Raul Castro, a representative of the legendary Cuban family, a person who creates history, is of great interest to the public. Cuba's life is changing thanks to its more than 50 years of activity. Raul Castro, a biography whose years of life are inextricably linked with the history of this sunny country, is a vivid example of a politician who lives in the interests of his state.
Childhood and family
On June 3, 1931, a boy appeared in the family of a Cuban landowner - Raul Castro. Father - Angel Castro Argis owned large tracts of land where sugarcane was grown, which brought him a decent income. Mother, Lina Rus Gonzalez, is a simple cook. Both of them were illiterate, married only after five children appeared in the family. But they educated all the children and taught them to love their homeland. In total, the family had seven children, Raul became the fourth, he had 2 more brothers and 4 sisters. His father had five more children from his first wife, so the boy had numerous relatives. Young Castro studied at a Jesuit school, first in Santiago de Cuba, where he was expelled with his brothers, and later he graduated from Jesuit College in Havana.
Youth
In 1948, a new student, Raul Castro, appeared at the University of Havana. Photos in his youth represent a young man with a burning gaze, he was distinguished by impulsivity and radicalism. At the university, Raul studied social sciences and public administration, this knowledge was useful to him later. Although he studied rather mediocre. In his student years, Raul became a member of the student movement, he joined the socialist idea and even joined the socialist party. Together with his brother Fidel, he participated in student demonstrations and protested against the ruling Batista regime. He actively defended his leftist views, promoting nationalist ideas.
In 1952, the dictator Batista again came to power in Cuba, who was supported by American capital and neglected the country's national interests, making it a protectorate of the United States. He broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, with which partnerships were established during World War II, began to pursue a tough pro-American policy, products were massively exported from Cuba to the United States, and the population became poor. This caused widespread discontent, especially among young people, to whom Raul Castro belonged. The Castro brothers were prominent in the partisan liberation movement. In 1953, a group of students, led by Fidel and with the participation of his brother Raul, attempted to capture the Moncada barracks in Santiago, but failed. Some of the rebels were captured, including Raul, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 1955, under an amnesty conducted under public pressure, both Castro were released.
Revolution
Raul Castro, whose biography is riddled with revolutionary ideas and events, from an early age thought about the fate of his country, he never gave up hope of seeing Cuba free and prosperous. After leaving prison, Fidel and Raul leave for Mexico, fearing persecution. There, senior Castro leads the July 26 movement in honor of the events of 1953. And Raul is actively conducting campaigning, adhering to the clearly expressed pro-communist views, while Fidel was a supporter of moderate nationalist politics.
At this time, Raul met Ernesto Che Guevara and brought him to his brother's group, together they create the nucleus of a new political force to liberate Cuba. Many Castro supporters were destroyed during the repression. At that time, political killings and torture were the norm in Cuba. But the remaining group of 12 people in December 1956 secretly on a yacht crosses to Cuba, sets up a camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains and from there begins an active guerrilla war.
They are organizing a series of strikes around the country, by the spring of 1957, there were already several thousand people in the Castro army, she waged a constant war with government units. Resistance in the country, thanks to Raul Castro's propaganda efforts, was growing. In 1957, a partisan detachment attacks the presidential residence, with thousands of women rallies in Havana demanding an end to the killings. Frightened Batista urgently announces "democratic" elections, in which his protege is the main candidate. But the people already understand his tricks and does not come to the polls. Concerned about the situation, US authorities decide to evacuate Batista to Spain, where he will spend the rest of his life. And in Cuba, on January 1, 1959, an army led by the Castro brothers occupies Havana and proclaims a revolutionary regime change.
Famous brother
Cuban revolutionary Raul Castro is closely associated with his older brother Fidel all his life. They waged a war of liberation side by side, together they raised the country after the fall of the dictator Batista. At the same time, Raul professed communist views from the very beginning and had a strong influence on his older brother, leading him later to this ideology. Raul possessed less charisma and therefore did not seek to occupy the first positions in the movement and in the country. He easily gave the role of the first violin to the elder Castro, but at the same time he was always a reliable rear for his brother. Later it was he who became the person who established friendly relations with the Soviet Union, which helped the country to rise. The brothers always had friendly relations, although sometimes they argued about the future path of the country.
Becoming a Politician
After the victory of the revolution in Cuba, Raul Castro took control of the province of Oriente. Fidel did not want to bring his brother to the highest echelons of power yet, as the younger brother was ardent and held too radical views. Raul accepted the leading role of his brother and supported him in every way, he carried out his policies on the ground and even engaged in the destruction of his opponents.
Raul Castro never betrayed his socialist views and was gradually able to attract his older brother to his side. In February 1959, Fidel Castro takes the post of head of government, and the younger Castro becomes the head of the country's armed forces. He headed the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces for a total of 49 years, this is a world record for the length of time in such a post. With his efforts, the Cuban army grew to 50 thousand people, it not only protected the country's security, but also took part in the liberation movement in Ethiopia and Angola.
Political career
Fidel Castro, over time, increasingly trusts his younger brother and opens him the way not only to command the army, but also gives him more political powers. In 1961, Raul became deputy chairman of the Central Planning Council, where he works with his longtime comrade Che Guevara. In 1962, he worked as second secretary of leadership of the United Revolutionary Organizations. Since 1963, he became the second person after Fidel in the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. With his efforts, the party was renamed the Communist Party, his views became the basis for state ideology. In 1965, he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, and headed the commission on the armed forces and state security. Since 1962, Raul Castro has been Deputy Prime Minister, then renamed First Deputy, then Deputy Chairman of the State Council, in fact, he remained the second person in the state throughout all the years of Fidel's rule. He was a permanent member of the National Assembly of People’s Power for 25 years. In addition, Raul was actively involved in foreign policy and the state economy. It was he who met with the leadership of the USSR to establish relations and provide fraternal assistance to the new socialist state, was the initiator of the easing of economic restrictions on the development of tourism, and implemented reforms in agriculture. The financial sector of the country was almost entirely subordinate to Raul.
Head of state
In 1997, for the first time, Fidel Castro at the congress of the party of Cuba named Raul his possible successor. As the elder Castro grew older, more and more power fell on the shoulders of the younger brother. In 2006, Fidel underwent a heavy operation, and the powers to govern the country were temporarily but informally assigned to Raul Castro. The health of his older brother was deteriorating, he appeared less and less in public. In January 2008, parliamentary elections are held, in which the younger Castro goes around 1 percent of his brother. In February 2008, Fidel officially announced his resignation from his first state post. On February 24, 2008, Raul Castro, whose photo instantly flew around all the world's media, became the President of Cuba.
Change in Cuba
The president of the new format, the reformer - the new president Raul Castro is receiving such epithets from the press. Cuban politics undergoes a number of significant changes. First of all, he was actively engaged in establishing foreign policy relations, met with leaders of Latin American countries, arrived in Moscow and even declared his readiness to meet with the US president, and such a meeting took place in 2015. In 2009, the United States lifted the restrictions on Cuba’s membership in the Organization of American States, and a policy began to soften relations between the United States and Cuba. This leads to the fact that the embargo on the supply of Cuban goods to America is lifted, air traffic between the countries opens. At the same time, Cuba, exhausted by sanctions, faces a difficult economic situation, and it is Raul Castro who considers this problem to be his main task. He carries out a series of liberal reforms, allows residents of the country to use mobile phones, allows farmers to determine plans for growing certain crops themselves, tries to attract tourists and invest in the economy, and allows the privatization of public housing. Life is slowly starting to improve, although the president and the country still have a lot of problems. In 2013, the people of Cuba again entrusted Raul with the leadership of their country.
Awards
For his life, Raul Castro received many awards, the most honorable are the title of Hero of the Republic, the Order of Maximo Gomez, Camilo Cienfuegos, the title of soldier of the Liberation and Underground War, as well as the Order of the Soviet Union: named after Lenin and the October Revolution, the Order of the Orthodox Church for help in the construction of churches .
Castro leadership style
Statesman Raul Castro has emerged as a leader in the revolutionary struggle. He was distinguished in his youth by rigidity and intransigence. Life softened his temper a little, but he remains an authoritarian leader, cannot stand opposition, and firmly defends his point of view. At one time, Raul was an active participant in the repressions of Fidel Castro, and the fame of a decisive leader remains with him.
Family and Children
Raul Castro, whose personal life is extremely interested in the media and the people, has lived all his life with a woman whom he met in his youth. Back in 1956, at the rebel camp in the mountains, he meets the daughter of the director of the alcohol company, Wilma Espin. Young people were united by a love of the motherland and a common idea. In 1959, they married and lived together until her death in 2007. She conducted active public work in the country, acted as the first lady, after Fidel divorced his wife. The couple had four children. Their daughter Mariela Castro is an advocate for the rights of sexual minorities.