Che Guevara, Essay Example

Introduction

Ernesto Guevara was born on June 14, 1928 and died on October 9, 1967. He was the oldest of five children born to a middle class family. Guevara suffered from severe asthma, but led a pretty athletic life. He graduated from medical school in 1953 and spent his holiday break traveling around Latin America with a friend on his motorcycle. It was during these travels and his observations of poverty and political upheaval that his interest in radicalism was sparked. During this nine month adventure, Che’s view of the world was greatly changed. He kept a journal of his travels and they were later posthumously published as The Motorcycle Diary. The poverty, disease, and hunger that he encountered while on his quest brought him to the realization that he had gone into the wrong profession. He decided he could be more helpful in the political realm.

Che went on to become an infamous revolutionary activist for Cuba.

Meeting Fidel

After Che finished medical school, he had a difficult time finding a job. So, he traveled with friends and had the opportunity to view the poverty and destruction first hand. This ignited his interest in Marxism. Guevara wanted to get involved in the revolution in some way, but just didn’t know quite how he would. In 1954, Che went to Mexico City, where many of his friends were already fighting for the revolution. While there, he found work and moved in with a former girlfriend named Hilda. He later married her and had a daughter named Hilda, too. The marriage did not last long and Che went on to marry another woman. Through a mutual friend, Che met Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel Castro. After having dinner with Raul, Che found that the two had a great deal in common. A short time later, Fidel sought refuge in Mexico City. Che went to dinner with the two brothers. After dinner, Fidel asked Che to join the revolution. Che accepted. Castro was very impressed with how intelligent Che was and knew that he would be a great asset to him.

The Nickname

 Guevara picked up the nickname Che from his revolutionary friends. The term Che is an Argentinean adage that means “hey you” or friend. After being referred to as Che by many of his comrades, Guevara liked the name and began using it.

The Cuban Revolution

The Cuban Revolution began with Fidel Castro’s 26^th of July Movement in 1953. The first revolt against the Cuban government was led by Fidel and Raul Castro and about 100 other revolutionary fighters. They attacked Moncada Barracks in Santiago, but were met with stiff resistance. Many of the rebels were killed in the process. Both Castro brothers were captured and imprisoned shortly after the attack. Each was imprisoned for several years, but later released and each took refuge in Mexico City. It was there that the two met Che and formed a lifetime alliance for the cause of Cuban revolution.

While in Mexico City, the rebels trained and prepared for guerilla warfare. In 1956, the Castro brothers, along with about 80 other rebels arrived in Cuba on a yacht they called “Granma”. The yacht was ill prepared and not meant to accommodate more than twenty people. So, the rebels arrived several days later than they expected. Some say they were actually lost floating out at sea.  Once they arrived and docked, they made their way into the Sierra Maestro Mountains. The rebels were all but slaughtered, and only about twenty survived. Those survivors included Che and the Castro brothers. After this defeat, the rebels reorganized and prepared for their next battle.

The rebels banned together and continued to resist Cuban government using various forms of propaganda. For some time, the rebels were few in number. Yet, the Cuban Army was often forced to retreat each time they encountered the rebels. Nevertheless, at the Battle of Las Mercedes, the rebels were nearly wiped out by Cuban government soldiers. By August of 1958, Castro forces had defeated Batista’s army. The rebels continued to fight and win territory. The government was overturned and on the 3^rd of January 1959, Manuel Urrutia Lleo took office as President.  Yet, Castro maintained much political power.

Fidel Cuts American Ties

 After years of rumors that the United States American embassy in Havana was being used a spy base, President Eisenhower closed the embassy. Castro had demanded that the staff of the embassy be severely reduced and American government would not agree to his terms. As a result, America reduced and eliminated some trades with Cuban territories. Che had also wanted the U.S. to buy a couple million tons of sugar, but they refused. He offered the same deal to the Soviet Union and they accepted. Many inferred that Cuban ties to America were cut due to a bad sugar deal. Nevertheless, many issues had been brewing for sometime because Che and his followers felt the U.S. should not be interfering with Cuban affairs.

The Cuban Government

 Castro legalized the Communist party after he overthrew Cuban government. By the early 1960s, Cuban government was modeled after that of the USSR. Cuba is one of the few socialist countries remaining today-being led by Marxist ideology. Cuba has faced many accusations of human rights neglect by repressing freedom of speech and using torture and imprisonment as a means of submission. Both Che and Castro have been accused of killing thousands of men who opposed their views. Che became known for being ruthless and heartless. This is very ironic because he had once taken an oath to save lives.  The term nationalization of land is a way in which Cuban government seized private property or assets for government use. Once land was seized from farmers, they no longer reaped any benefits of the land. In some cases, the farmers were even forcibly removed from the property. So, they could no longer farm or have livestock on the property.

U.S. Attempt to Invade Cuba

The United States opposed communism, the form of government that Cuba enforces. Government officials felt that if Castro was removed from government, communism would be eliminated once and for all. The United States attacked the Bay of Pigs in 1961 using Cuban exiles to carry out the attack. The U.S. has been accused of causing the failure of the attack because they did not provide the air support that they promised the Cuban exiles.  The attack was a failure and communism is still the form of government being enforced in Cuba today.  Cuba entered into a treaty with the Soviet Union and became very dependent upon the Soviet Union for military protection. The relationship between the Cuba and the Soviet Union developed after World War II.

Fidel Castro’s Letter

 Once Che had traveled to the Congo, rumors began to circulate that he was dead. He had actually been disguised as a salesman and was among the people without being detected.  To dispel these rumors, Fidel reads a letter that Che has written to him. Because Fidel was denying that he was associated with Marxist beliefs, I believe he read Che’s letter to prove that the two were no longer connected. Fidel referred to himself as a democratic Cuban. Che had been under great stress because his mother had recently died. Many of his followers say that Che had become severely depressed and isolated from the others. He could often be seen sitting alone under a tree staring blankly. In his letter, Che resigns from his position as a rebel soldier. Che had not expected Fidel to read the letter publically unless he had been killed in battle. In his letter, Che renounced all ties he had to Cuba. At the time, Che was in Bolivia trying to launch what he thought would be World War III.  Years prior during his travels, Che he had conveyed that he felt all of Latin America should be connected in its culture and ideals. He had hoped to draw American soldiers away from Vietnam to battle in other areas. He plan was to spread communist beliefs around the world. Che started his battle in the Congo. After being met by stiff resistance, Che and his army were forced to retreat. They fled to Bolivia and life was very difficult. They were few in number and all but starving. Che had lost a considerable amount of weight.  One of his highest ranking soldiers had gone insane and another was completely blind.

The Woman of the Revolution

 Tania was a female revolutionist who was helping Che and his soldiers. While in Bolivia, Tania and the other soldiers were betrayed by a peasant. They were then ambushed and killed by the Bolivian government. Tania was suffering from cervical cancer at the time and was very near death at the time of her murder.

The End of Che

Che was captured by Bolivian forces and held in a dilapidated school house. One of the teachers commented that Che was nothing like the media had portrayed him to be. She was stunned that he was so handsome. She expected to see a monster. She was so moved by his looks and demeanor that she brought him a bowl of soup to eat. Che was shot to death by a Bolivian official and he was body was buried, along with other rebels, in an unmarked grave. His body was flown, strapped to a helicopter, to a local hospital. Several pictures were taken of him and thousands gathered to get a glimpse of Che’s body. To ensure that the body was that of Che, officials requested that his hands be cut off and the wrist and sent for identification. The executioner commented that rather than scream out after being shot, Che only bit into his hand as hard as he could. Before he was given the final shots, Che remarked that they may kill him, but they would never be able to kill what he stood for and what he had taught the people about revolution.  The government did not want his followers to have a place to go and pay homage to this so called martyr. It was 30 years later before his remains were found and identified.