What were conditions like in Cuba before Fulgencio Batista’s coup?
Socially, Cuba was a visibly unequal society, with Havana (especially) home to a moneyed white elite and an urban (mostly white) middle class, whose wealth and lifestyle were comparable to any US city, but also with extreme poverty across the country, especially stark in rural areas and the margins of the cities. So, statistically Cuba was ‘developed’ (number of TV sets, cars, doctors etc) but those stats hid a reality of deep divisions.
How did things change in Cuba under Batista’s dictatorship?
A sense of resignation and demoralisation were seen when Batista’s 1952 coup produced hardly any active response from most of the political parties, with Batista’s widespread repression forcing the Cuban Communist Party underground and leading politicians to flee…
