1. Gerardo Machado y Morales was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933.
25 Facts About Gerardo Machado
1. 2.
Ultimately, in 1933, Gerardo Machado was forced to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes y Quesada and brokered by US ambassador Sumner Welles.
3.
Gerardo Machado was born in 1869 as the oldest child in his family, in the central province of Las Villas.
4.
Gerardo Machado had two younger siblings, a brother named Carlos and a sister named Consuelo.
5.
When he was in his early 20s, Gerardo Machado engaged in growing and selling tobacco.
6.
Gerardo Machado joined the rebel forces and rose to the rank of brigadier general.
7.
Gerardo Machado was one of the youngest Cuban generals in the war.
8.
Gerardo Machado was said to be the party's war leader in Las Villas province, where he fought on the Liberal side in the "Little War of February 1917" La Chambelona, with Jose Miguel Gomez, Alfredo Zayas, and Enrique Loynaz del Castillo.
9.
Finally they could not continue and Gerardo Machado surrendered on 8 March 1917.
10.
Gerardo Machado was appointed as Interior Minister under Jose Miguel Gomez.
11.
Gerardo Machado campaigned with the slogan, "Water, roads, and schools".
12.
Gerardo Machado took office as President of Cuba on 20 May 1925, and left office on 12 August 1933.
13.
Gerardo Machado is noted for stating that at the end of his term he would ask for the abrogation of the Platt Amendment.
14.
Whether for the sake of gaining political favour, being tactful or whatever the reason Gerardo Machado firstly stated that the Platt Amendment was in fact a positive benefit to the Cuban people but he insisted on a modification of its terms as the Platt Amendment was a stigma of embarrassment among the international community insofar that it represented Cuba as lacking complete sovereignty over its affairs.
15.
Gerardo Machado was responsible for the construction of El Capitolio, the elegant home of the Cuban Congress from 1929 to 1959.
16.
Additionally, Gerardo Machado oversaw the enlargement of the University of Havana, and the expansion of health facilities.
17.
Gerardo Machado sponsored a tariff reform bill in 1927 providing protection to certain Cuban industries.
18.
Gerardo Machado's detractors claimed he became despotic and forced his way into a second term.
19.
In 1927 Gerardo Machado pushed a series of constitutional amendments to enable him to seek re-election, which he obtained in the 1928 presidential election.
20.
Gerardo Machado faced backlash from university students after the formation of the Directorio Estudiantil Universitario in 1927.
21.
Gerardo Machado has been credited for unleashing a wave of violence against his critics.
22.
Gerardo Machado did not attempt to disclaim Government's responsibility for recent murders of students which he characterized as a stupid mistake.
23.
In Cuba, Gerardo Machado engaged in a long struggle with diverse insurgent groups, from the green shirts of the ABC to Blas Hernandez to the conservative veterans of the Cuban War of Independence to the radical Antonio Guiteras group, and he clung on for several years.
24.
The collapse of Gerardo Machado's government was followed by the provisional president General Alberto Herrera y Franchi.
25.
Gerardo Machado died of colon cancer in Miami Beach, US in 1939 and was entombed in Miami at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum.