..) the subsequent U.S. occupation of the island tied its economy ever closed to the United States as U.S. military governors promulgated laws giving U.S. firms concessionary access to the Cuban market. By the late 1920s U.S. firms controlled 75% of the sugar industry and most of the mines, railroads, and public utilities." (Leogrande and Thomas, 2002, 325-6)

The economic dependence on the United States and in particular the high degree of American control over the Cuban industry and natural resources determined a massive reaction even at the social level. For the public in Cuba, the massive U.S. presence represented the symbol of the colonial rule identified with the previous Spanish rule. From this point-of-view after the gaining of independence, in Cuba a certain sense of opposition towards the U.S. was created. At the same time, one of the most obvious areas of the social aspect which saw the increased...
[ View Full Essay]