Fulgencio Batista

Definition

Fulgencio Batista was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944, and later as its U.S.-backed dictator from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown during the Cuban Revolution.

Analogy

Think of Fulgencio Batista like a school principal who starts off popular but becomes increasingly strict and unpopular. Eventually, the students (or in this case, the citizens) decide they've had enough and stage a 'revolution' to replace him.

Related terms

Cuban Revolution: The armed revolt led by Fidel Castro that successfully overthrew Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship in 1959.

Dictatorship: A form of government where power is concentrated in the hands of one person or a small group, often maintained through force or manipulation.

Cold War: The geopolitical tension between the United States and Soviet Union post World War II. Cuba under Batista was aligned with the US but after his overthrow, it became an ally of Soviet Union.