Batista, Fulgencio - Inauguration (previously MS Group 127), circa 1955

File — Box: 1, Folder: 44

Fulgencio Batista Inauguration Collection

Go to file

Scope and Contents

Programs, invitations, tickets, parking stub, newspaper clipping. A collection of engraved and printed invitations, a program, and associated items relating to Batista's inauguration for a third term as President of Cuba, February 23-26, 1955 during the height of Cuban prosperity. All items are in a Japanese red silk folder with three rag-paper flaps and the materials are addressed to Alberto J. Parreño and his wife.

Dates

Creation: circa 1955

Language of Materials

From the Collection:

Includes materials written in English and Spanish.

Access

The collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

See more See less

President of Cuba, 1940-1944 and 1952-1959. As an officer in the Cuban military, Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (1901-1973) took part in the overthrow of Gerardo Machado in 1933 and subsequently headed the military and student junta that ousted Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and installed Ramón Grau San Martín. Made chief of staff of the army, he increased its size and power and soon became de facto ruler, launching a three-year plan of economic and social rehabilitation. In 1940, with centrist support, he was elected president and sponsored several reforms that spurred economic growth. After being defeated in 1944, however, he left for the United States.

He returned to Cuba in 1949, and in 1952 he seized power through a coup. His second term as president was marked by brutal repression, which led to several uprisings, notably that of Fidel Castro. Pressed by the rebels and after a mock election had failed to calm the populace, Batista fled Cuba in 1959 for the Dominican Republic and thence to Portugal and Madeira. He died in Spain. Source: The Columbia Encyclopedia.