First Agrarian Reform Law is signed

The Cuban prime minister travelled to explain the revolution and seek economic understanding without requesting formal state honours.

During his United States tour, he defended Cuban sovereignty and argued that social reform was necessary for democracy.

The long Washington meeting exposed differing expectations about elections, economic policy and the future relationship between Cuba and the United States.

The unofficial visit revealed both international enthusiasm for the revolution and growing conflict over elections, property and communism.

At an inter-American economic meeting in Buenos Aires, he called for large-scale investment to overcome poverty and dependence.

The National Institute of Agrarian Reform became a major instrument of economic and political transformation in the countryside.

The law challenged the dominance of overseas corporations and connected national sovereignty with redistribution in the countryside.

The programme aimed to turn tenants and precarious cultivators into landholders while also organizing cooperatives on large estates.

A confrontation over the revolution’s direction ended with Urrutia’s resignation after Castro publicly denounced his anti-communist position.

The Council of Ministers selected Osvaldo Dorticós to replace Urrutia, while effective leadership remained centred on Castro.