Batista, Fulgenico (1901-1973)

Batista, Fulgenico

STATESMAN (CUBA)

BORN 16 Jan 1901, Banes - DIED 6 Aug 1973, Marbella, Málaga
BIRTH NAME Batista y Zaldivar, Fulgenico
CAUSE OF DEATH heart attack
GRAVE LOCATION Madrid: Cementerio Sacramental de San Isidro, Paseo de la Ermita del Santo, 70 (section to the left of the main entrance)

Fulgenico Batista left home after the death of his mother when he was fourteen years old. He joined the army in 1921 but he left it in 1923 and worked as a stenography teacher for a while. He returned to the army and in 1933 he led an uprising known as the 'Sergeants' Revolt'. In 1940 defeated Ramón Grau in the presidential elections of 1940. In 1941 Cuba joined the Allies in World War II by declaring war on Japan after the attack on Peal Harbour. Carlos Saladrigas Zaya, his intended successor as president, was defeated by Grau. He remained in the background for eight years, but in 1952 he ran again for president. Befofe the election he seized power in a coup, supported by the army.

Batista was supported by the US, but on New Year's Day 1959 he was defeated by rebels under command of Che Guevara. He fled to the Dominican Republic and obtained political asylum in Portugal. He died in Spain from an heart attack in 1973 when he was there for business activities.

Images
The grave of Fulgenico Batista at the Cementerio Sacramental de San Isidro, Madrid. Picture by Androom (07 May 2012)	The grave of Fulgenico Batista at the Cementerio Sacramental de San Isidro, Madrid. Picture by Androom (07 May 2012)