Notes for Consolidation and maintenance: Castro's foreign policy - IB | RevisionDojo
Consolidation and maintenance: Castro's foreign policy Notes
Foreign policy
Fidel Castro
Goal: Castro aimed for economic independence from the U.S. after 1959.
Agrarian Reform Law (May 1959): Limited land ownership; seized large estates, including U.S.-owned sugar plantations.
Expropriation: By 1960, ~40% of farmland taken; U.S. assets nationalized, including Texaco, Shell, Esso, United Fruit, Cuban Electric Co., and all U.S. banks.
Justification: Castro framed it as sovereignty and economic justice; offered bonds as compensation tied to U.S. sugar imports (rejected by U.S.).
U.S. response:
October 1960: Partial embargo (cut sugar imports, stopped exports).
January 1961: Diplomatic ties severed.
1962: Kennedy imposed full embargo, which largely remains in place.
Cuba turned to the USSR in 1960, gaining trade, loans, military aid, and a defense guarantee against U.S. intervention.
Note
Embargo: government order restricting or banning trade with a country
Purpose: apply economic pressure for political disputes, security, or human rights issues
Scope: broad ban on goods, services, and financial transactions
Difference from sanctions: sanctions are targeted, embargoes are wide-ranging
Note
Castro’s revolution began as nationalist, not communist.
U.S. hostility and Cold War pressures pushed him toward the USSR.
In 1961, he formally declared the revolution socialist.
On December 2, 1961, in a televised speech, he stated: “I am a Marxist–Leninist and shall be one until the end of my life.”
Before 1961, he denied being a communist, stressing nationalist and anti-imperialist goals.
Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) - a point of no return for Cuba’s foreign policy
Bay of Pigs Invasion (April 1961): Failed U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Castro.
Planned under Eisenhower, approved by Kennedy, executed by the CIA.
Landing (17 April, Playa Girón): Poor intelligence, lack of air support (Kennedy canceled strikes), and strong Cuban resistance led to failure.
Outcome: Within 72 hours, invasion collapsed. 1,100 captured, ~100 killed.
Impact on Castro: Political triumph, framed as victory against U.S. imperialism, boosting legitimacy.
Impact on Cold War: Pushed Cuba closer to USSR, Castro declared socialism, set stage for Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).
Historiography
The US motivations for the Bay of Pigs invasion
Orthodox view:
Bay of Pigs was part of U.S. Cold War containment, driven by fear of Cuba becoming a Soviet satellite close to U.S. shores.
Revisionist view:
Invasion reflected U.S. imperial overreach and arrogance.
Policymakers misread Cuban support for Castro and aimed to reassert economic and strategic control over the Caribbean, continuing long-standing interventionist policies.
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What was Castro's goal for Cuba's economy after 1959?
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Note
After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro implemented radical economic reforms aimed at reducing foreign influence and achieving economic independence. The Agrarian Reform Law of 1959 was a cornerstone of these efforts, limiting land ownership and redistributing land to peasants.
Large estates, including those owned by American companies, were seized
By 1960, approximately 40% of farmland had been expropriated
U.S.-owned businesses like Texaco, Shell, and United Fruit were nationalized
DefinitionExpropriationThe act of a government taking privately owned property, usually for public use or benefit
AnalogyThink of expropriation like a referee taking away a player's ball in a game and giving it to another player, but on a much larger economic scale.
