The Lives of Benito Mussolini and Fidel Castro

The Lives of Benito Mussolini and Fidel Castro

The life of the powerful dictator Benito Mussolini began as the son of a local blacksmith and part-time socialist journalist in Italy. He was a very outspoken child and was restless in school. The Mussolini family was very poor and they lived in a small crowded deteriorated apartment building. They didn't have much money because Mussolini's father spent most of his money on his mistresses. (Ridley 1998-1999)

Unlike Benito Mussolini, Fidel Castro who is a current day powerful dictator was raised as a wealthy child. Castro was born in estate in the elite area of Cuba. Castro was uncontrollable and a fighter. He constantly dared the power of his elders and priests. He struggled for leadership with his classmates. Because of his disruptive behavior, his father sent him away to the Dolores Colegio, a catholic private school. Which would give him rough regulations and increase his G.P.A.

Later Castro joined the University of Havana's Faculty of Law. There he earned a law degree went into practice with two partners. As lawyer he committed his time to helping the poor. During his years as a student, he was a political activist. While receiving his degree in 1950, he had his own practice. He also was involved with the reformist Cuban People's Party. In 1952 he planned to run for a parliamentary seat. But unfortunately for Fidel Castro, General Batista overthrew him, and canceled the election. Castro was not very happy with General Batista as having power over Cuba. In result Castro tried to go to court against Batista's regime, but was unsuccessful. Because the court would not do justice Castro put together an ineffective rebel force, Castro was arrested, tried and put in jail until 1955.

When released from jail he went to Mexico to try and organize and new force, one that became known as the 26 of July movement. In 1956 his men began their attack, resulting in a bloody defeat. Castro and his men went on to fight a guerilla war against the very unpopular Batista regime. They quickly built a large following, and thanks to an effective propaganda campaign. On January 1, 1959, Castro delightedly took power of Cuba.

Fidel Castro and Benito Mussolini were both famous dictators, they both were arrogant and aggressive men. They also had similar beliefs. Such as Fascism, Socialism, and communism. Benito Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism and premier of Italy ruling as a dictator from about 1925 until his dismissal in 1943. Fascism is the idea to regard an existing set of national boundaries as a fake restriction on a genuine person or ethnic group. Living within those boundaries. Nazism for example, required extending the boundary of the German state to include all major awareness' of ethnic Germans. The ethnic concept of Germany was closely linked to an obsession with restoring biological purity of the race, known as the Aryan Race, and the destruction of the supposedly worse minorities. What they believed to be the Jews, Gypsies, communists, homosexuals, and Jehovah's witnesses. The result was no only the mass slaughter of Jew and Gypsies, but the sterilization or killing of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans who were members of religious minorities or mentally or physically disable, or for some other reason considered by self- chosen race experts not to have lives worth living.

Communism is also another theory that both Mussolini and Fidel agreed on. Communism is a theory supporting elimination of private property, a system in which

Goods are owned in widespread and are available to all as needed. Socialism is a other system of society or group living in which there is no private property, a system or

Condition of society in which the means of production or owned and controlled by the state. Totalitarianism is also another belief they both agree on,