[Illbay]

Again, you don't have to have a majority vote to be dictator.

Just more guns than the other side.

Ask BATISTA.

[Rain-maker]

Who said anyone voted in a military regime?

[nicollo]

Thanks for the link on Batista. I'm having trouble placing it in the context of this thread, however.

Our mistake in Cuba was in the belief that Cuba could build self-governance by itself. Unlike the other Spanish possessions we took from Spain, especially Porto Rico and the Philippines, we did not occupy Cuba, and we did not impose upon it American political structures. While the Philippines got Marcos, it did get our basic ideals. Cuba didn't take to the Bill of Rights because we did not force it upon them (we did at first; it was dropped later.)

Note that Batista took over during the FDR. Democratic idealism, starting with Wilson in Mexico to FDR/ Truman in Cuba, has been a disaster. It didn't have to be this way.