Evolution of nuclear science and technology in Cuba from 1959 to the end of the 20th century

The assimilation and application of nuclear technologies in Cuba has allowed for sustainable development in sectors such as medicine, industry, agriculture and the environment, which has led to the creation of an adequate scientific-technical infrastructure and the strengthening of the socioeconomic pillars on which the nation is based. From the failed attempt to install nuclear weapons on the island, to the so-called Cuban Nuclear Program, which sought to solve the national electricity problem through electronuclear means; nuclear sciences have evolved and achieved great things, despite the country's limited resources. This historical process has not been properly studied and disseminated among the public not linked to the nuclear sector; therefore, it deserves to be analyzed from an objective, current and non-sensationalist point of view. Perhaps due to the ignorance of the population, which generally perceives the term “nuclear” associated with weapons or nuclear power plants, the applications and the work of professionals in this area of science in Cuba tend to go unnoticed. For this reason, the objective of the present work is to systematize the processes referring to the evolution of nuclear sciences and technologies in Cuba from 1959 onwards, taking into account the historical and political scenario that determines the efforts towards which nuclear applications are directed in each historical period, as well as their transcendental contribution to the sustainable development of the country, from the first years of the Revolution until the end of the 20th century.