When the Cuban Revolution succeeded in overthrowing dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, rebel commander Fidel Castro declared, "The Revolution begins now." Over the next five decades, Castro remade Cuba into a one-party socialist nation. The Cuban Revolution survived attempts to topple Castro's government, a crippling American embargo, a cold war-era nuclear confrontation, and many difficult economic downturns. Although it created successful social programs and produced a more equitable society, it failed to live up to the democratic ideals promised by denying basic civil liberties and jailing political opponents. Additionally, more than a million Cubans left their homeland, turning their backs on their country so long as Castro's regime was in charge. Read more about this dramatic period in Latin American history in The Cuban Revolution.