Abstract
The policies of dictator Fidel Castro have improved some aspects of life in Cuba, yet imposed such hardship some Cubans are willing to risk death to leave. While Castro's regime has improved literacy, health care, and athletic achievement, daily deprivation and loss of personal freedom has driven many individuals, particularly artists and intellectuals, from their native land. This paper traces Cuba's political history and examines in particular influences of Castro's policies in the areas of health, sports, and the arts.

Tags:castro, cuba

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses the likely scenario and successor to Fidel Castro when the legendary and controversial dictator of Cuba dies. The impact on the U.S. is also addressed. The paper also includes an outline of the essay and an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper
"For nearly five decades totalitarian dictator Fidel Castro has ruled Communist Cuba with an iron fist able to thwart the efforts of world superpowers to remove ..."

Tags:Raul Castro, communism, Fidel Castro, Cuba capitalism, foreign policy, economic embargo

Abstract
This paper provides a brief book review of Sebastian Balfour's "Castro", part of the "Profiles in Power" series. The review discusses Balfour's purpose in writing the analysis of Castro's ability to endure as the leader of Cuba and various aspects of Castro's individual qualities that have contributed to this endurance.

From the Paper
"Sebastian Balfour's "Castro" describes the rise to power and record-setting length of rule by revolutionary Cuban leader, Fidel Castro. Feeling that leftist and rightist views of Castro do not provide a holistic perspective of the charismatic Cuban leader and that there is an absence of analytical works on him, Balfour maintains that the purpose of this book is to provide a reinterpretation of the enigmatic leader in light of recent investigation. Balfour's investigation of Castro is well-documented and researched, including interviews, press accounts, first-hand witnesses..."

Tags:communism, Marxism, media, U.S., imperialism, nationalism, revolution

Abstract
The question of whether or not Fidel Castro was a communist when he assumed power of Cuba in 1959 has been a debated issue over the last 40 years. Upon examination of his life and his time of power, however, it is clear that Castro was not a communist in 1959. This paper examines the life of Fidel Castro, and shows that while his associations at the time may have been communist, Castro himself was not.

From the Paper
"Fidel Castro was born on a sugar plantation in the Oriente province of Cuba in 1926. Coming from a family of plantation owners, Castro worked the family sugar cane fields throughout his youth. Additionally, Castro attended the Colegio Lasalie and the Colegio Dolores, both Jesuit institutions. In 1942, Castro entered the Colegio Belen, a Jesuit prep school, and obtained a law doctorate from the University of Havana in 1950 ("Castro, Fidel", online)."

Tags:leaders, groups, soviet, union, party, political, batista, rebellion, che, guevara, rebels

Abstract
This is a descriptive paper on the life of Fidel Castro up until he came into power in Cuba. The author examines the way that Fidel Castro came into power, the changes that he made once in power and his stance today. The author argues that Fidel Castro originally gave hope and promise to his nation, yet today he stands for oppression.

From the Paper
"Castro took Cuba on January 1st 1959 and is currently holding it. He is one of the few leaders whose country is still communist. Castro has put the country through some difficult times such as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Castro was an idealist who believed that the way things were need to be changed but he ended up leaving things the same as they were if not making them worse. He started off wanting to help the people, but now he's oppressing his people."

Tags:china, commuist, communism, crazy, cuba, cubans, dictators, elian, fidel, florida, gonzalez, hispanic, people, russia, world

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the life of Fidel Castro, and his impact on Cuba and the world. The author does not give a positive picture of this controversial figure. First, Fidel's early political career is described, and his eventual ascent to power in Cuba. This is followed by an examination of the various international crises which involved Fidel Castro. In particular, the author highlights Fidel's long running feud with the United States.

From the Paper
" This promptly scared the United States, which was heavily involved in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. The United States believed in the Domino Theory of foreign relations and if one Latin country fell to the Communists it would knock down all of the others. Eisenhower was leaving power after what John Kennedy called, "Eight years of drugged and fitful sleep." Kennedy was eager to try out his new authority, it appeared, and he took over the Eisenhower era CIA's plans to invade Cuba with a Cuban refugee army from Miami, armed and trained by the U.S.A. in Guatemala under the aegis of Somoza, a lapdog of the United States. "

Tags:Cuba, Latin America, dictators, communism

Abstract
This paper describes the history of Cuba before and during the reign of Castro. The author states that today, Cuban citizens live in a state of constant depression. The author concludes that the standing relationship between Cuba and America is based on the optimistic thought that Fidel Castro can't live forever.

From the Paper
"Cuba, once a unique and remote ally to the U.S.S.R., served as an outpost for anti-American hostilities and a potential vessel through which to deliver the devastating blows that may have turned the Cold War hot, now is an isolated bastion for ideals abandoned by most of the world. In the Western Hemisphere, they are alone, paying for what most American citizens will tell you is their philosophical transgression."

Tags:citizens, depression, soviet, globalism, democracy, missile, crisis

Abstract
This paper explores the political, social, and economic factors that led to Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba. The paper first describes the rightist rule of Fulgencio Batista and his brutal and unfair treatment of the population. The paper then explains how leftist movements are reactions to massive inequities in the economic, social and political structure within a nation. In light of this information, the paper then explains why Castro's promise of democracy and social equity succeeded in appealing to the masses and how this led to his successful revolution.

From the Paper
"From 1962, Cuba has been politically aligned with the archetypal Soviet Communist political structure. Under the singular leadership of Fidel Castro, Cuba turned from just another North American / Western European playground of excesses that so much of the Caribbean has become to a violently anti-American communist nation directly aligned with the Soviet Union and simultaneously the biggest failure and success in the political life of President John F. Kennedy. Cuba has taken on many roles over the course of the past several centuries. First, it was a stopping point prior to landing in the U.S. for slave ships, then it became the location where the U.S.S. Maine was supposedly sunk by Spanish saboteurs which led to the U.S. involvement in the Spanish American war, then it became an industrialist / capitalist haven where the raw materials of the Caribbean and the moral corruption of gambling, prostitution, drugs, and organized crime were the rule of the day. Then, with the people of Cuba increasingly disconnected from the wealth their land was generating, disenfranchised from within their own government, and led by a young and charismatic farmer, Fidel Castro, overthrew the pro-U.S. government and replaced it with a Leftist ideology that purported to be dedicated to the people."

Tags:Batista, democracy, social, equity, coups, capitalism

Abstract
This paper discusses how the failure of the U.S. to intervene against the Cuban Revolution of the 1950s helped Castro succeed in overthrowing the Batista government and instituting a Communist regime on the island. It argues that it was not just the failure of the U.S. to intervene when Castro came to power, but its failure to intervene during his rise to power that helped him succeed.

From the Paper
"The United States was not completely happy with Castro's predecessor, Fulgencio Batista. But Batista's government, nonetheless, had arrested Castro on July 26, 1953, when Castro had already failed in an attempt to conquer a government barracks in Santiago de Cuba in Oriente province, a large and important area. Castro was then imprisoned on the Isle of Pines. Castro was released, however, two years later. The years in prison left him more eager than before to reform government in Cuba."

Tags:communist, batista

Abstract
This paper discusses the methods the CIA used to try to "get rid" of Fidel Castro and overthrow the communist Cuban government. This paper gives light to some of the many plots the CIA came up with to rid the world of history's longest ruling communist dictator.

From the Paper
"To say that the relationship between the United States and Cuba is complicated is a major understatement. Ever since 1959, when Fidel Castro came into power in Cuba, the two nations have had a strained relationship at best, and a highly adversarial relationship when things got worse. Now that the Cold War is over and Cuba is no longer receiving weapons and aid from the defunct Soviet Union, relations between the two countries are much more relaxed. However, during the height of the Cold War, during the Kennedy administration and even before that, the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States developed and planned several ways to bring down the communist Cuban government; the catalyst they kept going back to in order to bring down the government was the assassination of Fidel Castro."

Tags:assassination, cold, communism, coup, crisis, eisenhower, fbi, government, kennedy, mafia, missile, mongoose, operation, plots, soviet, union, war