, 50 years Yugoslav news correspondent from Cuba)...
10 ...and against forces that grow in your own country (remember that CIA and the like is not only in USA, but all around the world) and that are trying the same thing, that are working against ideals you fought for, and would like to restore foreign interests and interests of the rich.
Now, apart from my bad English, I strongly believe that what we see in Cuba, what we saw in Iraq (Saddam as "American buddy" for years), what we see in Afghanistan, what we saw in Vietnam, in Korea, in Africa, in Latin America, in Yugoslavia and later in Serbia and Montenegro, and nowadays in Serbian southern province Kosovo and Metohia ( from a terrorist organisation to a "Liberation Army" - how USA politicians changed oppinion or Google this article: Members of the Ministry of the Interior - Victims of Albanian Terrorism in 1998 - original page dissapeared few days ago after I wrote an article about the subject), is the same "money drills where drill won't" story: interests, interests and only interests ( The Albright Group financing huge Thermo Plant in Kosovo, article in Serbian)... of the oligarchy, of course. So USA politicians can wait untill Fidel dies, and then they will "transform" Cuba into "American dream". Cuban people, hungry of normal life, will accept every promise they hear, hopeing for the best. However, wolves that have eaten their lives, and lives of their parents, will be the same wolves that will bring "new democracy" to their "new lives", and poor will still be poor, but rich will become richer.
I believe - since I saw it in action - that if you deliberately put one county under the wall of sanctions, that country will sooner (rather than later) have dictatorship of some kind. Castro's dictatorship is much better than dictatorships that USA governments backed through the history of all continents, but it is still not a good solution. The best solution would be if there were no pressures from the rich, if USA did not impose sanctions, if this world was a better place than it is now.
However, as Steven Hawking said last year in Japan: we will most probably dissapear from the face of Earth before 2100, unless... [1]
WikiNeutrino 13:24, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
The article should mention what he did after his ouster. Did he plot his return to power? Travel the world? Gamble at Monte Carlo? Work on his knitting?...... A2Kafir 04:17, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
Batista tired of being robbed by Trujillo went to Spain and Portugal, where he wrote his own apologia and then died. Will try to find time to reference these. El Jigüe 12-28-05
It would be interesting to know to which political camp Batista belonged. Was he a fascist or a socialist, was he left wing or right wing or something completely different? 62.46.177.113
Batista, born poor of Taino and Black stock, is best described as a left of center strongman. See Argote-Freyre, Frank, 2006 Fulgencio Batista: Volume 1, From Revolutionary to Strongman. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey ISBN 0813537010 El Jigue 7-28-06
Batista was right-leaning. Ambassador Earl E.T. Smith, the last U.S. ambassador to Cuba, described him as a "Rightist dictator." He was also staunchly anticommunist. Smith mentions that, among other things, Batista outlawed the Cuban Communist Party, broke off relations with every single communist country, and established a Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities.
At that time, communists were considered the allies of the West. Remember, this was the Nazi/WWII era. Even then, he was anticommunist, though, as he admits in his memoir. I suggest you read The Fourth Floor if you want proof Batista was anticommunist.
Most south American caudillos were/are firmly alligned with one specific ideology -- personalism. And one overarching national goal -- promotion of themselves-- Dudeman5685 00:44, 11 October 2006 (UTC)
Clicking through the President of Cuba "Succeeded by:" links, I got:
Fulgencio Batista - succeeded by - Ramón Grau - succeeded by - Carlos Prío Socarrás - succeeded by - Fulgencio Batista
The link just leads in a circle. How was he succeeded (eventually) by himself?
He did have two rules. When Machado fell in 1933 due to general strikes, Batista and his armed forces gained control and then there were presidents before he assumed power in 1940-44 and then again from 1952-59. Presumably Grau and Prio Socarras were the presidents in between his rule
It is also worth mentioning that Dr. Andres Rivero Aguero won the presidential elections of 1958. Of course, the revolutionaries put an end to the elections rather quickly. lol
Goatboy95 22:46, 27 December 2006 (UTC)
Sorry but I find it kind of hard to accept that Batista's second rule was economically and socially beneficial to Cubans. This article kind of makes it seem like he was a good leader not a dictator that Kennedy later regretted the US had backed. Castro couldn't gain the support he did and literally walk into power if there hadn't been something wrong with the Batista regime. It's true that illiteracy was at 25% (but not the 4% Castro made it by 1970) and Cuba had, for example, the greatest ownership of televisions in Latin America. Yet behind this, the economy was failing and the US was controlling more and more of this economy. Sugar, Cuba's main export, provided 1/10 of the global market. However, in the nineteenth century, they had provided 1/3 of the market. Wealth and living standards were unevenly distributed and this is why Castro's ideology of Socialism was so appealing. 75% of arable land was owned by foreigners and 250,000 servants served the foreigners in the playground that was Havana. This article also states that the Cuban people were tired of corrupt governments and repression? It was because of Batista's brutal execution of Castro's followers after the Moncada Barracks affair that Castro gained so much more support. Not to mention, when Castro finally did get to power, he asked a crowd of thousands if he should imprison and execute Batista followers and they replied in a unified "Yes!". It seems that the rule wasn't quite as admired as expressed in this article.
/"something wrong with the Batista regime" yes, a dictatorship, most decent people wanted him out.
/ "Wealth and living standards were unevenly distributed" think: the richest people would hardly have been even close to the richest Americans, and the poorest, at least in the sense of not freezing to death or lynched, would have been better off than the poorest Americans; illogical but repeatedly bleated comment.
/ "75% of the land... 250,000 servants" sources please; think: if in a population of less than 1M in Havana, 1/4 were servants, that'd be about 1/2 to 1/3 of the adults (after excluding children and the elderly), just can't be, physically impossible, you would not have the income to support mailmen or firemen.
/ "brutal execution of Castro's followers after the Moncada Barracks affair that Castro gained so much more support", since Fidel (who did not participate in the attack, stayed safely behind and took refuge with the local cardinal), Raul and the rest are still around, the number of those executed (i.e., after the attack) from the small band would have had to be small, the brutality debatable; these barracks included a medical facility where it has been said the assailants stabbed and killed patients. Publicity was years after the fact and hardly emotionally charged.
/ Whatever Castro would ask of a fanaticized mob would be taken as holy, as with Hitler and such, and is mindless and irrelevant. We have seen similar effects recently, in the USA, in the 21st. century.
/ As noted earlier, most decent people wanted Batista out, not a trade down to a perennial communist dictatorship. Apologies on the formatting.
Ardipithecus Maximus
04:29, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
I know absolutely nothing about Fulgencio Batista, but have just noticed a comment from User:Aldenpjohnson, on the main article:
The following two sentences are the last in the 'Youth and first rule' section and the first in the 'Aftermath' section, respectively. I don't which is correct, but suspect that he died in Spain, since there is more than one reference to his death in Spain and only one reference to Portugal. Someone needs to verify the correct place of death and make the suitable correction.
- Batista died on August 6 1973, in Estoril, Portugal.
- Aftermath: Batista later moved to Portugal and then Marbella, Spain, where he lived and wrote books the rest of his life. He died on August 6, 1973, in Guadalmina, Spain.
Given the inconsistency, and given that the inline web-link supporting the second of these appears to be broken, I'm removing information about the place of death for the time being, until an expert can put this right. – Stuart. ( Sjb90 | talk) 15:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
Ok, I fixed the place of death, but there are a number of other inconsistencies that I did not fix.
Rees11 04:06, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
I think the best line was towards the bottom, "But that did not end the flow of student blood..." Good luck making this a legit article. 67.82.47.139 02:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)
Castro killed far more than Batista, although this does not justify Batista's killings, this is an fact. If you view this as POV you need to widen your reading. El Jigue
208.65.188.149
04:00, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
Critics of this article have demonstrated much ignorance, and they certainly have had time to do something about it. Enough is enough I removed the POV tag, and will start to insert corrections, e.g. Batista's claim to Native American inheritance is sound and should replace the mulatto label. The role of the communist party in supporting Machado needs to be made clear... El Jigue 208.65.188.149 04:06, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
I just want to say this is the most ridiculous sentence I have ever read:
"In the words of scholars just like..."? For Pete's sake, you cannot invoke a random quotation and say this is LIKE what scholar X or scholar Y WOULD have said. Either credit the quotation to a specific author or take it out. What IS this, a middle school English paper? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.247.43.50 ( talk) 19:33, 14 October 2007 (UTC)
I'm trying to decide if Batista was any better than the regime that replaced him. Che Guevara is described as torturing and killing members of Batista's government, but I want to know if Batista did the same kinds of things. I have a poor opinion of Che Guevara, and I want to decide if he was at all justified in overthrowing Batista. Any Comments?
MAJOR ERROR- Batista was never politically affiliated with the Communist Party of Cuba. This is a gross misinterpretation of the practice, at the time in Cuba, of forming a coalition of many parties for the purpose of political election/support- akin to what presently occurs in the U.S. More specifically, prior to the formation of this coalition, the Communist Party of Cuba was outlawed, and Batista legalized the party so that it might commence political activity alongside many other political parties in a legal manner. In fact, the political party to which Batista always belonged was the "PAU- Partido de Accion Unitaria".
MORE ERRORS in earlier comments - 1. "Batista was known for having his army mutilate opponents and display their dead bodies on television" this is simply not true, though quaint if compared to GW Bush. 2. "pretty much a toss-up" the crimes (and stupidity) of Castro, Guevara and associates has been much greater and longer lasting, destroying the society and economy. 3. Since Messrs Grau and Prio were duly elected, they would normally be and were recognized, "despite their opposition to Batista" is a non-sequitur. Ardipithecus Maximus 03:47, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
"el che and fidel maybe 2,000"
Is my understanding that the Cuban regime has executed almost 10,000 people since its installation and it was responsible also for over 13,000 deaths for Castro`s failed foreign wars to "expand socialism in the world".
In all some say close to 30,000 victims of the socialist dictatorship. 190.45.74.50 ( talk) 19:46, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
meyer lansky and his compadres ran havana like a whorehouse. it was the las vegas for rich gringos from america. batista was not even allowed in some casinos. there should be more about the mafiosos of cuba and how they fled to miami and now spread lies about cuba and castro. to them batista was great cause he did not get in there way. 170.170.59.138 ( talk) 09:11, 16 January 2009 (UTC)
In October, 1938, Batista, who formed a coalition with the Cuban Communist Party [4] was elected President of Cuba. During his tenure, he drafted the 1940 constitution (later approved by President Grau), widely regarded as a progressive document with regards to labor, unemployment, and social security, and implemented several liberal economic reforms.
I believe it was 1940.
Yes also suspened the constitution when he took over Cuba with a coup backed by the Auban army and tortured and killed anyonme who was against his rule. I was statiopned in Cuba in the 50s and know more about Cuba than you do. You only know about Havana. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.18.171.96 ( talk) 17:43, 1 June 2009 (UTC)
User: Luis Napoles has attempted to remove the above information recently claiming:
"What comes to your word choice, nowhere in your source it says "backed". Try to find a historian who substantiates how he was "backed".
Now leaving aside the fact that the NPR audio report I utilized the given link ---> (click on the first "Listen Now") states in the first 13 seconds (00:9-00:13) this EXACT verbatim phrase ... in anticipation of a likely deletion forthcoming again, per - WP:VERIFY - I figured I would utilize this talk page to list "several" sources which corroborate the phrase "U.S.-backed Dictator" in reference to Fulgencio Batista.
The following below are all book titles (accessible by Google books) followed by the page number and verbatim phrase contained within the source:
Cuba: idea of a nation displaced - page 77 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Born in blood and fire: a concise history of Latin America - Page 262 .... "US -backed military dictatorship"
The Columbia history of Latinos in the United States since 1960 - Page 149 .... "US -backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Breaking the real axis of evil: how to oust the world's last dictators by 2025 - Page 231 .... "overthrow of the US -backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista"
America's other war: terrorizing Colombia - Page 27 .... "overthrowing the US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
The Puerto Rican movement: voices from the diaspora - Page 39 .... "the fall of US -backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Rockets and Missiles: The Life Story of a Technology - Page 74 .... "overthrown US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia - Page 157 .... "against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture - Page 75.... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Greenwood Dictionary of World History - Page 41 .... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution - Page 46 .... "US -backed Cuban government led by Fulgencio Batista"
Perils of Empire: The Roman Republic and the American Republic - Page 127 .... "the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union - Page 134 .... "Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista … against the US-backed Batista regime"
Facts about the 20th century - Page 285 .... "overthrew US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society - Page 542 .... "oust the US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Cuba and the coming American Revolution - Page 65 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press - Page 122 .... "with Fulgencio Batista, the US-backed dictator"
Children of Cain: violence and the violent in Latin America - Page 111 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Iraq war: causes and consequences - Page 36 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Robert F. Kennedy and the death of American idealism - Page 54 .... "The US -backed dictator, General Fulgencio Batista"
Changing the history of Africa: Angola and Namibia - Page 105 .... "US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Endless enemies: the making of an unfriendly world - Page 256 .... "Fulgencio Batista, the US -backed dictator"
If you don't prefer books, a quick web search also lists these web articles from the
Telegraph ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Reuters ... "overthrow U.S.-backed dictator"
Washington Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Capitalism Magazine = (now there's a bastion of Communism) ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Boston Globe ... "US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
CNN ... "toppled a longstanding U.S.-backed dictator."
Irish Times ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
BBC ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
National Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator"
Miami Herald ... "U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Now Luis Napoles, I trust that you would agree that listing all of the above ref's in the lead might "be a bit much", thus if you can not provide any evidence to dispute this well known and accepted historical fact (which I document above) per Wp:Undue, WP:Verify, Wp:Reliable - and if there is not editor Wp:Consensus to dispute the above material or its inclusion - then please refrain from removing this important historical detail from the article going forward. Thanks Redthoreau ( talk)RT 15:39, 22 April 2009 (UTC)
The last sentence in the opening section of this guy's page says that he wrote 6 books. This doesn't really fit with the rest of the section and isn't much of an achievement anyway, so is it alright to remove it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Owen214 ( talk • contribs) 09:12, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
New section on portrayals in popular culture as per other wikipedia biogs eg per Tony Blair http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair#Portrayals_and_cameo_appearances If I was a carpenter ( talk) 12:04, 5 May 2009 (UTC)
He died of a heart attack on August 6, 1973 at Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain,[29] two days before a team of assassins from Castro's Cuba could carry out a plan to kill him.[9]
...right. Someone's fibbing here. This claim doesn't even make sense.
149.99.76.176 ( talk) 11:33, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
This support was mainly due to Batista's labor laws and his support for labor unions, unions which the communist movement had infiltrated.
Infiltrated? Communist members in labor unions have been around since the 1920s (IWW). They did not "infiltrate" the unions. They were already union members. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.230.61.23 ( talk) 13:36, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
The paragraph about the 1946 Mob Summit seems out of place: according to the rest of the article, Batista wasn't in power and wasn't even in the country when it happened. Any objections to axing it (or moving it to a more germane article)? Francis Lima ( talk) 23:56, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
I deleted the following text from the article:
"Under Batista's rule a new constitution was drafted. It called for government intervention in the economy and provided a social safety net."
The statement was under the section concerning his first term as president. Batista became president on Oct 10, 1940. The 1940 Constitution was drafted before that and was adopted in July of 1940. He was elected under that constitution. It was drafted and adopted before his election. Franklin Moore ( talk) 05:02, 15 February 2010 (UTC)
The lede refers to Batista as a General. Everything I have read always states that the highest rank he ever held was that of a Colonel. He was chief of staff of the Cuban Army from 1933 until 1939, so one might argue that he was a de facto general, but considering the issue, I would propose replacing "General" with the phrase "military leader." Is there any objection? Franklin Moore ( talk) 21:48, 22 February 2010 (UTC)
I attempted a shorter expansion of the intro in an attempt to make it a concise summary of the entire article. Comments please! Kaisershatner ( talk) 01:13, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
Per - WP:VERIFY - I figured I would utilize the talk page to first list several sources which corroborate the phrase "U.S.-backed Dictator" in reference to Fulgencio Batista.
The following below are all book titles (accessible by Google books) followed by the page number and verbatim phrase contained within the source:
Cuba: idea of a nation displaced - page 77 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Born in blood and fire: a concise history of Latin America - Page 262 .... "US -backed military dictatorship"
The Columbia history of Latinos in the United States since 1960 - Page 149 .... "US -backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Breaking the real axis of evil: how to oust the world's last dictators by 2025 - Page 231 .... "overthrow of the US -backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista"
America's other war: terrorizing Colombia - Page 27 .... "overthrowing the US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
The Puerto Rican movement: voices from the diaspora - Page 39 .... "the fall of US -backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Rockets and Missiles: The Life Story of a Technology - Page 74 .... "overthrown US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Colonialism: an international, social, cultural, and political encyclopedia - Page 157 .... "against US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture - Page 75.... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Greenwood Dictionary of World History - Page 41 .... "overthrow of US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Che Guevara: In Search of Revolution - Page 46 .... "US -backed Cuban government led by Fulgencio Batista"
Perils of Empire: The Roman Republic and the American Republic - Page 127 .... "the US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union - Page 134 .... "Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista … against the US-backed Batista regime"
Facts about the 20th century - Page 285 .... "overthrew US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society - Page 542 .... "oust the US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Cuba and the coming American Revolution - Page 65 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Whiteout: The CIA, Drugs, and the Press - Page 122 .... "with Fulgencio Batista, the US-backed dictator"
Children of Cain: violence and the violent in Latin America - Page 111 .... "US -backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
The Iraq war: causes and consequences - Page 36 .... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Robert F. Kennedy and the death of American idealism - Page 54 .... "The US -backed dictator, General Fulgencio Batista"
Changing the history of Africa: Angola and Namibia - Page 105 .... "US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista"
Endless enemies: the making of an unfriendly world - Page 256 .... "Fulgencio Batista, the US -backed dictator"
If you don't prefer books, a quick web search also lists some web articles from the
Telegraph ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Reuters ... "overthrow U.S.-backed dictator"
Washington Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Capitalism Magazine = (now there's a bastion of Communism) ... "U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Boston Globe ... "US-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
CNN ... "toppled a longstanding U.S.-backed dictator."
Irish Times ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
BBC ... "US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista"
National Post ... "U.S.-backed dictator"
Miami Herald ... "U.S.-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista"
Now obviously listing all of the above ref's in the lead might "be a bit much". However I believe a few key points point to why the phrase "U.S.-backed" is important in the lead ... [1] Batista was in power in Cuba for 18 years (33-44, 52-59). He was indisputably backed by the U.S. for 17-17.5 years of that time, thus he was "U.S.-backed", the phrase the majority of sources utilize. [2] All of the refs I provide above are speaking of Batista ON JAN 1 1959. [3] Batista received military aid from the U.S. for the first 2 years of the Guerrilla conflict against J26M (1956-58). The U.S. ambassador was only "pulled" when it became obvious that Batista was about to be toppled, at the very end of the conflict. [4] Sure, you can find a few minor sympathetic or partisan sources which paint Batista as someone 'betrayed' by the U.S. who wanted him to be overthrown for Fidel Castro (a view common among some of the CIA in late 1958, but not the U.S. State Dept or Govt), but the majority of Wp:Reliable sources do not state such a thing. [5] Lastly, the fact that Batista was (and was viewed) as being backed by the U.S. (i.e. a puppet, lackey etc) by the Cuban people, was a key "selling point" for those rebelling against his rule during the Cuban revolution (both communists and non-communists alike). Keeping in mind that many of the rebels took up arms out of "nationalist" ("Get the Yanquis out of Cuba once and for all") tendencies.
Now with all that said, what are other editors views on the issue? Should "U.S.-backed" be in the intro paragraph? Redthoreau -- ( talk) 20:37, 9 April 2010 (UTC)
Thanks all. Red- you do the honors. Kaisershatner ( talk) 16:14, 16 April 2010 (UTC)
I don't know what the issue is, or if this is even the right way to attend to it, but there is some kind of scripting error in the described section that makes a large part of it unreadable. I have tested this in Firefox and Chrome so it's not a browser error. I am just pointing this out so that someone who knows what they are doing can fix it. 94.170.90.42 ( talk) 16:31, 14 August 2010 (UTC)
User:Pajfarmor, per your attempted addition of adding the "Social Democrat Coalition" as Batista's "political party" for 1940 - a fellow Wikipedia page is not allowed to be used as a reference per policy. Moreover, this alliance in 1940 of non-Auténtico parties formed an alliance that was actually called the "Democratic Socialist Coalition", which only rallied around Batista because he was considered to be the one figure that could defeat Grau. But this was not Batista's political party. After the 1940 presidential election, Batista formed a broad-based cabinet, representing all of the various parties which had backed him - which lasted until 1944. Redthoreau -- ( talk) 23:15, 22 January 2011 (UTC)
Hey, I am new to Wikipedia, and I am still getting the hang of how it works. I made a few changes to this article before, I apologize if in doing so I violated any Wikipedia rules. However, upon reading this article, I thought I could be of help, and I made several changes, mainly adding further details to the subheading titled Batista, Castro, and the Cuban Revolution. Specifically, I added more detail to the paragraph that made reference to the 1954 elections. I have been doing extensive academic research on this period, and I have had contact with a number of primary and secondary sources, both English and Spanish language sources. Specifically, I added a short sentence on why Grau withdrew from the 1954 campaign, and specified that Batista ran in the elections as the candidate of a coalition of political parties; I also cite my sources there.
I also added additional details to the paragraph that mentioned the attack on the Presidential Palace on March 13, 1957. Specifically, that the attack was planned by the FEU and DR, who were the University Student Federation and the Revolutionary Directorate. The former is mentioned in the Wikipedia article on the University of Havana. Moreover, the article also previously mentioned that Colonel Ramon Barquin had been appointed Head of the Army in 1956. I took a look at the article's source; although this was a Washington Post article, it was inaccurate. The Chief of Staff of the Army was General Francisco Tabernilla Dolz up until 1958. I can prove this by pointing either to the source I cited, or to Batista's memoirs, which were published in English as "Cuba Betrayed". Barquin was recalled to prepare for a defense of Cuba against a potential invasion by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. I have also added a different point of view as to why Batista's Army was unable to defeat Castro's rebels, and I also cite my source, which is a book by one of Batista's top military aides, General Francisco Tabernilla Palmero, and the son of the Army Chief of Staff, General Francisco Tabernilla Dolz.
I have also added extensive detail on the 1958 elections, which I have also done a lot of research on for an academic project. Specifically, I dispute the assertion in the previous state of the article which stated "In March 1958, President Eisenhower, disillusioned with Batista's performance, suggested he hold elections. Batista did, but the people showed their dissatisfaction with his government by refusing to vote." I feel that this statement is misleading, in that it implies that Batista held elections because Eisenhower wanted him to. In reality, this was not the case. Batista held elections as required by the Constitution of 1940, which was nominally in effect at the time. Furthermore, Batista held these elections in keeping with the concessions that he made to the legal non-revolutionary opposition in 1956, 1957, and 1958, specifically through the Civic Dialogue, the Plan de Vento, and the Bicameral Commission. For further evidence of this, I can direct you to Manuel Marquez Sterling's Cuba 1952-1959: The True Story of Castro’s Rise to Power. Wintergreen, VA. Kleiopatria Digital Press. 2009. I can also direct you to a Spanish language source, by a present day Cuban scholar, El fracaso de los moderados en Cuba : las alternativas reformistas de 1957 a 1958 La Habana : Editora Política, 2000. In English this is "The failure of the moderates in Cuba: the reformist alternatives of 1957 and 1958". However, this is very hard to get a hold of in the United States. Furthermore, I also mention who the candidates were in the elections, and briefly mention how Batista rigged the election, as well as Castro's attempts to assassinate those who participated in the elections, and I explain his motives for doing so. I also cite my sources within the changes I made, some of which are Spanish language sources.
Lastly, I inserted a short paragraph listing another perspective regarding the claimed 20,000 dead under the Batista regime. Some have disputed this number, as I have explained in the article, and I have cited my source.
Overall, I would like to know the other users' opinions regarding my changes and would appreciate a spirited discussion. Again, I apologize if I violated any rules with any of my previous changes. I have done my best to add to the article, have not deleted anything that was already there, except in the instances I mentioned above. Again, thank you all very much for reading, and I look forward to hearing from everyone! Crazybus911 ( talk) 08:55, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
Crazybus, many of your recent additions have been helpful, and if nothing else - added some information from a more moderate position regarding Batista's actions. However, the one area I would dispute is your added contention that the 20,000 death toll under Batista is heavily disputed - which I believe to be WP:UNDUE and a WP:FRINGE point of view. Part of the confusion I believe arises because Sterling (your source and I believe son of Carlos Márquez Sterling) may be addressing civilian murders during the Revolution from 1957-1959 and thus 2,000 deaths - whereas the cited 20,000 killed in the article under Batista is the given number of people killed by Batista's regime collectively during his years in office (1933-1944) & primarily (1952-1959). The 2,000 deaths during the armed insurrection from 1957-59 is often cited by anti-Castro writers as an attempt to call into question the more commonly accepted mainstream 20,000 figure (which was repeatedly echoed by President John F. Kennedy of all people). For instance, the 1959 United States Senate Hearings before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws by the Committee on the Judiciary (digitized online), noted that = "Batista in Cuba was regarded as the butcher of some 20,000 or 25,000 of its finest youth." This matches the belief 10 years later by the 1969 United States National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence which published a report entitled: 'Violence in America: Historical and Comparative Perspectives: A Report' - where on Page 582 it states that = "It is clear that counter terror became the strategy of the Batista government ... It has been estimated by some that as many as 20,000 civilians were killed." Now admittedly many historical events have a death count that is altered over time as more information comes about, however, the 20,000 total has remained consistent in the majority (see Wp:Undue) of sources from 1959 to the present day ...
Some published examples of this include:
Lastly, I would point out ---> this short clip from the documentary Fidel: The Untold Story and the section of the clip from [1:03-1:09] right after testimony by Wayne Smith (former head of the United States Interests Section in Havana). Redthoreau -- ( talk) 20:23, 20 February 2011 (UTC)
I was trying to figure out if the Quaker school Batista was educated in was in Cuba or the U.S....? The reference just says American Quaker school.... But where was the school? I am just trying to get a clearer picture of his early life....The lack of dates and specifics in the entry (regarding his early life) is frustrating. Thank you. 173.17.155.121 ( talk) 01:46, 13 April 2011 (UTC)12 April 2011 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.17.155.121 ( talk) 01:43, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
Some additional detail that I added to this section derived from the Hugh Thomas history "Cuba" has been reverted with the comment that the word "mulatto" is not used on the page cited. I have checked my copy of this book and both the reference and phraseology are correct. It may be that the other editor involved is referring to a different edition - mine is the Pan Books one published in 2002. If the term used by Hugh Thomas is in any way outdated or offensive then I will leave it deleted. However I am more concerned that the other new material expanding on Batista's youth and early military career has also been deleted, without explanation. None of it contradicts the brief summary to which it was added, with the intention of filling gaps in a well written article Buistr ( talk) 00:25, 19 October 2012 (UTC)
According to the person who managed Batistas fortune Rafael Diaz Balart the amount of money Batista left with was a fraction of what he had at his peak. The figure given in the article $ 300 million more closely matches what he had within the country not what he left with. He also gave a lot of money out in his final years in office to maintain the support of his army and other politicians. According to the money manager what he started with abroad were the assets of a parastatal which had been set up to establish a Cuban national shiping line and airline. RichardBond ( talk) 18:58, 6 August 2011 (UTC)
No it is not it is sourced from a book which was biased in favor of Ernesto "Che" Guevera and against Battista. I mention it here because it was told to me personally when I was with Rafael and his son. Other wise I would have changed the article and given an online citation. They were rather proud in rebuilding the fortune. RichardBond ( talk) 14:55, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
The 20,000 deaths supposedly happened under Batista's government. This news came out first on the cuban Bohemia magazine, owned and directed by Miguel Ángel Quevedo who before he committed suicide, he confessed that he wrote that to support Fidel Castro, in other words, that amount was a lie.
Véase "Mea Culpa de Migue Ángel Quevedo antes de suicidarse"
http://www.economiaparatodos.com.ar/ver_nota.php?nota=657 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.235.219.123 ( talk) 21:22, 2 October 2011 (UTC)
This is likely to be an exageration and your sources are quoting each other without original research. RichardBond ( talk) 15:00, 18 November 2012 (UTC)
I'd like to call into question the paragaph near the end of the article discussing the Election of 1958. The paragraph in question relies on the writings of Carlos Márquez Sterling, one of the candidates in the election, and Manuel Márquez Sterling, his son. This material is not presented as the opinion of those two authors, but fact. The personal involvment of the authors in said events and the opinionated way in which the material is delivered render them at least questionable as sources, if not unreliable. There is no evidence cited to back up any of the assertions made in the paragraph aside from the words of these two individuals, and some of the material seems conjectural. Rscannix ( talk) 20:01, 5 February 2013 (UTC)
...the Sierra Maestra mountains where Fidel Castro's rebels were held up
I think you mean were holed up. Dick Kimball ( talk) 19:17, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
Admittedly this is a minor point but there are two acronyms - "FEU" and "DR" - in the "Batista, Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Revolution" section that haven't been introduced previously - see my flags thereat. 99.112.158.209 ( talk) 07:34, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
I find:
"He divorced his wife, Elisa, and married Marta Fernández Batista in 1945."
But in the information box further up, I see 1946, not 1945. Please fix the discrepancy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 ( talk) 19:12, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Fulgencio Batista/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.
This looks like a 'B' to me. Irrespective of the facts or the lack thereof it is very poorly written. Hyperbole abounds and it is poorly compartmentalized, as if each segment is in itself trying to tell the entire story. For me it was NOT a good read. |
Last edited at 23:53, 25 February 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 15:28, 15 April 2016 (UTC)
The usage and primary topic of " Batista" is under discussion at talk:Dave Batista -- 67.70.35.44 ( talk) 07:36, 25 November 2014 (UTC)
A 1959 newspaper article states that a son named Fulgencio Ruben Batista is 25 years old at that time, making him born in 1934. He was living in New Orleans and flew with his wife and 1 year old child to Jacksonville and eventually with the rest of clan to Daytona Beach, Florida. That would make him 81 years old today if he is still alive. Ruben stated in the newspaper article that his father has a lot of friends in the USA. The house is described as a "plush villa" and arriving there January 1, 1959 include 18 influential Cubans, mother of his personal secretary in a wheelchair, and his other children. Several newspaper articles mention that five police officers are guarding his house around the clock. These people were molested at airports when transferring on flights to get to Daytona Beach, Florida, because it was known who they were connected with. Source: Tampa Tribune newspaper Jan 1959 97.76.210.2 ( talk) 18:55, 11 May 2015 (UTC)mm
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The Cuban pro-Soviet party that supported Batista in the 1940 election was then titled the Partido Socialista Popular (People's Socialist Party). This may be confirmed at this wikipedia entry: /info/en/?search=Popular_Socialist_Party_%28Cuba%29
The PSP was not the party of Julio Antonio Mella at that time. Mella had been murdered in 1929, as shown at this wikipedia entry:
/info/en/?search=Julio_Antonio_Mella
SuleymanSchwartz ( talk) 02:28, 11 December 2015 (UTC)
An editor just made a bunch of edits making the article a Commonwealth WP:ENGVAR. Was this established anywhere? Given Cuba's and Batista's ties with the US, I imagine there's an argument for maintaining US styling. Curly "the jerk" Turkey 🍁 ¡gobble! 10:59, 26 November 2016 (UTC)
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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot ( Report bug) 06:05, 6 January 2017 (UTC)
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It is stated that "Fidel threatened voters," and I'm not seeing a source for that. Can someone link a source to that or delete it?