Fulgencio Batista Born in Banes

Summary

Fulgencio Batista was born on January 16, 1901, in Banes in Cuba's eastern Oriente Province. Coming from a modest background, he joined the Cuban army and rose from the enlisted ranks. Batista emerged as a national political force during the 1933 Revolt of the Sergeants and subsequently exercised major influence over several Cuban governments. He was elected president in 1940 under a new constitution and served until 1944. After living partly outside Cuba, he returned to electoral politics but seized power in a military coup on March 10, 1952, before scheduled elections. His second period of rule became increasingly authoritarian, with censorship, repression, corruption, and violence accompanying economic development and close ties with American business interests. Opposition expanded, including Fidel Castro's guerrilla movement. As Batista's military position collapsed, he left Cuba on January 1, 1959. He spent the remainder of his life in exile and died in Spain in 1973.