Many facts and events had shaken the tyranny since the heroic assault on the Presidential Palace on March 13, 1957, when a group of youths decided to assault the tyrant Batista in his own den.
The July 26th Movement brought great interest in the political work with the working class in order to carry out a strike, that's why the National Workers Front (FON) was created, there was an increase in advertising and revenues, among other actions. Repudiation and indignation of the people rose as the prestige of Fidel and the July 26 Movement grew significantly.
This situation highlighted the idea by Fidel that the essential minimum conditions were created to decide to call a strike in early April.
Thus on March 12, 1958 Fidel launched a manifesto to the people to call a general strike.
Immediately, the leader of the Revolution extended orders to deploy guerrilla actions order to support the events that would unfold in the cities.
The Rebel Army would try to distract the enemy troops and to impede the traffic on the roads, especially the main road.

Pilar Garcia, the Chief of National Police gave precise orders to suppress with blood and fire all the anti-regime demonstrations.
On April 9, 1958 many radio stations launched a vibrant harangue ... Attention Cubans! Attention Cubans!... July 26 is calling the revolutionary general strike (...) Today is the day of freedom, the day of the revolutionary general strike (...) From this moment begins the final fight in Cuba that will only finish with the end of the dictatorship (...)

That day Cubans fought and died throughout the country, showing the determination to struggle and sacrifice of the revolutionary people and their will to win.
The repression unleashed by the regime left the painful toll of more than a hundred revolutionaries killed, among them Marcelo Salado, leader of the action in Havana.
The strike did not have enough power to bring about the end of the dictatorship. Various were the factors that influenced the failure.
After the failure of the strike, Fidel wrote: "I have the strongest hope that in less than many are able to imagine, we will have turned defeat into victory."

Years later, when the Cuban people savored the victory of the First of January, 1959 the Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, referring to the strike of April 9, 1958 and the fearlessness of youth in that action, said ... "Not only it is an extraordinary example of heroism but also an example of how revolutionary people can recover from any setback."