The Revolutionary Hero: Che Guevara

The revolutionary hero Che Guevara was indeed a decent communist figure and hero for the Cubans as well as for all the world. Alongside his fame for being a communist figure in Latin America, he was also a doctor, political philosopher, diplomat, military strategist, and best-selling author (Beggs, 2018). He wrote a book to challenge the capitalist status quo with his statements and gunfire (Beggs, 2018). He took part in the Cuban revolution and tried to enhance the economic and political rights of Cubans. This article will briefly tell about the legendary hero of Cuba.

Firstly, he was born in a middle-class family on 14th June 1928, in Argentina (Beggs, 2018). When he was young, he met with left-wing theories through his parents and the radical books in his parents’ home library (Beggs, 2018). In addition to this, his Marxist thoughts were developed by his fight against poverty throughout South America. Thus, it was not a surprise that he converted those Marxist thoughts into revolutionary actions in Cuba and beyond (Beggs, 2018).

Che Guevera enrolled in Buenos Aires University to study medicine in 1948 (Beggs, 2018). After graduating as a physician in 1953, he did his internship at Mexico City’s General Hospital where he carried out allergy research (Beggs, 2018). After finishing his medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires, Guevara became a political activist at first in his hometown and then in Bolivia and Guatemala (History, 2009).

26th of July Movement

While Guevara was living in Mexico City in 1955, he met the future Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. At the time, Castro was building an organization called the 26th of July Movement (Climans, 2018). This movement targeted the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba. The movement aimed at bringing power back to Cuban society (Climans, 2018). Thus, with the movement, Guevara declared that this was his desire and he had been waiting for rescuing people from poverty. Therefore, he joined in the revolution (Climans, 2018). Since then, Che Guevera played a significant role in Castro’s seizure the power of Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Moreover, he became Castro’s right-hand man and minister of industry (History, 2009).

Revolution in other countries

Although Che Guevera is renowned for his central role in the Cuban revolution, he also worked to revolutionise in other countries (Beggs, 2018). For instance, in the cases of Bolivia and Congo, he got directly into the armed revolution of these countries in the mid-1960s (Beggs, 2018). However, cultural differences and a lack of interest from the societies of Bolivia and Congo made his attempts unsuccessful in the long run (Che guevera.Org, 2021).

After Fidel Castro’s revolution succeeded in Cuba, Guevara took important positions related to finance and economy (Beggs, 2018). He even got the title of president of the National Bank in 1959. This title gave him the power to direct the country’s economy. He utilized this authority to decrease Cuba’s dependence on sugar exports and trade with the United States in particular (Beggs, 2018).

His speech at United Nations

On top of that, Guevara strongly opposed U.S. domination in Latin America and he advocated peasant-based revolutions to fight for social justice in the Third World countries (History, 2009). He even traveled to the United States and addressed to United Nations by giving a long speech in 1964. He criticized UN and the United States’ treatment towards Afro-Americans and raised awareness for them (Beggs, 2018).

His Death

Guevara resigned from his government position in April 1965 because of not reaching a compromise with Castro on economic and foreign policies (History, 2009). Therefore, Guevara disappeared from Cuba to Africa at first, and eventually resurfaced in Bolivia. However, on 9th of October 1967, Che Guevara was killed by the Bolivian army at the age of 39 (History, 2009). The U.S.-military backed- Bolivian forces captured and cut his hands off as a proof of his death (History, 2009). In 1997, Guevara’s remains were found and sent back to Cuba. His remains reburied with a ceremony attended by President Fidel Castro and thousands of Cubans (History, 2009).

To conclude, Guevara achieved hero status all around the world as a symbol of anti-imperialism and revolution (History, 2009). He is quite appreciated and his picture adorns the 3 peso banknote (CheGuevara.Org, 2021). Additionally, people equate his name with rebellion, revolution, and socialism (History, 2009). He will always be remembered for his courage, his fight for equality and his legacy.

WORK CITED

History.com, Editors(2009).”Che Guevara “A&E Television Networks. Available at

https://www.history.com/topics/south-america/che-guevara

Beggs, S. (2018).”10 Facts About Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara “Mental Floss. Available at

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/546496/facts-about-ernesto-che-guevara

CheGuevara.Org, Editors (2021)”10 Facts that You Might Not Know About Che Guevara” CheGuevara.org. Available at

https://www.cheguevara.org/che-guevara-facts.jsp

Climans, K. (2018)”43 Revolutionary Facts About Che Guevara” Factinate. Available at

https://www.factinate.com/people/43-revolutionary-facts-che-guevara/