The Cuban revolution began under his leadership with the largest popular support of any political movement in the history of the country. With a multi-class base, the populist nature of the revolution meant a return to constitutional rule to the upper classes and social justice to the rest of the population. Castro proved to be a persuasive and poignant speaker, and a man who had the fondness and support of the population. He was the critical factor in defining the future direction of the revolution. The very popularity of the revolutionary regime unleashed a process of social radicalization, of which Castro became the major spokesman.

The Cuba that exists under the Revolution can rightly be called "Castro’s Cuba" because of four indisputable facts. First, Castro gave Cuba forty years of rule under one man which meant stability that had not been seen in the previous fifty years. Secondly Castro gave the island a government of once voice. Castro made thorough efforts to remove counterrevolutionaries and other opposition parties, giving the revolution authorization to do with the island as it saw fit. Castro’s creation of a top to down style of government appears to be a rather open and democratic system. Castro created a government in which he was the voice and the will of the people. Finally, Castro’s charisma gave him a style of leadership without which, the revolution could not have succeeded.

Castro proved to be a very charismatic speaker and leader. Fidel is a nationalist and has linked the defense of national independence with the necessity of socialism. This integration has meant that the revolution and the nation have become inseparable in his view. Revolutionary survival requires revolutionary unity, which translates into national unity. Therefore, dissidence will not be tolerated by any means; to question revolutionary views is considered treason. Castro adopted a sort of revolutionary philosophy: selflessness is a positive value, the state can make rational choices the market is irrational, an underdeveloped country should be more concerned with production rather than consumerism, direct contact with the population by the political leadership is a true measure of democracy, and equality takes precedence over individual civil and political rights. Fidel Castro certainly has shown daring and initiative in his exercise of power, and has been willing to take great risks when he was convinced that there will be significant gains in the gamble.

The Cuban political system set up by Castro is an uneasy balance of formal institutions and charismatic authority. He keeps in contact with the people in order to reaffirm his authority. He introduced the method of mass mobilization. He also defined the pattern of concentrating resources away from urban areas, and instilled in the population the belief that they have an inherent right to a job, to proper health care and education. After the U.S. tried to take over Cuba in fear of the spread of communism, Castro decided to expand trade with countries that the country had traditionally not traded with such as Africa and Asia. It also developed a close tie with the Soviet Union. Fidel Castro played a critical role in linking the two countries and in obtaining unusually beneficial terms of trade from the Soviets, a tie which further contributed to the deterioration of Cuba's relations with the United States. The collapse of the Soviet Union, however, marked the beginning of the decline of Castro’s regime. Unable to produce enough food, Cuba’s people began to go hungry. Without the generous Soviet oil subsidy, transportation and industry were paralyzed. Without hard currency to pay for them, no food, fertilizer or oil could be imported.

Castro, a master at politics, is less adept in economics. He bet heavily on government run tourism. Tourism led to a great influx of American money and increased the industry of prostitution throughout the country. Tourism and prostitution were what kept the Cuban economy, for the most part, a float. Cuban citizens began to rely heavily on outside influences such as family in Miami as their chief source of income. Among Castro's shortcomings can be noted Cuba's failure to become more economically self-sufficient, the inefficiency of the island's economy, and the remaining reliance on the export of sugar. Tourism and foreign investment are not large enough to fully support the economic needs of the country. Waitresses, waiters, taxi drivers, bell hops, etc. have become part of the dollar economy and are faring better than professionals. These lucky folk often make more in tips in a day than most Cubans earn in a month. Naturally, the inequality between those Cubans with dollars and those without, and between deprived Cubans and pampered foreigners, has provoked a lot of resentment in a society committed to egalitarianism. Even though Castro’s regime has had many failures it has also had successes such as a lowered infant mortality rate, higher literacy rate, and universal health care and blames the U.S. for the trade embargo. Although his style may have many disadvantages, he continues to be the defining spirit of Cuba and its people to this day.