University students in the Cuban Revolution of 1959

Abstract

This reflective article highlights the revolutionary activities carried out by the Cuban student movement at the University of Havana during the struggle against Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship between 1952 and 1959. Through the analysis of primary documents, the authors focus on the groups that were seeking to reconcile with the Batista dictatorship and radicals and their struggle to win the support of the Cuban student body. Among the radicals were two different factions linked to Fidel Castro and José Antonio Echeverría. As the revolutionary struggle increased, the group supporting Echeverría lost autonomy and ended up being politically and militarily incorporated into the revolutionary leadership of the July 26 Movement.