The corrupt rule of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba gave rise to a variety of resistance movements. Among those hoping for change was the young lawyer Fidel Castro. He and his brother Raúl hoped for a Cuban revolution that would bring Cuban independence from foreign control, land redistribution, and improvements in health care and education, among other things.

On July 26, 1953, they participated in an attack on the Moncada army barracks, hoping to get weapons for the revolution. The attack failed, and the Castros were imprisoned until 1955. While leaving prison, they went to Mexico, planned a new attack, and in 1956 landed on the eastern end of the island. Cubans began to join Castro, and in 1958, Cuban revolutionary leaders joined in the Pact of Caracas and Fidel Castro emerged as the overall leader of the revolution. On January 8, 1959, the triumphant Castro entered Havana.

Relations with the US, while initially good, soon soured. In the Agrarian Reform Act (1959), Castro broke up large estates and distributed the land to the people. State ownership both in agriculture and industry increased. Wealthy supporters of Batista fled from Cuba to the United States and Castro imprisoned political opponents who remained. In the spring of 1961, the United States backed the disastrous Bay of Pigs Invasion, supporting an attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Castro.

At the end of 1961, Castro embraced socialism. To support the Cuban economy, which had previously been closely tied to the United States, Castro traded sugar to the USSR in exchange for oil and assistance with industrialization. In 1962, the United States discovered that the Soviets had moved nuclear weapons and ICBMs into Cuba; this precipitated the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Eventually, the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, backed down and removed the weapons and ICBMs in return for a promise that the United States would not attempt to invade Cuba again. Despite US sanctions, Castro’s policies improved education and healthcare in Cuba; however the average Cuban GDP did not increase significantly, and Cuba remained extremely dependent on the USSR.

In Brazil, the populist leader Getúlio Vargas became president in 1930. In 1937, he created the Estado Novo. Vargas focused on industrializing Brazil while at the same time passing laws instituting a  shorter work day and the minimum wage. But, as wages increased, so did inflation. Vargas was overthrown in a coup in 1945, but was once more elected President in 1950. In 1954, as Brazil faced a financial Crisis, Vargas committed suicide.

In Argentina, the populist leader Juan Perón took power, serving as president from 1946 to 1955. His wife, Eva, had risen from poverty, and helped him earn the support of the people of Argentina. Manufacturing in Argentina increased rapidly and the standard of living rose. Perón initiated a public works program and nationalized Argentina’s railroads. However, Perón’s government also ruthlessly suppressed opposition. In 1955, he was overthrown by the military and went into exile. In 1973, he returned to Argentina and was once more elected president, but died in 1974.

Chile was headed by a military dictator, Augusto Pinochet, from 1974 to 1990. Although the policies of the previous socialist President, Salvador Allende, had helped some of Chile’s poor, strikes, food shortages, and clashes between conservative and liberal groups had brought Chile to the brink of civil war. Pinochet’s government stabilized the economy but arrested over 100,000 people in its first three years alone. Many of those arrested were tortured — 35,000 cases of torture were documented — and 4,000 were killed. Pinochet stepped down in 1990.

In El Salvador, a series of military governments held power, starting in 1929. In response to economic problems and human rights abuses, guerilla groups arose, fighting for land reform and the overthrow of the government. The government fought back, helped by military aid from the United States. From 1971, the Catholic Catholic entered into the conflict on the side of the poor.

Priests and nuns adopted “Liberation Theology” and spoke on behalf of the people, advocating for relief for the poor and for social justice. However, Liberation Theology was not supported by the Vatican. The same right wing squads that battled the guerillas tortured and killed the Catholic activists. By 1979, full-scale civil war had emerged in El Salvador between the government and the FMLN, a guerilla group supported by Castro. The war continued until 1992. It led to enormous destruction and loss of human life as well as waves of refugees fleeing the chaos.