1952 Cuban coup d'état
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The 1952 Cuban coup d'état took place in
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
on March 10, 1952, when the Cuban Constitutional Army, led by
Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
, intervened in the election that was scheduled to be held on 1 June 1952, staging a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
and establishing a ''de facto'' military dictatorship in the country. The coup has been referred to as the Batistazo in Cuban political jargon.


Background

In 1940 a new democratic constitution had been ratified in Cuba. In order to engage in the elections following the constitution's ratification,
Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
resigned from the military to focus on a career in politics. He ran for president with support from the Communist Revolutionary Union party, under the front banner of the
Democratic Socialist Coalition The Democratic Socialist Coalition ( es, Coalición Socialista Democrática, CSD) was a Cuban political coalition, led by Fulgencio Batista. The party was founded in 1939, and served for the 1940 general elections, won by Batista. The founding ...
. Batista was democratically elected and served a four year tenure. After his tenure the constitution prohibited presidents from running for consecutive terms, so he had a proxy candidate
Carlos Saladrigas Zayas Carlos Saladrigas Zayas (''Carlos Eduardo Ramón Saladrigas y Zayas''; October 13, 1900 – 15 April 1956) was a Cuban politician and diplomat. Career He was an abogado-notario who served as Senator (1936-1940), Minister of Justice (1934), ...
run as his substitute. Saladrigas would be defeated in a landslide. After the electoral defeat Batista would leave Cuba for the United States, but remained head of the Cuban army. As the presidency of
Carlos Prío Socarrás Carlos Manuel Prío Socarrás (July 14, 1903 – April 5, 1977) was a Cuban politician. He served as the President of Cuba from 1948 until he was deposed by a military coup led by Fulgencio Batista on March 10, 1952, three months before new ele ...
came to a close, he became highly criticized for corruption, making Batista believe he could win in the following 1952 election. He was legally allowed to run again since he had not served a term since 1944. Batista ran under the label of his own United Action Party and believed his previous popularity would guarantee him victory. Both of Batista's electoral rivals promised to remove him from his role as head of the army if elected and replaced with Ramón Barquín. An opinion poll before the election predicted Batista coming in dead last in the election. Batista's last source of popular support seemed to be the army that he still was commander of. Concerned about losing the presidency and his role as head of the army, Batista began to plot a coup.


Events

On March 10 all military garrisons came under rebel military command without resistance. The rebel officers occupied the
University of Havana The University of Havana or (UH, ''Universidad de La Habana'') is a university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of the Republic of Cuba. Founded on January 5, 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the firs ...
and opposition newspaper offices. Labor leaders were arrested and a communication black out ensued. A military junta formed in Camp Colombia with Fulgencio Batista as its head and declared itself the new government of Cuba.


Aftermath

The United States recognized his government on March 27. Cuban Choteo humor became more popular after the coup due to political pessimism in the country. Choteo humor mocked the political establishment and took a self-satirizing approach to portraying the "lack" of capabilities of the Cuban people. Martianismo also became the popular ideology of most of the Cuban political opposition. Before then the ideas of
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
were less important compared to his image as an authentic Cuban founding father whose invocation gave legitimacy to opposition organizations. After the 1952 coup the ideas and image of
José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...
had become so popular within the opposition that Martiano language was the common expression of opposition politics. Batista (whose rule was formalized after the 1954 general election) went on to rule the country until January 1, 1959, when he was forced into exile with his family (first to the Trujillo–ruled
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, then Corporatist Portugal and eventually
Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
). Batista's exile marked the climax of the
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...
, which started on July 26, 1953, with the attack on the
Moncada Barracks The Moncada Barracks was a military barracks in Santiago de Cuba, named after General Guillermo Moncada, a hero of the Cuban War of Independence. On 26 July 1953, the barracks was the site of an armed attack by a small group of revolutionaries ...
in
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...
, and saw Fidel Castro emerging as the new leader of Cuba.


See also

*
History of Cuba The history of Cuba is characterized by dependence on outside powers—Spanish Empire, Spain, the United States, US, and the Soviet Union, USSR. The island of Cuba was inhabited by various Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Amerindian cultures ...
*
Timeline of Cuban history This is a timeline of Cuban history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Cuba and its predecessor states. To read about the background to these events, see History of Cuba. See also the Cuba history of th ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuban coup d'etat, 1952 Republic of Cuba (1902–1959) Political history of Cuba Military history of Cuba 1952 in Cuba March 1952 events in North America Conflicts in 1952 1950s coups d'état and coup attempts