promising to govern only for one term, he ran for re-election in 1928 and won a non-democratic election where the opposition was repressed. As protests and rebellions became more strident, his administration curtailed free speech and imprisoned, exiled, and murdered Machado's opponents.

Ultimately, in 1933, Machado was forced to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada