I'm working on an AH Young Adult dieselpunk novel set in Cuba in the future several centuries after the failure of the July 26th movement in that world. In that world, Batista somehow stays in power for longer than he did in reality, regaining popularity in the middle of his second term through giving back certain rights such as the right to strike, improving education in the cities etc, keeping the casinos open and inviting Americans to invest in it and being a (little less, but still) repressive leader. My protagonist is a 14-year-old clone of Che Guevara, living in Cuba 198 years after this happened.
So, does anyone have an idea of a plausible historical POD where Batista somehow gains back enough popularity to stay in power until he dies, but still continues to be somewhat repressive and authoritarian and the July 26th movement is a lost cause? And United Fruit still has power in Cuba and all of Latin America except for Mexico? Or is this just too implausible to be even considered? ETA: I'm going to do some more individual research to work out how this POD will happen. So far, I've been reading Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was A Tropical Playground to get a feel for pre-revolution Havana. Even though this story's dieselpunk, I would still like the actual POD to be historically plausible. Basically, is there any possible point during his second term where Batista could have regained popularity and US support?
Another ETA: Could a moderator please delete the other post on this in the test messages forum?