The Cuban Revolution, Castro's Cuba, and Latin American Populism
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Flip to reveal answersWhat triggered the final phase of Cuba's revolutionary crisis in 1952?
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All 12 Flashcards — The Cuban Revolution, Castro's Cuba, and Latin American Populism
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Question
What triggered the final phase of Cuba's revolutionary crisis in 1952?
Answer
Fulgencio Batista's military coup, which cancelled elections he was set to lose.
Question
Define populism (as used for Perón and Vargas).
Answer
A political style where a charismatic leader claims to represent "the people" against elites, mixing nationalism, welfare reform and personal control.
Question
Name the yacht Castro used to return to Cuba in 1956.
Answer
The Granma.
Question
What was the 26th of July Movement?
Answer
Castro's revolutionary organisation, named after the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack, that led the guerrilla war from the Sierra Maestra.
Question
List two economic causes of the Cuban Revolution.
Answer
Sugar monoculture causing seasonal unemployment, and heavy US ownership of the economy.
Question
What was Cuba's literacy campaign (1961) and its effect?
Answer
A nationwide drive to teach reading and writing that cut illiteracy from around 25% to under 4%.
Question
Why did the US impose a trade embargo on Cuba in 1960?
Answer
In response to Castro's nationalisation of US-owned businesses (sugar mills, banks, utilities) without full compensation.
Question
What was Justicialismo?
Answer
Juan Perón's ideology blending nationalism, state-led growth and social welfare, positioned as an alternative to both capitalism and communism.
Question
What was Brazil's Estado Novo?
Answer
Getúlio Vargas's "New State" (from 1937), an authoritarian regime that banned parties and censored the press while modernising the economy.
Question
Compare Perón's and Vargas's routes to power.
Answer
Perón won a genuine 1946 election after building union support; Vargas took power in an 1930 revolt and later ruled as an outright dictator under the 1937 Estado Novo.
Question
What event brought Cuba to the centre of the Cold War in 1962?
Answer
The Cuban Missile Crisis, when Castro allowed Soviet nuclear missiles to be based in Cuba, causing a tense US–USSR standoff.
Question
What happened to Che Guevara after leaving Cuba?
Answer
He tried to spark a guerrilla revolution in Bolivia and was captured and killed there in 1967.
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Topic 19.14 hub
Political developments in Latin America (1945–1980)
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