Changes

But Cuba continued to grow closer to the Soviet Union, which funded its failing economy.  In the 1970s Cuba sent 50,000 soldiers to help communism in Angola, and Cuba remained there until 1988.  When communism itself fell in the Soviet Union in 1991 and it broke up, Cuba lost its funding.  It became even poorer then.

But Cuba continued to grow closer to the Soviet Union, which funded its failing economy.  In the 1970s Cuba sent 50,000 soldiers to help communism in Angola, and Cuba remained there until 1988.  When communism itself fell in the Soviet Union in 1991 and it broke up, Cuba lost its funding.  It became even poorer then.

Communism in Latin America was not limited to Cuba.  In Nicaragua, communist rebels named the Sandinistas overthrew an American-backed ruler named Anastasio Somoza.  The United States then supported the anti-communist Contras in the 1980s.  In 1990, the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega finally agreed to hold free elections in order to end the civil war, and he was defeated by the pro-American Violeta Chamorro.  But in 1997 Jose Lacayo was elected as the Nicaraguan leader, and near the end of 2006 Daniel Ortega completed a successful comeback by being elected as president based on his claim that he is not a communist anymore.  He won with only about 38% of the vote, benefiting from a change in rules that no longer requires at least 45% of the vote to win.

Communism in Latin America was not limited to Cuba.  In Nicaragua, communist rebels named the Sandinistas overthrew an American-backed ruler named Anastasio Somoza.  The United States then supported the anti-communist Contras in the 1980s.  In 1990, the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega finally agreed to hold free elections in order to end the civil war, and he was defeated by the pro-American Violeta Chamorro.  But in 1997 Arnoldo Alemán was elected as the Nicaraguan leader. Although a supposedly rightist, he formed a pact with the Sandinistas against his own Liberal Constitutionalist Party, and near the end of 2006 Daniel Ortega completed a successful comeback by being elected as president based on his claim that he is not a communist anymore.  He won with only about 38% of the vote, benefiting from a change in rules that no longer requires at least 45% of the vote to win.

The poverty in many countries in Latin America may help explain why communism is more popular there.  In Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in Latin America, 46% of the population lived on less than $386 in income for the entire year of 2001.  Not only is a job hard to find, but electricity and drinking water are not always available either.  

The poverty in many countries in Latin America may help explain why communism is more popular there.  In Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in Latin America, 46% of the population lived on less than $386 in income for the entire year of 2001.  Not only is a job hard to find, but electricity and drinking water are not always available either.