The One Hundred Days Government (Spanish: ''Gobierno de los Cien Días'') is the name normally used in Cuba to refer to the Cuban government of Ramon Grau which lasted from September 4, 1933 until January 15, 1934.

Background

Leading up to this period, there were numerous public political pressure activities culminating with a general strike in reaction to the demagoguery and repression of

Gerardo Machado Gerardo Machado y Morales (28 September 1869 – 29 March 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. Machado entered the presidency with widespread popularity and support from the major polit ...

's government which ended in its overthrow.

The One Hundred days

Beginnings

Following the

Sergeants' Revolt The Cuban Revolution of 1933 ( es, Revolución cubana de 1933), also called the Revolt of the Sergeants, was a coup d'état that occurred in Cuba in September 1933. It began as a revolt of sergeants and enlisted men in the military, who soon allie ...

on 4 September 1933, a de facto military government took shape formed by unofficial sergeants, corporals and other soldiers and aided by student activists in the

Directorio Estudiantil Universitario The Directorio Estudiantil Universitario (DEU) ( en, University Student Directory) was founded in 1927 by University of Havana students against the backdrop of a power grab by President Gerardo Machado consisting of constitutional reforms designed t ...

. After a brief period of collegial government called the

Pentarchy of 1933 Pentarchy of 1933, formally known as the Executive Commission of the Provisional Government of Cuba, was a coalition that ruled Cuba from September 5 to September 10, 1933 after Gerardo Machado was deposed on August 12, 1933. Prior to the Penta ...

formed by five officials that lasted only five days, a new government was formed on 10 September with Ramón Grau chosen as president at the request of the university students. The new heterogeneous government incorporated three political factions:

Antonio Guiteras Antonio Guiteras y Holmes (22 November 1906 – 8 May 1935) was a leading politician in Cuba during the 1930s. Biography He was born 22 November 1906 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a proponent of revolutionary socialism and participate ...

represented the revolutionary left wing, Fulgencio Batista was the head of the traditionalist right wing, and Ramón Grau was the bridge between the two and representative of the national reform wing.

Social and political measures

The new government promoted important democratic measures for the Cuban people, which Grau and Batista would interpret as imposed by Guiteras. Batista played the self-appointed role of Colonel-in-chief of all the Armed Forces of Cuba, and repeatedly disagreed with Guiteras's decisions, many of which went against the Cuban oligarchy and imperialism, and as such affected the interests of many U.S. companies. Various measures were taken, such as the establishment of the Secretariat as a Ministry of Labor, the establishment of a minimum wage, the 8-hour work day, the confiscation of the property of

and his collaborators, the cleanup of state institutions, the nationalization of labor and ensuring that half the jobs were carried out by those born in Cuba, price cuts for everyday necessities, reductions in electrical rates, autonomy in the universities, and the intervention of the Cuban Company of Electricity (which was a subsidiary of the American company ''Electric Bond & Share''), realized personally by Guiteras as Secretary of Interior and War via Decree 172. These measures were not fully implemented because of the brief duration of the government. Reformists were accepted by the administration for the first time in Cuba, which made it possible for Guiteras to carry out his struggle for the general welfare of Cuban society more directly than before. Nevertheless, internal disagreements in the government, and the lack of experience on the part of the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

and the masses in their struggle to achieve their objectives, hindered their effectiveness in achieving it.

End and transition

Grau's One Hundred Days Government lasted until January 15, 1934 when Grau was forced to resign by Batista, who had been conspiring with U.S. ambassador

Jefferson Caffery Jefferson Caffery (December 1, 1886 – April 13, 1974) was an American diplomat. He served as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador (1926–1928), Colombia (1928–1933), Cuba (1934–1937), Brazil (1937–1944), France (1944–1949), and Egypt (1949 ...

. Grau was replaced by

Carlos Mendieta Carlos Mendieta y Montefur (4 November 1873 – 27 September 1960) was a Cuban politician and interim President of Cuba. A chief opponent of Gerardo Machado, Mendieta was installed as interim President of Cuba in 1934 by a coup led by Fulgencio ...

, and within five days the U.S. recognized Cuba's new government.

References