Fidel Castro: Captialist

What if instead of being Marxists or Communists, Fidel Castro and his brother Raul had both been devout Roman Catholics and just as devoted Capitalists seeking true Democratic government for The Cuban People?

In 1959 when their revolution outsted the Batista government, Fidel Castro seeks to establish a Capitalist Free Enterprise economy in Cuba like that of The USA. The Castro Revolution also wants free and fair elections for the people of Cuba to establish true Democratic government. Fidel Castro asks for and welcomes help from The USA in doing this, also seeks to strengthen trade with The USA.

What will Cuba be like in this timeline? What will US/Cuban relations be like in this timeline?
 
What if instead of being Marxists or Communists, Fidel Castro and his brother Raul had both been devout Roman Catholics and just as devoted Capitalists seeking true Democratic government for The Cuban People?

In 1959 when their revolution outsted the Batista government, Fidel Castro seeks to establish a Capitalist Free Enterprise economy in Cuba like that of The USA. The Castro Revolution also wants free and fair elections for the people of Cuba to establish true Democratic government. Fidel Castro asks for and welcomes help from The USA in doing this, also seeks to strengthen trade with The USA.

What will Cuba be like in this timeline? What will US/Cuban relations be like in this timeline?

They were. Fidel even wrote to FDR asking for a fifty dollar bill to help him start a business. FDR never wrote back, chaning the course of history forever.
 
Fidel was much more of a nationalist and Fidelist than he ever was a Marxist. The problem is, though, that there are strong US interests invested in keeping Cuba a corrupt and exploitable offshore mafia fiefdom. Not necessarily in the Batista regime but in something much like it. If Fidel tries to change things without backing from Moscow, he will face great obstacles. IMO the most likely outcome is for him to give in and become a moderately benign local caudillo in hock to the Dulles Brothers. The other option is for him to be removed, from the inside (following economic sanctions and covert support for the opposition) or from the outside (if that doesn't work).

Either way, Cuba today would likely be a slowly improving Caribbean country with a dodgy political past and a largely tourist-based economy whom the State Depatrment regularly provides with gentle lectures on how to be properly democratic and run a free market economy without defaulting on sovereign bonds.
 

ninebucks

Banned
What if instead of being Marxists or Communists, Fidel Castro and his brother Raul had both been devout Roman Catholics and just as devoted Capitalists seeking true Democratic government for The Cuban People?

In 1959 when their revolution outsted the Batista government, Fidel Castro seeks to establish a Capitalist Free Enterprise economy in Cuba like that of The USA. The Castro Revolution also wants free and fair elections for the people of Cuba to establish true Democratic government. Fidel Castro asks for and welcomes help from The USA in doing this, also seeks to strengthen trade with The USA.

What will Cuba be like in this timeline? What will US/Cuban relations be like in this timeline?

And what happens when after this first free election, the people of Cuba vote decisively in favour of a Socialist, pro-Moscow government?
 
It's hard to be pro-American when the hated pre-revolution government was already one. People use to go to the other extreme of the rope if the change is fast and traumatic.
 
They were. Fidel even wrote to FDR asking for a fifty dollar bill to help him start a business. FDR never wrote back, chaning the course of history forever.

:mad:
I was going to make that same joke, but better, because I have the letter.

castroletter1.JPG


castroletter2_2.JPG
 
I would suggest a POD before his jailing after Moncada Barracks. It is there where Fidel reads about Marxist theory and becomes interested in it. Only he reveals this much later on publicly.

Fidel was a young man looking for a cause. His July 26th movement didn’t really have an ideology. After he took over the Government the facts were it was the Communist party, which controlled the Unions and had trained personal which could run a country. So either have massive US aid making sure Fidel doesn’t need their help or he would still go this route. Possibly have Eisenhower meet Fidel and make it clear the US will take a hands off policy in Cuba providing aid for democracy as long as the Communists are not in government.
 
Fidel was a young man looking for a cause. His July 26th movement didn?t really have an ideology. After he took over the Government the facts were it was the Communist party, which controlled the Unions and had trained personal which could run a country. So either have massive US aid making sure Fidel doesn?t need their help or he would still go this route. Possibly have Eisenhower meet Fidel and make it clear the US will take a hands off policy in Cuba providing aid for democracy as long as the Communists are not in government.

I'm pretty sure that would wiork for Fidel. I doubt it would work for Eisenhower or Dulles, though. Or, for that matter, for Kennedy. in order to get popular support, Castro will have to hurt some American corporations. By the lights of 1959/60 Washington, that pretty much made you a Communist.
 
And what happens when after this first free election, the people of Cuba vote decisively in favour of a Socialist, pro-Moscow government?

No certainty that they would, really. A moderate nationalist populist should be doing much better at that point. But even if they do, Fidel doesn't care much about elections OTL, does he?
 
He was hitting 90% approval because he was publicly killing people associated with the Batista regime, or at least allowing the public killing of those people. The problem is that any kind of "populism" is going to be built in some part on a restructuring of the economy, and that requires hurting American corporation, and since at this point in the Cold War hurting American corporations is akin to Red Communism, Fidel becomes a Red Communist. Its not that he chose to, its that in order for him to do certain domestic things that he wanted to do, certain foreign policy things followed those domestic decisions.

Basically, look at the list of Cold War-era third world American allies and find me a democrat. I don't think it can be done.
 
A really scary senario is one where young Fidel, beeing poor but wanting to read, gets hold of a Ayn Rand book for free/cheap. Imagine his speaches.:D

Assuming Castro somehow fall into the pro-free-market camp and still pull of a revolution, I think it would have been big butterflies. Nobody was really pro free market back then. The non-communists just wanted control the economy less then the communists. But Cuba would be a tigger economy by now if they did.
 
Wasn't there a mini-TL written by someone where Fidel Castro's parents emigrate to America and he becomes the President of the United States?
 
unfortunately the US was in bed with baptista, but you can have castro wary of US retaliation and consequently remain friendly relations. from what i have read it was largely Che and castro's bro who convinced him to join the commy side.
 
A really scary senario is one where young Fidel, beeing poor but wanting to read, gets hold of a Ayn Rand book for free/cheap. Imagine his speaches.:D

Assuming Castro somehow fall into the pro-free-market camp and still pull of a revolution, I think it would have been big butterflies. Nobody was really pro free market back then. The non-communists just wanted control the economy less then the communists. But Cuba would be a tigger economy by now if they did.

A tigger economy? you mean it will be extremely bouncy and the economics ministry will demand all taxes be paid in honey? :D
 
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