Castro (Ruz), Fidel

Castro (Ruz), Fidel (1926– ) Cuban revolutionary leader and politician, premier (1959– ). In 1953, he was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment after an unsuccessful coup against the Batista regime. Two years later, he was granted an amnesty and exiled to Mexico. In January 1959, his guerrilla forces overthrew the regime. He quickly instituted radical reforms, such as collectivizing agriculture and dispossessing foreign companies. In 1961, the USA organized the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro responded by allying the revolutionary movement more closely with the Soviet Union and developing nations. In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis saw the USA and Soviet Union on the brink of nuclear war. Castro's attempt to export revolution to the rest of Latin America was largely crushed by the capture (1967) of his ally ‘Che’ Guevara. In 1980 he lifted the ban on emigration, and 125,000 people left for Florida. While Castro was able to maintain political independence from the Soviet Union, the Cuban economy was heavily dependent on Soviet economic aid. The combined effect of the collapse of European communism and the continuing US trade embargo dramatically worsened the Cuban economy, forcing Castro to introduce economic reforms.

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