ABSTRACT
The Batista regime of 1952-1958 was bad but not wholly evil. It continued to encourage the diversification of agriculture, which most people recognized then as a desirable venture for Cuba if the economy were to prosper in freedom. A commitment was made to an unpopular tyrant, Fulgencio Batista, who was becoming increasingly unpopular in his own country and, what is more, apparently losing a guerrilla war to insurgents led by Fidel Castro. The Batista was reliable friend of the United States during World War II, in which Cuba benefited from high nickel and sugar prices, and in which Cuba collaborated in interallied defense and anti-German security measures generally. The chapter explores that the only policy that could have worked in Cuba in 1958 would have been the deployment of a large number of troops—adequate, first, to enable Batista's army to defeat Castro; and then to remain to guarantee free elections after a reasonable length of time.
