History reveals that there are many people who are considered heros because of their benevolent contribution to the world. Che Guevara was one of these heroic figures who dedicated his life to revolutionizing countries, aiming to establish equality for all. Did Che make an impact on the world? By examining Che's early life, his involvement in the Cuban revolution, his involvements in other revolutions, and his legacy today, it will be proved that Ernesto "Che" Guevara made a large impact on the world.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born in Rosario, Argentina on May 14, 1928. The Guevara family was considered middle class even though they did not have too much money. Most of the money that they possessed was passed down to them by their parents and other relatives. Che's father had lost a large amount of the inheritance through failed businesses in which he became involved including a ship factory that was later destroyed by fire, and a farm that grew yerba mate, which never succeeded financially.
At the age of two, Che developed severe asthma which would haunt him for the rest of his life. Regularly he would need to be injected with adrenaline to help him cope with his grave attacks. Due to the fact that his asthma was so serious, Che was unable to attend school regularly, so his mother, Celia, taught him how to read and write at home. At an early age, Che was already reading sophisticated books and poems. Che's personality was also becoming more and more like his mother's. He had a love for danger and was becoming fearless. He was frequently involved in dangerous stunts including tightrope-walking pipelines. Moreover, Che was becoming a show-off. "He developed a fiercely competitive personality, engaging in attention-getting high jinks that confounded adults and awed his peers"1.
In 1950, at the age of 22, Che was accepted into Buenos Aires University where he would study medicine. Che had become interested in medicine partly due to the asthma that troubled him frequently. During one of the holidays in his first year at university, Che decided to travel around the northern part of Argentina on a motorized bicycle. For the first time in his life, Che discovered that the wealthy area that he was growing up in was not like the rest of Argentina. He discovered poverty and oppression everywhere he travelled. Che honourably said that he wanted his destiny to be linked to helping these people; the average man.
In 1952, accompanied by a good friend, Alberto Granado, Che departed again for another trip, this time travelling around a number of Latin American countries. Once again Che was distressed by all of the poverty that surrounded him. In particular, he saw how badly the Native Americans were treated. Che also noticed the imperialism of the United States, and their neocolonial exploitation of the Latin American countries. His ever expanding hatred of the United States was beginning to erupt. Finally ending up in Venezuela, Che returned back home while his friend decided to stay and work at a leper colony. Che had promised to meet up with him the following year after he graduated from the university, but for the better, he never ended up doing so.
In 1953, Che graduated from Buenos Aires University and quickly made plans to travel back to Venezuela to meet up once again with his friend. Alberto. But Che never ended up meeting Alberto in Venezuela again, for he got side tracked, and headed to Guatemala, where a social revolution was taking place. It was in Guatemala that Che first became interested in politics as he mingled with a number of political exiles and starting reading up Marxism and Leninism. Che was supporting the Arbenz regime which was fighting against the CIA-backed Castillo rebels. He took an interest in armed battle, and signed up to fight, but was called to work in the hospital instead due to the fact that he was a doctor. In June 1952, the Arbenz regime was beaten. and Che fled to Mexico with the other political exiles in fear of being jailed in Guatemala.
In July of 1955, Che met Fidel and Raul Castro. Fidel informed him about his plans to invade Cuba. Immediately Che became interested in Fidel's plot to overthrow the corrupt Batista dictatorship, and talked his way into becoming the doctor for the small rebel army. This would be Che's first real chance to fight for the average man and against imperialism in his quest for equality. Che began military training, and even though his asthma was still acting up, he excelled in the exercises and drills. On November 25, 1965, the 62 armed rebels left Mexico on a small boat named the Granma, heading to the shores of Cuba.
Upon setting foot on Cuba, the rebels were attacked, wiping out most of the team and separating the rest. Fifteen guerillas including Che, Fidel and Raul, met up in the Sierra Maestra mountain range with only nine weapons. In retrospect, it is incredible that such a small group lead a successful revolution taking back Cuba from the Batista regime.
During the initial part of the revolution, Che showed courage and fearlessness as he participated in the first battles putting his life on the line, and fighting for what he believed in. Che also attended to his job as the medical doctor, and aided many injured rebels. The other guerrilla's, including Fidel, noticed Che's huge effort in the revolutionary struggle, and in June 1957, he was named Commander of the second column, second-in-command next to Fidel Castro.
As Commander, Che was very strict and expected a great deal of effort from his soldiers. He was known to order executions and other severe punishments for traitors and those who didn't obey orders. But Che also cared for his fellow rebels. He helped teach some how to read and write, and introduced them to Cuban history and Marxism. Che was very respected among his column because he never took advantage of the fact that he was in charge. He had the same privileges as any of the others. As the support for the rebels was expanding, word spread amongst the peasants in Cuba about the heroic figure known as "Che", the foreigner who had a major role in the revolution taking place. Batista and the CIA hated all the support for Che, and they dubbed him as "a murderer for hire, a pathological criminal..a mercenary, who lent his services to international communism, that he used terrorist methods and that he socialized [brainwashed] the women and took away their sons.."2 to try and scare the people.
During the revolution, Che came to the conclusion that armed struggle and violence, was the only way to win a revolution. He believed that hatred was necessary if one wanted to be successful in a revolution. "Hatred is an element of struggle, relentless hatred of the enemy that impels us over and beyond the natural limitations of man and transforms us into effective, violent, selective and cold killing machines. Our soldiers must be thus; a people without hatred cannot vanquish a brutal enemy"3.
In 1958, Che was ordered by Fidel to expand the revolution into Central Cuba. This was not an easy task, but if he and his fellow guerillas succeeded, the revolution would surely be won. Che lead his column into the province of Las Villas where they wiped out the defending army. On December 29, 365 guerillas lead by Che took on 3500 soldiers in Santa Clara, one of Cuba's largest cities. This was one of the most important battles in the revolution, for if the guerillas came up on top, the revolution would be won. In a mere three days, the rebels overtook the city. On December 31, Batista and his family fled Cuba. The revolution had been won. On January 2, 1959, Che and the other revolutionaries entered Havana celebrating.
During his stay in Cuba, Che held a number of high-ranking positions in the government. In October, He became head of the Industry Department in the ARNI. His goals were to pay off the cost of the revolution. On November 23, Che introduced the first "day of voluntary labour" in Cuba where people would voluntarily work for one day. Soon after this, Che introduced his "New Man" theory which stated that people should work for altruistic reasons rather than for money. Che was becoming more and more like the "new man". He volunteered at the Academic Militar-Cultural in La Cabana where he taught basic literacy, political awareness, history and geography. In November of 1959, Che became president of the National Bank, and in February he was named Minister of Industry. In all of the jobs that Che held in Cuba, his goal was to reorient the country to socialism. In a speech called "Social Projections of the Rebel Army" he talked about the need to nationalize Cuba's resources and industry. Che also called for the need to industrialize Cuba rather than focussing on sugar cane. Che also travelled around the Communist Block, including China, Czechoslovakia and the USSR, as part of a commercial delegation. In April of 1965 Fidel received a letter from Che denouncing his position in the government and his Cuban citizenship. He wrote: "I formally renounce my position in the national leadership of the party, my post as minister, my rank as major and my Cuban Citizenship...other nations of the world call for my modest efforts".
Che disappeared from the public eye for two years after he denounced his positions in the Cuban government. In 1965 he secretly had conferences with a hundred comrades in Cuba who would participate in the revolution that was going on in the Congo. In the Congo things did not turn out as Che had wanted them to. He did not feel that the rebels were good enough fighters and not inspired enough to go through with the revolution. In general, the rebels lacked discipline and there was not enough unity between the soldiers like there had been during the Cuban revolution. He left the Congo with his remaining Cuban comrades in March of 1966.
Che had a plan to revolutionize Bolivia, which would then be the central base for his guerilla force. He and his fellow guerillas would then expand and revolutionize the whole South American continent. On November 3, 1966, Che arrived in Bolivia disguised as a businessman. In Bolivia, the revolution wasn't going as planned for several. The first was that the revolutionaries could not get the support from the peasants. Secondly, the United States was sending in weapons and trained anti-guerilla fighters. On October 8, 1967, Che and his column were ambushed and captured. The next day, Che was executed. The order came from Lyndon B. Johnson, the President of the USA.
Today, Ernesto "Che" Guevara is, for many, "a symbol of hope and faith"4. Che is remembered for his selfless contribution to the world. He is remembered for fighting for the average man, and against imperialism.
Partly because of the discovery of Che's remains found in 1997, interest in Che steadily grows as does the influx of new biographies, films, and conferences about him. Che image is now being used to sell products such as clothing, posters, and tourist merchandise.
One of Che's last statements before he was executed was: "I know you've come to kill me. Shoot coward, you are only killing one man"5. Che knew that there would always be people like him who would fight for what they believed in, and he has inspired many people around the world to do so.
Che Guevara's life revolved around fighting for the well-being of others. After examining Che's early life, his involvement in the Cuban revolution, his involvements in other revolutions, and his legacy today, it is clear that Ernesto "Che" Guevara has made a large impact on the world. Individuals such as Che Guevara, who revolt against the higher power to aid people who are less fortunate, are true heros who will become legends for present and future generations. Che Lives!
1.Jon Lee Anderson; "Che Guevara: A revolutionary life"; 19
2. Ibid; 306
3. Fringeware Inc; "FringeWare, Inc. - Bio: Ernesto 'Che' Guevara"; http://www.fringeware.com/subcult/Ernesto_Che_Guevara.html
4. Normal Stockwell; "The Capital Times- Che"; http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/8702/capital.html
5.Che Guevara; "Che Quotes"; http://www2.trincoll.edu/~dkrook/chequote.html