Raul Castro, a representative of the legendary Cuban family, a man who creates history, is of great interest to the public. The life of Cuba is changing thanks to his 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
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 sugar cane was grown, which brought him a decent income. Mother, Lina Rus Gonzalez, is a simple cook. Both of them were illiterate, they got married only after five children appeared in the family. But they gave education to all 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 Castrostudied at a Jesuit school, first in Santiago de Cuba, from where he was expelled along with his brothers, and later in Havana he graduated from a Jesuit college.
Young years
In 1948, a new student appeared at the University of Havana - Raul Castro. Photos in his youth represent a young man with a burning look, he was distinguished by impulsiveness and radicalism. At the university, Raul studied social sciences and public administration, this knowledge was useful to him later. Although he studied rather mediocrely. 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 regime of Batista. 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 national interests of the country, making it a US protectorate. He broke off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, with which partnership relations were established during World War II, began to pursue a tough pro-American policy, food was massively exported from Cuba to the United States for next to nothing, the population became poorer. This caused widespread discontent, especially among young people, to which Raul Castro belonged. The Castro brothers were prominent in the guerrilla liberation movement. In 1953, a group of students, led by Fidel and with the participation of his brother Raul, undertookattempts to capture the barracks of Moncada in Santiago, but fails. Some of the rebels were captured, including Raul, who was sentenced as a result to 15 years in prison. But in 1955, under public pressure, both Castros were released.
Revolution
Raul Castro, whose biography is permeated 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, the elder Castro leads the July 26 movement in honor of the events of 1953. And Raul is actively campaigning, while adhering to pronounced pro-communist views, while Fidel was a supporter of moderate nationalist politics.
At this time, Raul meets Ernesto Che Guevara and brings him to his brother's group, together they create the core of a new political force for the liberation of Cuba. Many supporters of Castro were destroyed during the repression. At this time in Cuba, political assassinations and torture were the norm. But the remaining group of 12 people in December 1956 secretly crossed on a yacht to Cuba, set up camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains, and from there began to wage an active guerrilla war.
They organize a series of strikes around the country, by the spring of 1957, Castro's army already had several thousand people, it waged a constant war with government troops. Resistance in the country, thanks in part toRaul Castro's propaganda efforts were on the rise. In 1957, a partisan detachment attacked the presidential residence, and thousands of women rallied in Havana demanding an end to the killings. A frightened Batista urgently announces "democratic" elections, in which his protege is the main candidate. But the people already understand his tricks and do not come to the polls. Worried about the situation, the 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 has been 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 had less charisma and therefore did not seek to occupy 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 man who established friendly relations with the Soviet Union, which helped the country to rise. The brothers have 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 controlprovince of Oriente. Fidel did not yet want to introduce his brother to the highest echelons of power, since the younger brother was hot-tempered and adhered to too radical views. Raul took the leadership role of his brother and supported him in every possible way, he carried out his policy on the ground and even engaged in the destruction of his opponents.
Raul Castro never changed his socialist views and gradually managed to attract his older brother to his side. In February 1959, Fidel Castro took over as head of government, and the younger Castro became head of the country's armed forces. He headed the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces for a total of 49 years, a world record for the longest tenure in such a post. Through his efforts, the Cuban army grew to 50 thousand people, it not only guarded the country's security, but also took part in the liberation movement in Ethiopia and Angola.
Political career
Fidel Castro trusts his younger brother more and more over time and opens the way for him not only to control the army, but also gives him more political powers. In 1961, Raul became deputy chairman of the Central Planning Council, where he worked with his longtime friend Che Guevara. In 1962, he worked as the second secretary of the leadership of the United Revolutionary Organizations. Since 1963, he has become the second person after Fidel in the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba. With his efforts, the party is renamed communist, his views became the basis forstate ideology. In 1965, he is a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, heads 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 economy of the state. 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 easing economic restrictions on the development of tourism, and implemented reforms in agriculture. The financial sector of the country was almost completely subordinate to Raul.
Head of State
In 1997, for the first time, Fidel Castro at the Congress of the Party of Cuba called Raul his possible successor. As the older Castro aged, more and more power fell on the shoulders of the younger brother. In 2006, Fidel underwent a difficult operation, and the authority to govern the country was temporarily, but unofficially, assigned to Raul Castro. His older brother's he alth was deteriorating, he appeared less and less in public. In January 2008, parliamentary elections are held, in which the younger Castro bypasses his brother by 1 percent. In February 2008, Fidel officially announced his resignation from the first post of the state. February 24, 2008 RaulCastro, whose photo instantly flew around all the media in the world, became the president of Cuba.
Changes in Cuba
President of the new format, a reformer - such epithets are awarded by the press to the new President Raul Castro. Cuban policy under him undergoes a number of significant changes. First of all, he actively engaged in establishing foreign policy relations, met with the leaders of Latin American countries, came to Moscow and even announced his readiness to meet with the US President, and such a meeting took place in 2015. In 2009, the United States lifted the restriction on Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States, and began a policy of softening 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, and air traffic between the countries is opened. At the same time, a difficult economic situation is developing in Cuba, exhausted by sanctions, and it is the solution of this problem that Raul Castro considers his main task. He is implementing a series of liberal reforms, allowing the use of mobile phones by residents of the country, allowing farmers to determine their own plans for growing certain crops, trying to attract tourists and investment in the economy, and allowing the privatization of public housing. Life is slowly starting to get better, although the president and the country still have a lot of problems. In 2013, the people of Cuba once again entrusted Raúl with the leadership of their country.
Awards
During his life, Raul Castro received many awards, the most honorary are the title of Hero of the Republic,Maximo Gomez, Camilo Cienfuegos, the title of a fighter of the liberation and underground war, as well as the Order of the Soviet Union: the name of Lenin and the October Revolution, the Order of the Orthodox Church for help in the construction of churches.
Castro leadership style
The statesman Raul Castro 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 repression of Fidel Castro, and the glory of a decisive leader remains with him.
Family and children
Raul Castro, whose personal life is extremely interested in the media and the people, lived all his life with a woman he met in his youth. Back in 1956, in a rebel camp in the mountains, he meets the daughter of the manager of an alcohol company, Wilma Espin. Young people were united by love for the motherland and a common idea. They married in 1959 and lived together until her death in 2007. She was active in public work in the country, acting as first lady after Fidel divorced his wife. The couple had four children. Their daughter Mariela Castro is a gay rights activist.
