A classic photo of an Argentinian radical has become a worldwide iconic sign of revolution in popular culture. Che Guevara went from a young man aspiring to become a physician to a fierce advocate of socialism, igniting revolutions across Latin America. In this article, you will examine the life, achievements, and political views of Che Guevara. In addition, you will take an in-depth look at his works, ideas, and policies established in the countries he influenced.
Che Guevara's Biography
Fig. 1 – Che Guevara.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara was a revolutionary, and military strategist from Argentina. His stylised face has become a widespread emblem of revolution. He was a significant figure in the Cuban Revolution.
Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928 and enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine in 1948. During his studies, he undertook two motorcycle trips through Latin America, one in 1950 and one in 1952. These tours were extremely important in the development of his socialist ideology as throughout these trips he saw the poor working conditions across the continent, especially for Chilean miners, and poverty in rural areas.
Guevara used notes gathered on the trip to compose The Motorcycle Diaries, a New York Times best-seller adapted into a 2004 award-winning film.
When he returned to Argentina, he finished his studies and got his medical degree. However, his time practising medicine persuaded Guevara that to help people, he needed to leave his practice and approach the political landscape of armed struggle. He was involved in many revolutions and involvement in guerrilla warfare across the world but Che Guevara's biography is most famous for his success in the Cuban Revolution.
Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution
From 1956 Che Guevara played an important role in the Cuban Revolution against former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. Through many initiatives ranging from teaching rural peasants to read and write to organising the production of weapons and teaching military tactics Guevara convinced Fidel Castro of his importance and was made his second in command.
In this role, he was ruthless as he shot down deserters and traitors and murdered informers and spies. Despite this, many also viewed Guevara as an excellent leader during this time.
One area that made Guevara instrumental in the success of the revolution was his involvement in the creation of the radio station Radio Rebelde (or Rebel Radio) in 1958. This radio station not only kept the Cuban people aware of what was happening, but also allowed for greater communication within the rebel group.
The Battle of Las Mercedes was also an important step for Guevara, as it was his rebel troops who were able to stop Batista's troops from destroying the rebel forces. His forces later gained control of Las Villas province, which was one of the key tactical moves which allowed them to win the revolution.
Following this, in January 1959, Fulgencio Batista boarded a plane in Havana and flew to the Dominican Republic after discovering that his generals were negotiating with Che Guevara. His absence allowed Guevara to take control of the Capital on January 2nd, with Fidel Castro following on January 8th, 1959.
In gratitude for Guevara's participation in the victory, the revolutionary government declared him “a Cuban citizen by birth” in February.
After his success in the Cuban Revolution, he was key in governmental reforms in Cuba, which moved the country in an even more communist direction. For example, his Agrarian Reform Law aimed at redistributing land. He was also influential in increasing literacy rates to 96%.
Guevara also became the finance minister and President of the National Bank of Cuba. This again showed his Marxist ideals with the implementation of policies such as nationalising banks and factories and making housing and healthcare more affordable in an attempt to eliminate inequality.
However, because of his clear Marxist leanings, many became nervous, especially the United States, but also Fidel Castro. This also led to tensions in the relations between Cuba and the West and a tightening of the relations with the Soviet Bloc.
After the failure of his industrialisation scheme in Cuba. Che Guevara disappeared from public life. During this time he was involved in conflicts in the Congo and Bolivia.
Che Guevara’s Death and Last Words
Che Guevara's death is infamous because of how it took place. As a result of Che Guevara's involvement in Bolivia, an informant led the Bolivian Special Forces to Guevara's guerrilla base on October 7, 1967. They took Guevara captive for interrogation and on October 9, the Bolivian president ordered Guevara’s execution. Though many believe that his capture and subsequent execution were orchestrated by the CIA.
Fig. 2 – Statue of Che Guevara.
When he saw a soldier arrive, Che Guevara stood up and had a dialogue with his would-be executioner, uttering his last words:
I know you have come to kill me. Shoot, coward! You are only going to kill a man! 1
The government planned to tell the public that Guevara was killed in battle to prevent retaliation. To make the wounds fit that story, they instructed the executioner to avoid shooting the head, so it didn’t look like an execution.
Che Guevara’s ideology
While a gifted military strategist, Che Guevara's ideology was very important, particularly his ideas around how to achieve socialism. Like Karl Marx, he believed in a transition period before socialism and emphasised organising a stable administration to accomplish these goals.
In his writings, Che Guevara focused on how to apply socialism to “Third-World” countries. His main goal was the liberation and emancipation of humanity through socialism. He believed the only way to achieve this emancipation was by educating a new man that would fight every type of authority.
Third World Country is a term that surfaced during the Cold War to allude to countries that weren't aligned with NATO or the Warsaw pact. These directly categorised countries by their economic position, so the term was used negatively to denote developing countries with lower human and economic development and other socioeconomic indicators.
For Marxism to work, Guevara argued that workers must destroy the old way of thinking to establish a new line of thought. This new man would be more valuable, as his importance didn't rely on production but on egalitarianism and self-sacrifice. To achieve this mentality, he advocated for constructing a revolutionary conscience in the workers. This education must be tied with the transformation of the administrative production process, encouraging public participation, and the politics of the masses.
A trait that set Guevara apart from other Marxists and revolutionaries was his dedication to studying the conditions of each country to build a transition plan that responded to its needs. In his words, to create an effective society, there must be a stable transition. Regarding this period, he criticised the lack of unity and coherence in defence of socialism, stating that this dogmatising and ambiguous positions would damage communism.
The revolutions of Che Guevara
The words “Che Guevara” and “revolution” are almost synonymous. This is because, though he is most known for his involvement in the Cuban Revolution, he was involved in revolutions and rebel activities around the globe. Here we will discuss the failed revolutions in the Congo and Bolivia.
The Congo
Guevara travelled to Africa in early 1965 to contribute his guerrilla expertise and knowledge to the ongoing battle in the Congo. He was in charge of the Cuban effort supporting the Marxist Simba movement, which had risen out of the continuing Congo crisis.
Guevara aimed to export the revolution by instructing local fighters in Marxist ideology and strategies of guerrilla warfare. After months of defeats and inactivity, Guevara left Congo that year with the six Cuban survivors of his 12-man column. In regards to his failure, he said:
“We can not liberate, all by ourselves, a country that does not want to fight.”2
Bolivia
Guevara changed his appearance to enter Bolivia and landed in La Paz under a false identity in 1966. He left it three days after to organise his guerrilla army country's rural southeast. His ELN group (Ejército de Liberación Nacional de Bolivia, “National Liberation Army of Bolivia”) was well-equipped and gained many early victories against the Bolivian military, primarily due to the latter overestimating the size of the guerrilla.
Guevara’s propensity for conflict over compromise was one of the main reasons he couldn’t form strong working relationships with local rebel commanders or communists in Bolivia. As a result, he could not recruit locals for his guerrillas, even though many were informants for the revolution.
Che Guevara Works and Quotes
Che Guevara was a prolific writer, constantly narrating his time and thoughts during his endeavours in other countries. Despite this, he only wrote several books himself. These include The Motorcycle Diaries (1995), which details his motorcycle trip across South America which inspired many of his Marxist beliefs. This Che Guevara quote illustrates the impact of this trip on his development of socialist ideas.
I knew that when the great guiding spirit cleaves humanity into two antagonistic halves, I will be with the people.
The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara (1968) details his experiences in Bolivia. The below quote from Guevara's book discusses the use of violence.
We regret the shedding of innocent blood by those who died; but peace cannot be built with mortars and machine guns, as those clowns in braided uniforms would have us believe.
Lastly, Guerrilla Warfare (1961) details how and when one should undertake Guerrilla Warfare. The last Che Guevara quote below shows this breaking point.
When the forces of oppression come to maintain themselves in power against established law; peace is considered already broken.”
Guevara also wrote a lot that was edited and published posthumously based on his writing, diaries and speeches.
Che Guevara - Key takeaways
- Che Guevara was an influential socialist revolutionary in South America.
- His most significant success was the Cuban Revolution, which he fought with Fidel Castro. He successfully overthrew the government and planned the transition between capitalism and a socialist state.
- Guevara was executed in Bolivia due to his revolutionary activities.
- His main goal was to achieve justice and equality for Latin America following Marxist principles.
- Guevara was also active in many revolutions and uprisings across the world including in the Congo and Bolivia.
References
- Kristine Phillips, ‘Do not shoot!’: The last moments of communist revolutionary Che Guevara, The Washington Post, 2017.
- Che Guevara, Congo Diary: The Story of Che Guevara’s Lost Year in Africa, 1997.
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