jan 28, 1935 - End of Cuban Democracy

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On election day, 1935, the dream of Cuban democracy began to unravel. The once somewhat moderate but increasingly radical nationalists under Ramon Grau staged mass demonstrations, with the party’s infamous paramilitary wing blocking polling stations and intimidating voters. In response, socialist counter-protests erupted, which quickly devolved into violence between nationalists and socialists. American aligned military factions, claiming to be acting to preserve the Cuban constitution moved against the nationalists and socialists alike, scattering them, and used their position to postpone elections until the following year. Trejo powerless to stop them, the military quickly purged both the nationalists and socialists from the legislature, and delegated the vacated seats to politicians practically on their payroll. By this point, those elements of the military loyal to Trejo’s regime had become a minority, with Martin Diaz Tamayo. that same officer who was once so pivotal to Trejo’s ascendance, the de-facto leader of the anti-Trejo faction of the military, vying for power.

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