Fidel Castro

At 90 years old, Fidel Castro has this physical status:

Fidel Castro Ruz (English: [fiél alexando xando] (fiel alexando ruse; 28 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban tyrant and politician who served as Cuba's prime minister from 1959 to 2008, serving as Cuba's prime minister from 1959 to 2008, as the president from 1976 to 2008. He served as Cuba's first secretary from 1961 to 2011. He was also a Marxist-Leninist and Cuban nationalist. Cuba became a one-party communist state under his era; industry and commerce were nationalized; and state socialist reforms were introduced throughout society.

When studying law at the University of Havana, Castro adopted leftist and imperialist perspectives. He planned the overthrowrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista after being involved in revolts against right-wing government in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, launching a failed assault on Moncada Barracks in 1953. Castro and his brother Ral Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara traveled to Mexico after a year of imprisonment. Castro, who returned to Cuba, was instrumental in the Cuban Revolution by leading the campaign against Batista's powers from the Sierra Maestra. Castro assumed military and political leadership as Cuba's prime minister after Batista's deposition in 1959. The United States came to condemn Castro's regime and failed to depose him by assassination, economic recession, and counter-revolution, including the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion. Castro joined the Soviet Union and encouraged the Soviets to install nuclear arms in Cuba, resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was a defining feature of the Cold War.

Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist republic under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere, adopting a Marxist-Leninist model of growth. Central economic development, expanding healthcare and education were followed by state oversight of the press and the suppression of internal opposition. Castro in the United States promoted anti-imperialist movements, promoting the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua, and Grenada, as well as sending troops to assist allies in the Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and the Angolan Civil War. These activities, as well as Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983, as well as Cuba's medical internationalism, boosted Cuba's international recognition. Castro led Cuba during the economic downturn of the "Special Period," accepting environmentalist and anti-globalization theories following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Castro developed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas in the 2000s, forged alliances in the Latin American "pink tide," notably with Hugo Chávez's Venezuela. Castro relegated his duties to Vice President Ral Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008.

Castro, the longest-serving non-royal head of state in the 20th and 21st centuries, has polarized opinion around the world. His followers see him as a promoter of socialism and anti-imperialism, whose revolutionary government created economic and social justice in the process of restoring Cuba's independence from US imperialism. Critics have dubbed him a tyrant whose government oversaw human rights abuses, the exodus of several Cubans, and the country's economic impoverishment.

Personal and public life

In his book The Double Life of Fidel Castro, Juan Reynaldo Sánchez, Castro's former bodyguard, recounts a large part of his personal and private life. Castro said, "Nothing normal about him at all; he is unique, special, and different." He portrayed himself as an egocentric who likes being the center of attention, as well as his almost electric charisma, which captured the attention of those around him. He was also highly manipulative, and with his keen intelligence, he was able to manipulate a person or a group of people with no difficulty. In addition, he was a regular and obsessive guy. He would repeat the same things over and over again in discussions with his coworkers or visitors until they were convinced that he was correct. It was absolutely impossible to criticize him on any topic. Anybody who tried to convince him that he was wrong or worse, even suggesting that it be enhanced marginally was making a "fatal mistake." If the individual is a "idiot," the Fidel will make a mental picture of them and will wait for the right time to retaliate against them. Nobody, not even Ral, was exempt from this; despite being the minister of the armed forces, he would make reportedly minor military decisions before submitting them to Castro for his final permission in order to prevent inadvertently contradicting him. Sánchez said that General Arnaldo Ochoa's demise was largely due to his ability to defy Fidel's orders in Angola.

Castro was described as "fiercely hard-working, dedicated, and magnanimous," according to Biographer Leycester Coltman, but he also warned that he might be "vindictive and unforgiving." Castro "always had a keen sense of humor and could laugh at himself," he said, but if he felt humiliated, he'd be "a bad loser" who would act with "ferocious rage." He was known for hurling tantrums and could make "snap decisions" that he refused to retract from. Castro, in private, was actually skilled at keeping his temper in check and not allowing it to influence his decision; Sánchez said he had only witnessed Castro explode in rage twice in 17 years, one after being told of his daughter Alina's defection in 1993.

Castro was known for his long hours, but he woke up late, often before 10 or 11 a.m., and continued his working day late at night, with some people going to bed at 3 or 4 a.m. In the early hours, he preferred to speak with foreign diplomats because they were tired and he could have the upper hand in negotiations. Castro liked to meet ordinary people in Cuba and abroad, but took a particularly paternal view of Cubans, treating them as if they were a member of his own large family." "Though ruthless, [Castro] was a patriot with a strong belief that it was his mission to save the Cuban people," British historian Alex von Tunzelmann said. Castro was described as "quintessentially totalitarian in his charismatic appeal, utopian function, and public, transformative utilisation of power," according to political scientist Paul C. Sondrol.

Castro was described as having a "voracity for knowledge" and "elephantine memory" that allowed him to talk for hours on a variety of topics. Alexander the Great, his Spanish equivalent Alejandro, who he adopted as his nom de guerre, was his hero. Castro was a voracious reader, with Ernest Hemingway, Franz Kafka, William Shakespeare, and Maxim Gorky naming For Whom the Bell Tolls as his favorite book and even using some of its lessons as a guerilla combator. He loved art and photography and was known as a patron of both Cuba and Cuba, but he was uninterested in music and disliked dancing. He was also a huge fan of cinema, especially Soviet films. His favorite film was Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, a five-hour version. Castro had a lifelong obsession with cows and, from 1966, they were involved with bovine genetics and breeding. The effort to breed cows with increased milk yields was frequently reported by state media. On national television, this passion hit its peak in 1982 when a cow that Fidel had bred, "Ubre Blanca," broke the Guinness World Record for milk production in 29 gallons. Granma issued a national celebrity and propaganda tool when the cow died in 1985, and the postal service issued stamps in her honor as well.

Fidel Castro's religious convictions have remained a point of contention; he was baptized and raised as a Roman Catholic. He criticized the use of the Bible to defend women and Africans' oppression, but said that Christianity contained "a community of highly humane precepts" that gave the world "ethical values" and a "sense of social justice" in the context of social justice, not from a religious standpoint. On a visit to Jesse Jackson, Castro led him to a Methodist Church service, where he even spoke from the pulpit with a Bible before him, an event that marked the beginning of a new openness toward Christianity in Cuba. He cited Jesus Christ's communist theology of the 5,000 and the tale of Jesus and the wealthy young man as proof.

Castro was primarily identified by his formal military name Comandante El Jefe in general discourse as well as in person, but El Jefe (the Chief) could also be identified as Comandante (The Commander) in the third person, especially within the party's military service. Castro was often referred to as "El Caballo" ("The Horse"), a term that refers to Cuban entertainer Benny Moré, which refers to Castro's well-known philandering during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Castro was an excellent at deception and deception, with his rhetorical skills and a deep understanding of the cause, easily winning over his audience and even whole segments of the population in favor of him. Hundreds of supporters gathered to applaud Castro's fiery speeches, which usually lasted for hours (even outside in inclement weather) and without the use of written notes. Castro regularly cited research and books he had read on a number of topics, including military affairs, plant raising, filmmaking, and chess tactics. The Cuban government maintained a cult of personality, but unlike other Soviet-era politicians and his allies, it was less popular and took on a more subtle and discreet appearance. There were no statues or large portraits of him, but rather "thoughts" of the Comandante. Despite his fame among certain segments of the Cuban population, his popularity in the country's youth resulted in another one emerging without the government's involvement, and it would be used to assess each individual's contribution to the "revolutionary cause" (which would be determined by their contribution to the revolt). In fact, Castro's image could be found in Cuban shops, classrooms, taxicabs, and even on national television by 2006. Castro, in private, reacted anxiously to such idolization campaigns and assumed he had intellectual acclaim over leaders who participated in such conduct, including his buddy Kim Il-sung of North Korea, whose cult of personality he found unreasonable, outlandish, and unreasonable.

He gave no importance to his appearance or clothing for 37 years; for 37 years, he wore only his brand olive-green military fatigues or the common MINFAR dress uniform for formal functions and special occasions, emphasizing his position as the enduring innovator. In the mid-1990s, he began wearing dark civilian clothing and abera in public, but not in public. Castro was usually the tallest person he met with at 6'3 inches (1.91 m) tall with a few inches added from his combat boots, delivering him a dominating presence in every room or photograph taken, which he used to his advantage (for comparison, Abraham Lincoln and Charles De Gaulle, both well-known for their tallness, stood at 6'4 and 6'5 respectively). Castro wore a pencil-thin moustache and combed back hair during his days as a Cuban man in the 1950s, but grew out both during his time as a guerilla soldier and retaining them afterwards. Castro also feared about his appearance and looped shaving, so making the beard and uniform all the more useful for him. His uniform was also kept simple; he never wore any medals or decorations, and his only rank marker was the Comandante El Jefe insignia stitched on the shoulder straps, so he never got any medals or decorations. He wore combat boots until the 1990s but instead of sneakers and tennis shoes, due to orthopedic injuries. He used a 9mm Browning pistol in a brown leather holster with an additional three clips around his waist. Castro occasionally carried a 7.62 Kalashnikov AKM with him through the 1960s, but with five cartridges, he frequently used it during shooting drills and practice. Castro had a lifelong passion for weapons and was regarded as a top sharpshooter, impressing foreign visitors and even attacking members of his own elite bodyguards who competed regularly with him.

The Cuban cigar, which he smoked on a daily basis, became Castro's most popular public feature. Castro continued to practice for almost 44 years, with the exception of a short period during the 1950s, when a guerilla fighter and protesting against Batista linked tobacco firms were introduced by his father at the age of 15. Castro said he resigned around 1985 after the Communist Party's anti-smoking campaign was launched. Sánchez denies this, saying that Castro halted his smoking use in 1980 and halted completely in 1983 after a cancerous ulcer was discovered in his intestine. Castro smoked many brands including Romeo y Julieta Churchill, H. Upmann, Bauza, and Partagás prior to the Revolution, including Partagás. Castro noticed that one of his bodyguards was smoking a particularly aromatic yet unbranded cigar in the early 1960s. Castro and the bodyguard discovered Eduardo Ribera, who promised to establish the El Laguito Factory and branded the cigars as Cohiba, Castro's most well-known brand and raising its profile internationally. It was initially restricted for his own personal use and other members of the Politburo, and it was later presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro, most prominently by Che Guevara, Josip Broz Tito, Houari Boumédien, Sukarno, and Saddam Hussein.

Punto Cero, a large and vegetative estate just 6 kilometers from the Palacio de la Revolution in the Siboney neighborhood, was Castro's main residence. The main house is a two-story family mansion with a 600-square-yard footprint, 50-foot swimming pool, six greenhouses growing fruit and vegetables for Fidel and Ral's families, as well as their bodyguard units, and a wide lawn with free-range chickens and cows. A second two-story building that was used to house the bodyguards and the domestic staff is close by. The house was decorated in a classical Caribbean style, with local wicker and wood furniture, porcelain plates, watercolor paintings, and art books. Sánchez characterized the estate as naturally wealthy and tastefully furnished, and although it was considered luxury by the average Cuban, it was not lavish or over the top compared to the Somoza clan's or the Kim dynasty of North Korea. The La Rinconada home of Rall and Vilma is located on 222nd Street, just north of 222nd Street. On Sundays, Ral used to host huge family barbecues, where Fidel would often appear, granting his extended family, sisters, and his elder brother Ramón a rare opportunity to see him. Unit 160, which was the base of Fidel's bodyguard units, is next to Punto Cero. The base was over five acres wide and surrounded by high walls, effectively a "city within a city" consisting of transportation, electronics, gaming, food, and a large armory of Kalashnikovs, Makarovs, and Browning's. Members of Fidel's passion for Bovine raising were also involved in the unit's success, and a stable was kept for some of Fidel's most prized cows.

Casa Cojimar, his first home after 1959 but disused by the 1970s; Casa Carbonell, Cuban Intelligence for his clandestine meetings with foreign officials or intelligence personnel; and two buildings retrofitted with air-raid shelters and links to the MINFAR command bunkers in Havana; and Casa del Mar (next to the Tropico Hotel); and two houses retrofitted with air-raid bunkers for use in war. He had three residences in the west of Cuba: Casa Americana (confiscated from an American businessman connected to Batista); Rancho la Tranquilidad; and La Deseada, a hunting lodge used in the winter for duck hunting and fishing trips. He owned two homes in Matanzas, one in Ciego de Avila, a horse ranch in Hacienda, and another house in a vacation home for the Politburo in Holguin, Casa Guardalavaca) as well as two residences in Santiago de Cuba (one of which is shared with Ramiro Valdes).

Cayo de Piedra, a small key island that was once the home of a lighthouse but that was split into two by a cyclone in the 1960s, was Castro's main tourist destination. He stumbled upon the island by chance while investigating the area in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. He ordered it to be demolished and fell in love with the island for the first time. Osmany Cienfuegos created the private bungalow, guesthouse, bridge, marina, and a building for the use of the bodyguards and support staff. He landed here from his inaccessible private marina in La Caleta del Rosario, which also housed another residence and guesthouse. Two yachts, Aquarama I, were confiscated from a Batista Government official and later in the 1970s, the 90-foot white hull Aquarama II. Aquarama II, which was trimmed with wood donated from Angola, had two double cabins, one for Fidel's personal use, a main sitting room, two restrooms, a bar, and a safe communications suite, and was equipped with four Osa-class missile boat engines courtesy of Brezhnev, which allowed for top speeds of over 42 knotts. Both Aquarama II and Pioniera II were used by his escort Pioniera I and Pioniera II; one was fitted with a huge cache of arms and another was equipped with medical equipment; another was equipped with medical equipment.

Castro was also keen on gastronomy and was known to wander into his kitchen to discuss cookery with his chefs. His diet was primarily Cuban, based on traditional pescatarian cuisine but also with the added presence of his native Galicia. All of his food was obtained from Punto Cero or fished from his private island of Cayo Piedra, with the exception of cases of Algerian Red Wine gifted initially from Houari Boumediene and continued by successive Algerian governments and Iraqi figs and fruit jams from Saddam Hussein. Castro, who woke up in the late morning, often had tea or fish bouillon for breakfast, followed by milk from one of the cows that grazed on Punto Cero; they were all bred to produce milk that would suit Castro's discerning taste. His lunches were also frugal and consisted of fish or shrimp soup with fresh produce. On particular occasions, his ham would include grilled fish, chicken, mutton, or even pata negra ham, but his dietician had forbidden him from eating beef or coffee.

Castro's primary car was a black ZiL limousine, first an armored convertible ZIL-111 from Khrushchev, a ZIL-111 from Khrushchev, and then briefly a ZIL-4104 from Leonid Brezhnev, although his escort would accompany him in several Alfa Romeo 1750s and 2000s. Saddam Hussein delivered Castro his Armored Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL, which he had borrowed from Baghdad and became his sole vehicle for the remainder of his life in 1979. Fidel ordered two mechanics from his bodyguard unit to West Germany to buy several second-hand Mercedes-Benz 500's to replace the old Alfa Romeos. Castro used at least fourteen guards and four of his staff spread out over four cars; three Mercedes-Benz's and one Soviet Lada, which trailed the main convoy, but kept the military presence at a minimum. If he were to leave Havana, a fifth Mercedes will march alongside his doctor, nurse, and photographer.

Castro was known for his loneliness, seclusion, and confided in very few individuals in his personal life. Ral Castro, his younger brother by five years and long-serving the Army minister, was his closest and most trusted friend. Despite Ral's contrasting, almost polar opposite personality to Castro, Sánchez describes Ral as complementing Castro's personality in every way that he is not. Whereas Fidel was "charismatic, energetic, visionary, but also very impulsive and disorganized," Ral was described as a "natural, methodical, and uncompromising organizer." Castro visited Ral and Vilma's house almost every day, and was a frequent visitor at Ral and Vilma's house; Vilma was also considered close to Castro and appeared in public with him at national events. Castro was not close to any of his other siblings, although he did have friendly connections with his elder brother Ramón and sister Angelita. Juanita Castro has been living in the United States since the 1960s and has been a vocal critic of the Cuban regime.

Castro's closest friend, Celia Sánchez, was accompanied him almost everywhere during the 1960s and controlled almost all access to the leader outside of his immediate family. Celia was indeed Castro's mistress, according to Reynaldo Sánchez, who described her as the "true love of his life." On 11th Street in Celia, and Once where Fidel used to visit every day before returning home, Castro gave her a large apartment for Celia. Castro developed an elevator, fitness center, and a bowling alley for his and Celia's personal use over the years. He even brought bodyguards from his own escort to Celia for her own defense.

The members of Castro's closest male friends, Escolta or "Escort," were among his immediate bodyguard unit's Escolta or "Escort." Department 1 of the Personal Security Directorate of MININT (Ministry of the Interior) handled his safety. Department 1 was for Fidel's safety, Department 2 was Ral and Vilma's, and Department 3 was for the Politburo members, and so on. Unlike the other MININT Departments, both his and Ral's units deviated from the established chain of command and alerted them directly. Castro's defense consisted of three concentric anillos or rings. Thousands of soldiers from MININT and MINFAR all served on MININT and MINFAR who provided logistical, Air-Defense, Intelligence, and others. The second band was composed of eighty to one hundred soldiers who provided the outer perimeter defense; And the first ring, the Elite Escolt, which provided his immediate protection and was made up of two squads of 15 elite soldiers who worked 24 hours, as well as about ten support staff.

Castro, a soldier at heart, had more in common with his escort than with his civilian family. He spent the majority of his time under their custody, and they were usually his acquaintances in their personal interest. As a sports fan, he spent a significant portion of his time inactive sports, including hunting, flying fishing, underwater fishing, scuba diving, and playing basketball. They were also his companions on special occasions, such as his birthday or during national holidays, where they would regularly exchange gifts and engage in one-sided discussions with Castro, where he would recall his life stories. The Escort Castro's closest friend was former Mayor of Havana Jose "Pepn" Naranjo, who served as his chief aide until his resignation in 1995 and his own personal physician, Eugenio Selman. Castro was also close to Manuel "Barbarroja" Pineiro, the head of the American Department of the DGI, Antonio Nez Jiménez, and Colombian novelist Gabriel Garca Márquez outside of his climb.

There has never been published an official marital history of Castro, with the majority of information coming from defectors and little details that were not widely distributed in state media and pieced together over the years. In his earlier years as president, he displayed some of his family, including his oldest son Fidelito, in order to make himself a "family man" to the apprehensive American audience, but then stopped doing so as he became more worried about his personal safety. Castro never named a "first Lady" or "real female companion" during his reign, and when it was necessary, Celia Sánchez or Ral's wife, Vilma Espn, would play such a role as a prime minister.

Castro has been referred to as a compulsive lover or "womanizer" in general, but he has had several affairs, including many one-night stands. Castro had no trouble finding love and seduction in Cuba, and Sánchez denies that Castro ever indulged in any unusual or unconstitutional activity. Castro was also described as a poor father; often absent from their children's lives, he was less concerned with his children's interests and was more interested in his work. Ral, who had more paternal attachments to Castro's children, was often the one who played the role of surrogate father to Castro's children, particularly Fidelito and Alina.

Francisca Pupo (born 1953), Castro's second daughter, was the result of a one-night affair. Pupo and her husband now live in Miami. Ciro's older brother was also born in the early 1960s, the result of another brief fling, according to Celia Sánchez.

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Early life and career

On August 13, 1926, Castro's father's farm was born out of wedlock. ngel Castro y Argiz, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, was a migrant from Galicia in the northwest of Spain's northwest. He had succeeded in growing sugar cane at Las Manacas, Oriente Province, growing sugar cane. Lina Ruz González, a Canarian ancestry's woman, became his mistress and then wife after his first marriage's breakdown; together they had seven children, one of whom was Fidel. Castro was sent to live with his teacher in Santiago, Cuba, before being baptized into the Roman Catholic Church at the age of 8. Castro was baptized into the La Salle boarding school in Santiago, where he often misbehaved; he was then sent to the privately funded, Jesuit-run Dolores School in Santiago.

Castro joined the Jesuit-run El Colegio de Belén in Havana in 1945. Despite taking an interest in history, geography, and debate at Belén, Castro did not succeed academically, instead devoting a large amount of his time to playing sports. Castro began studying law at the University of Havana in 1945. Castro, who claimed to being "politically illiterate," became embroiled in student activism and the university's virulent gangsterismo culture. After being passionate about anti-imperialism and condemning the US presence in the Caribbean, he unsuccessfully ran for president of the Federation of University Students on a platform of "honesty, decency, and justice." Castro became outraged by President Ramón Grau's administration's misdeed and violence in November 1946, when delivering a public address on the subject that attracted interest on several newspapers' front pages.

Castro, a Cuban nationalist, was a founding member of the Partido Ortodoxo, a veteran politician established in 1947. Chibás, a charismatic figure, argued for social justice, honest government, and political independence, while his party denied injustice and called for reform. Despite placing third in the 1948 general election, Castro remained committed to campaigning for him. After Grau hired gang leaders as police officers, student violence escalated, and Castro was alerted with a life threat urging him to leave the university soon. However, he refused to do so and instead began to wield a pistol and surround himself with armed friends. Anti-Castro dissidents accused him of murdering gang-related assassination attempts in recent years, but charges are still unproven. Castro "began his career as a student rebel turned street fighter turned guerrilla, a voracious reader, an interminable speaker, and a good baseball player," American historian John Lewis Gaddis wrote. The only suggestions that seem to have pushed him were a lust for power, a willingness to use violent means to obtain it, and a reluctantness to reveal it once he had it. If he had taken an example, it was Napoleon, not Marx.

Castro discovered in June 1947 that a planned expedition to overthrowrown Rafael Trujillo, a US ally, in the Dominican Republic. Castro, the President of the Dominican Republic's University Committee on Democracy, joined the trip. Around 1,200 troops, mainly Cubans and exiled Dominicans, were planning to sail from Cuba in July 1947. Grau's government called off the invasion under US pressure, but Castro and some of his comrades escaped detention. Castro, a student in Havana, was instrumental in student demonstrations against the assassination of a high school student by government bodyguards. The demonstrations, as well as a crackdown on those who were deemed communists, culminated in violent clashes between activists and police in February 1948, which Castro was clearly defeated. His public speeches took on a decidedly leftist slant, condemning Cuban socioeconomic and economic inequalities. In comparison, his former public lectures had focused on condemning injustice and imperialism in the United States.

Castro travelled to Bogotá, Colombia, in April 1948, as the leader of a Cuban student group sponsored by President Juan Perón's Argentine government. The assassination of popular leftist leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán Ayala sparked widespread demonstrations and clashes between the governing Conservatives and leftist Liberals in the city. Castro joined the Liberal Party by stealing weapons from a police station, but subsequent police inquiries revealed that he had nothing to do with any killings. The Organization of American States was established at a summit in Bogotá in April 1948, sparking demonstrations that Castro supported.

Castro, who is returning to Cuba, has been a central figure in demonstrations against government efforts to raise bus fares. He married Mirta D'Az Balart, a student from a wealthy family who was introduced to the Cuban lifestyle that year. The marriage was a love match that both parents disapproved of, but D.az Balart's father and Batista gifted them tens of thousands of dollars to spend on a three-month New York City honeymoon.

Grau decided not to run for re-election in the same year, but his Partido Auténtico's new candidate, Carlos Pró Socarrás, won it. When members of the MSR, who are now allies of the police force, assassinated Justo Fuentes, a socialist friend of Castro's, the MSR was involved in widespread demonstrations. In reaction, Próro promised to quell the criminals but discovered them too heavy to be controlled. Castro had migrated to the left, being influenced by Karl Marx's Marxist writings and Vladimir Lenin's Vladimir Lenin's Marxist writings. He began to see Cuba's problems as a vital part of capitalist society, or the "dictatorship of the bourgeoisie," rather than corrupt politicians' failures, and the Marxist belief that meaningful political reform could only be brought about by the proletarian revolution. He became involved in the student anti-racist movement in Havana's impoverished neighborhoods.

Mirta gave birth to a son, Fidelito, in September 1949, so the couple moved to a larger Havana apartment. Castro continued to put himself in jeopardy by remaining active in the city's politics and joining the 30 September Movement, which included both communists and Partido Ortodoxo supporters. Despite Probos' promises, the group was set to avoid the influence of the violent gangs within the university; instead, many of the university's senior members worked in government ministries. On November 13, Castro would give a speech to the Movement, exposing the government's clandestine deals with the gangs and naming key figures. The address, attracted the national press's interest, prompted the gangs and Castro to flee into hiding, first in the countryside and then in the United States. Castro laid low and concentrated on his university studies after returning to Havana a few weeks later, graduating as a Doctor of Law in September 1950.

Castro co-founded a legal alliance that mainly appealed to poor Cubans, but it was also a financial failure. Castro failed to pay his bills when he was unable to; his furniture was confiscated and electricity was cut off, disconcering his wife. In November 1950, he protested the Education Ministry's ban on student associations; he was arrested and charged with violent conduct, but the magistrate dismissed the charges. He was still focusing on Chibás and the Partido Ortodoxo, and he was also at Chibás' politically motivated suicide in 1951. Castro, Chib's heir, ran for Congress in the June 1952 elections, but senior Ortodoxo members feared his radical fame and refused to nominate him. He was instead nominated for the House of Representatives by party leaders in Havana's poorest districts and began campaigning. The Ortodoxo had a large following and was expected to do well in the run-off.

Castro met with General Fulgencio Batista, the former president who had returned to politics with the Unitary Action Party during his campaign. If he were successful, Batista offered him a post in his administration; although both opposing Próo's government, their meeting never went beyond polite generalities. Batista seize power in a military coup on March 10, 1952, with Pro fleeing to Mexico. Batista, the self-proclaimed president, called his new model "disciplined democracy"; Castro was denied of being elected in his first run for office by Batista's election, and many others believe it was a one-man dictatorship. Batista turned to the right, solidifying links with both the wealthy elite and the United States, severing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, suppressing trade unions, and closing down Cuban socialist organisations. Several court suits against Batista, Castro were dismissed, but these were dismissed, and Castro began to investigate alternate ways to depose the regime.

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