The Revolt of the Sergeants, as the 1933 revolution was known, set in motion a process of liberalization that culminated in a new constitution. The constitution of 1940 guaranteed individual and social rights, supported full employment and a minimum wage, extended social security to many seasonal workers, and called for equal pay for equal work. It also provided for land reforms by outlawing the latifundias, the large plantations owned by a handful of Cubans and foreign corporations, and called on the government to curb the influence of foreign corporations over the Cuban economy.

The constitution failed to provide the means by which these reforms could be accomplished, and so its promise remained largely unfulfilled. However, the 1940 constitution established goals toward which Cubans could strive as a way to improve the material circumstances of their lives. Its suspension in 1952 was the direct cause of the...