Fidel Castro's History Will Absolve Me and the Cuban Revolution - Essay Example

This paper will address the circumstances surrounding the revolution and Castro’s justification for the revolution. An analysis of Batista’s leadership in Cuba will give grounds on how Castro appeared. Batista started as an army officer but rose up the ladder of ranks in the army with time. He received a commendation from the American government representative that he stood out among the Cubans and possessed a great deal of the ability to rule. This made him realize that he would lead the people in his way.

Events led to one another, and eventually in 1942 he won elections and become president. His rule was very oppressive, and he concentrated on maintaining his relationship with the American government but not serving the people1. In 1952, he forcefully grabbed the position of general and imposed himself as a dictator on the Cuban people. This came after signs that he was going to lose an election. Batista’s reign greatly oppressed the people, and he amassed wealth for himself while the common poverty levels increased among the Cuban people2.

Castro and his colleagues rose to fight for change in the society. Castro believed in communism and was determined to change the condition in Cuba. In 1953, he led an attack on the military camp in Santiago3. Together with others who realized the kind of oppression the Cuban people were facing he intended to overthrow the tyrant Batista and establish communism in Cuba. Unfortunately, the attack failed, and the organizers faced the strong vengeance from Batista. A large group of them died in the attack while those who survived ended up in custody.

Castro defended the group in court, and only a few of them ended up in jail. However, his own case proved difficult to handle because the justice system denied him the freedom to exercise his rights. The system tried all in its ability to prevent his hearings. In addition, the system did not allow him to have a defending attorney. These situations led to Castro writing down a speech that he would use to defend himself because that was the only hope left. On his appearance to court, he delivered the speech “History Will Absorb Me.

” In this speech, he highlighted his justification for organizing the attack. Castro made it clear that his inspiration to fight for the freedom of Cuba came from the Cuban hero Jose Marti4. Marti spent his life advocating the freedom of Cuba and left behind many publications that Castro used for reference. Castro considered Marti his master, as he highlighted in his long speech during the trial. According to Castro, the revolution had all justifications that it would need. The Cuban people were suffering without any intervention from the government.

While the Cuban people were perishing in poverty, Batista continued to impose taxes with some aimed at helping America settle its debts. In the speech, Castro elaborated the extreme abuse of power of Batista’s regime. Being a lawyer, he quoted the constitutional clauses that the prosecutor was using against him and declared that none of them described what he had committed. In his explanation, there was no government in Cuba but rather a dictator. The fact that no government existed invalidated the document they called a constitution in all the clauses mentioned5.

In addition, Castro introduced his revolutionary vision. He mentioned five laws that he had intended to implement had the revolution succeeded. He realized that the dictatorial system had taken power away