2.  Prime Minister of Cuba 1959-1976  President of Cuba 1976-2008  First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba 1961-2011  Was a Marxist-Leninist  Member of the Ortodoxo Party, a social-democrat party

3.  Established a communist state  Established a single party-party  Formed an alliance with Khrushchev in 1961 during the Cuban Missile Crisis as the US was unwilling to help  Established a one-power government which allowed him to have dictatorial control over the Cubans political, economic and cultural aspects of life and any opposition was ruthlessly oppressed   Many middle and upper class citizens felt betrayed and many of them immigrated to the US  Propaganda was controlled by setting up neighborhood watch groups and censorship of the media   Cubans were brainwashed into supporting Castro’s ideologies and rule

4.  Cuba was economically isolated by the US government  Economic antagonism from the US caused Castro to nationalize all American property  Cuban alignment with the USSR led to increased tension between Cuba and the US  Eventual destruction of the Soviet Union left the Cuban economy in an extremely poor state  Nationalization of the sugar industries and oil refineries angered the US, which had made large investments in them  All decisions made were concentrated in a centralized bureaucracy which Castro headed

5.  Seizure of all American owned businesses and farms and distribution of the land amongst farmers and peasants   angered the Americans and soured relations   Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act of March 1996 which strengthened the US embargo against Cuba

6.  Introduced free health care  Ensured that all social services was available to everyone regardless of their class   Improvement in social welfare  Public housing was available at a low rent   Living circumstances were improved for many Cubans   Rents were removed in 1960 and within the next 20 years the government financed the construction of several apartment complexes in and around Havana  Construction of 10, 000 schools, deployment of volunteer teachers and introduction of schools to rural areas   Literacy rate increased till it was the highest in Latin America  Introduced New Man’s Theory which promoted the idea that society shouldn’t work for personal gain but for the benefit of everyone in society

7.  Racial discrimination was outlawed  Erection of ‘People’s Stores’ where goods like food were made available to the general public  Introduced the Family Code of 1975   Granted equal domestic rights to both men and women in terms of marriage, divorce, adoption and child-bearing  Established the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) in 1960   Gave women more freedom rights and mobilized women to support the establishment of more day care centers   Raised the prestige of women