s first voyage in 1492. The Spanish are ousted by the US in the war of 1898. The island is theneffectively annexed by the US. American business interests flourish but thedomestic political process is seriously compromised by US interference. 1933 sees the entry of Fulgencio Batista y Zaldvar onto the politicalscene when the then army sergeant leads a military revolt that installs anew revolutionary government.
In January 1934 Batista topples the new government and installs himself asdictator, ruling until 1940 when he is legitimately elected as president. Finding himself out of power in 1944, Batista, now a general, bides histime until 10 March 1952, when he overthrows the government in a bloodlesscoup and cancels planned elections. The US recognises the Batistagovernment on 27 March. Batista rules by decree and presides over a corruptregime with links to US business and organised crime. More background. Mini biography: Born on 14 June 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, into a liberal,middleclass family.
He is the first of five children. As a child he suffersfrom asthma, and will do so for the rest of his life. 1947 – He begins studying for a degree in medicine at the University ofBuenos Aires. He spends his leave on motorcycle tours with his friendAlberto Granado, who runs a dispensary at the leper colony of San Franciscodel Chanar near Cordoba in Argentina. In journeys undertaken in 1951 and 1952, Guevara travels first inArgentina, where he meets the lepers at Cordoba, then heads west into Chileand then north through Peru, Colombia, Venezuela and onto Miami in the US,where he is turned back by the immigration authorities.
While in Peru he works in the San Pablo leprosarium. His experiences withthe lepers and the poor and underprivileged during his travels have a keyimpact on the development of his political thought. He becomes convincedthat genuine equality can only be achieved through socialism.Guevara’s experiences on the road are later described in his book’Motorcycle Diaries’ .
