BATISTA, FULGENCIO Reynolds, John. Edmund Barton. Melbourne, Victoria: Bookman, 1999. Simms, Marian, and John Bannon. 1901: The Forgotten Election. St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2001. Ward, John M. The State and the People: Australian Federation and Nation-Making, 1870–1901. Leichhardt, New South Wales: Federation Press, 2001.
Batista, Fulgencio (1901–1973) president of Cuba Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was born in Banes, Cuba, on January 16, 1901, into a poor working-class family. He was educated at Quaker missionary schools and subsequently held down menial jobs. In 1921 Batista joined the Cuban army and rose quickly to sergeant/stenographer. This placed him within the inner circles of the military’s power structure and he slyly absorbed how it operated. In August 1933 he and other disgruntled elements joined a movement that deposed dictator Gerardo Machado y Morales. Three weeks later Batista proved instrumental in organizing the so-called Sergeant’s Revolt, which overthrew provisional president Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. Here they were supported by student groups, revolutionaries, and other malcontents, but by now Batista had emerged as a genuine power broker in Cuba. A new executive, Ramón Grau San Martín, appointed him colonel chief of staff, which only tightened his control over the military. Grau, a leftwing extremist, then embarked on sweeping social legislation and anti-American rhetoric. At the urging of the United States government, Batista suddenly toppled Grau in January 1934. However, rather than rule like a traditional Latin American caudillo (strongman) Batista remained out of the political arena. Instead, he chose to rule Cuba through a succession of puppet presidents over the next six years. He also allowed a surprising degree of progressive social legislation to pass, which improved the life of the average Cuban citizen. His popularity increased commensurately, so in 1940, Batista sought political legitimization by running for the presidency himself. He then bested Grau at the voting booth and won a four-year term. In office, Batista continuing ruling with a strong hand over political dissent and economic policy, but he proved surprisingly liberal toward the poor. And because the advent of World War II coincided with his tenure in
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office, he received increasing attention from the administration of President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. The Americans badly needed bases in Cuba and acquisition of the island’s large sugar crop, so Batista granted both in exchange for an influx of foreign aid. He even managed to buy off the upper and middle classes controlling sugar production, because prices were at an all-time high. Cuba basically thrived during his four years in office, and Batista and his cronies also profited enormously. However, he remained pragmatically nonideological, and in 1943 his government became the first in Latin America to employ communists at the cabinet level. In 1944 he even accepted Roosevelt’s advice to observe strict term limitations in office and step down. Thereafter, when Grau was returned to office, Batista moved to self-imposed exile in Florida to enjoy his considerable wealth. He left behind a record of prosperity, but also one of increased corruption, which only intensified under Grau and his successor, Carlos Prío Socarrás. The stage was being set for a major social upheaval. Batista ended his exile in 1948 by coming home and winning a seat in the Cuban senate. Four years later he announced his intention to run again for president and outwardly moved to establish his own party. Suddenly, on March 10, 1952, he overthrew the Prío regime with the help of army officers. The change was initially welcomed by Cubans, weary of corruption, but this time Batista ran the nation for the sole purpose of self-enrichment. Social legislation was neglected, while gangsterism and political cronyism became rampant. Worse, the regime responded to political dissidence with outright force and repression. Discontent eventually trickled up from the peasants to members of the middle class, including Fidel Castro. This former lawyer executed a botched attack on an army barracks on July 26, 1953, and was jailed. In one of his biggest political errors, Batista released Castro and exiled him to Mexico. From there Castro bided his time, reorganized his followers, and invaded Cuba again in 1956. He again suffered defeat, but he brought a nascent guerrilla movement into Cuba’s Sierra Maestra, fueled by discontent over corruption, repression, and desire for change. Batista’s response was to crack down harder, which only embarrassed the country internationally and swelled rebel ranks. By 1958 the tide of fighting had swung in Castro’s favor and Batista’s government was in such disarray that President DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER cut off all