Fidelismo
[4] Castro described two historical figures as being particular influences on his political viewpoints: the Cuban anti-imperialist revolutionary José Martí, and the German sociologist and theorist Karl Marx.
Castro also stated that it was at his Jesuit-run high school that he became influenced by Falangism, the Spanish variety of national syndicalism, and its founder, José Antonio Primo de Rivera.
"[19] Castro became critical of the corruption and violence of Grau's regime, delivering a public speech on the subject in November 1946 that earned him a place on the front page of several newspapers.
In contact with members of student leftist groups – including the Popular Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Popular – PSP), the Socialist Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Socialista Revolucionaria – MSR) and the Insurrectional Revolutionary Union (Unión Insurrecional Revolucionaria – UIR) – he grew close to the UIR, although biographers are unsure whether he became a member.
[20][21] In 1947, Castro joined a new populist group, the Party of the Cuban People (Partido Ortodoxo), founded by veteran politician Eduardo Chibás (1907–1951).
[26] After a botched mission to overthrow Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, Castro's opposition to the Grau administration grew after returning to Havana.
The government accused Chibás of being a liar, and in 1951 he shot himself during a radio broadcast, issuing a "last wake-up call" to the Cuban people.
Declaring himself president, Batista cancelled the planned presidential elections, describing his new system as "disciplined democracy"; Castro, like many others, considered it a one-man dictatorship.
[31] Dissatisfied with the Partido Ortodoxo's non-violent opposition, Castro formed "The Movement", a group consisting of both a civil and a military committee.
According to Castro, Batista was a "monstrum horrendum ... without entrails" who had committed an act of treachery in 1933 when he initiated a coup to oust Cuban president Ramón Grau.
[37][full citation needed] In Castro's published manifesto, based on his 1953 speech, he gave details of the "five revolutionary laws" he wished to see implemented on the island:[38][full citation needed] After being exiled, Castro formed the 26th of July Movement, and returned to Cuba to overthrow Batista by guerilla war.
[39] At the time of the revolution the 26th of July Movement involved people of various political persuasions, but most were in agreement and desired the reinstatement of the 1940 Constitution of Cuba and supported the ideals of Jose Marti.
[40] Initially the Movimiento 26 de Julio, along with Castro personally, were not primarily Marxist or Marxist–Leninist, instead favoring a broad front of progressive forces.
[48] Past 1959, Castro's ideologically ambiguous rhetoric began taking a more radical tone, as relations with the United States continued to decline.
In the Second Declaration of Havana of 1962, Castro outlined his basic conception of Marxism, and advocated for the export of the Cuban Revolution, whether or not the "objective conditions" existed in pre-revolutionary countries.
Fidel also stated that one of Stalin's errors was "purging the Red Army due to Nazi misinformation", which weakened the Soviet Union militarily on the eve of Operation Barbarossa.
However, Castro "unequivocally" defended Israel's right to exist and condemned anti-Semitism, a position which he said was shaped by his childhood experiences with belief in Jewish deicide.
Castro criticized some of the rhetoric on Israel by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, under whom Iran–Israel relations became increasingly hostile: I don't think anyone has been slandered more than the Jews.
Castro "criticized Ahmadinejad for denying the Holocaust, and explained why the Iranian government would better serve the cause of peace by acknowledging the 'unique' history of anti-Semitism and trying to understand why Israelis fear for their existence.
[62][63] Castro took a relatively socially conservative stance on many issues, opposing drug use, gambling, and prostitution, which he viewed as moral evils.
[65] Since Fidel Castro's younger brother Raúl Castro took over leadership responsibility in the Party and Cuba in July 2006, observers have pointed out the politically significant differences between the decades-long companions (most significantly a move to a market-socialist economy)[66] and have used the terms "Fidelism" (Spanish: Fidelismo), "Post-Fidelism" and "Raúlism" (Spanish: Raúlismo) to distinguish these changes,[67][68] while official Cuban sources emphasize continuity in the political system.
[71] Considering the range of ideological statements made by Fidel Castro, scholars have attempted to summarize the core themes of Fidelismo.
Other scholars like Samuel Farber, and Katherine Gordy, argue that Castro did not conspire, or manipulate the public by stating he was not a "communist", and that his ideological evolution was instead done to assist the consolidation of the Cuban Revolution.
