” I think, Che was not only the intellectual, but also the most complete person of our epoch.”
Jean-Paul
Sartre.
This is a short essay about Che Guevara's life. It was made in order to
obtain a good grade for my Writing English class, and, because I had wanted
to know more about this man. I decided to talk about him, because I think
he is a perfect example of a man who never gives up, no matter what, that
believes in equality for everyone and that is disposed to die, if he has to
defend his ideals. Nowadays, Che Guevara becomes a legend. I am going to
talk about his life, and how he died for the world deeply convincing in his
thoughts. He reflected of his mission in this life like helping out others
to be free and to get their rights back from oppressive governments, and
even though of his failure, his ideals are still alive. Ernesto Guevara was born on June 14th, 1928 in Argentina. His parents
were members of privileged middle class. Elder Guevara engaged in a
campaign to stop Nazi propaganda in the America. His mother was equally
outspoken. Several times she had been arrested for her political activism
and, like her husband, would always support her son in his revolutionary
career. When Ernesto was 2 years old, he turned asthmatic and his family had to
move to the countryside, where his father tried to heal him teaching him
sports like football, baseball, swimming, and rugby. During grade school
Guevara’s decease forced him to receive much of his education at home from
his parents. Che became interested in literature, philosophy and physical
activities. Especially, he was fond of travelling. In fact, in 1952, he
decided to travel through Argentina with a friend riding a motorcycle. In
1947 he entered to the University of Buenos Aires in order to become a
doctor. In 1951, after taking his final exams from the university, he made
a much longer journey: he visited Chile, where he met Salvador Allende,
Peru, where he worked for some weeks in the San Pablo leprosarium,
Colombia, where he was arrested but soon released, Venezuela, and Miami. He
returned home with his absolute sure of one thing, that he did not want to
become a middle-class ordinary doctor. He qualified, specializing in
dermatology, and went to La Paz, Bolivia, during the National Revolution
which he condemned as opportunist, because those revolution established
proamerican government. From there he went to Guatemala, earning his living
by writing archaeological articles about Maya ruins. In Guatemala, Ernesto worked as a doctor in a health program. Suddenly,
the American troops invaded Guatemala. In these days he became "Che". He
got this nickname from some his Cuban friends in 1953. The most important
thing of this trip was that he got to know Marx's theory. Guatemala’s
government made him outlaw as a dangerous communist and he escaped in the
embassy of Argentina, and two months later, went to Mexico. He arrived to
Mexico on September 21st, 1954. There, in Mexico-City, Ernesto met Fidel Castro, who convinced him to
participate in the Cuban Revolution. They began to prepare for a revolution
in the special camp, where they learned combat and tactic training. After
few months, Fidel decided to invade Cuba. There were eighty-two men when
they boated in the ship and secretly sail to the Cuba. They got land in
December 3, 1956, but were assaulted by Cuban army and, unfortunately, only
fifteen men survived. Castro’s rebels waited till recovering wounds in the
mountains and then started to act. Country population supported rebellions
by giving them food and new recruiters. They began to take some areas under
their control and Castro carried out agrarian and social reforms that were
hold by Cuban people. Che was one of the best and lucky commanders who won
few important fights against Batista’s army. In addition, he served as the
troop doctor. This civil war lasted for three years (1956-1959), and
finally, on January the 1st, the rebels won. They entered to Havana, and
dictator Batista fled to Dominican Republic. Che Guevara became the second man in Cuban government after Castro. He
got Cuban citizenship, and organized and directed the National Institute of
Agrarian Reforms to carry the new agrarian laws expropriating the large
landholders; ran Department of Industries and occupied President of the
National Bank of Cuba. He negotiated and signed commercial contracts with
the Soviet Union and others socialistic countries. When there was Caribbean
crisis, he got bad attitude for the Soviet Union, because of Khrushchev’s
decision to remove nuclear weapon from Cuba. He thought that USSR was on he
wrong way using their principle of peaceful co-existing. Soon, Che lost his interest in management of Cuban economy, because of
some fails in the results, and in the end of 1963; his duties were limited
to international relationships. He was like a “revolutionary ambassador”.
He undertook government’s diplomatic tour visiting many countries and was
sent to represent Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. However, revolution movement called Guevara, who tired of being political
figure. It was better for him sneaking in the jungles with AK-47 than
sitting at the bureaucrat’s table. He disappeared from social life and went
to Africa trying to raise revolution forces. Regrettably, his African trip
was unsuccessful. He couldn’t organize left forces there and was compelled
to return back to America.
Che's final revolutionary adventure was in Bolivia. In April 1967 he
illegally came to Bolivia with small group of guerrilla’s fighters. At the
beginning, everything was good: there was organized strike of the
mineworkers and rebels won several fights. Soon, CIA came to help o
Bolivian dictatorship regime, and in the October Che’s group were seized
and almost terminated. Che Guevara was wounded and captured. The next day
he was executed. His body was hidden and only in 1997 it was found and
buried in Cuba.
After his death, he was instantly transformed into an icon of the
revolutionary commitment and heroism. He was type of man who persistently
moves to the aim. His aspiration to life didn’t have the borders. Che
Guevara was “a man of total integrity, a man of stoic and Spartan living
habits”. Despite of his failures in economic and diplomacy, he served as a
convincing symbol of the dedicated revolutionary whose actions were always
in harmony and moral ideals. He died for these ideals.
Selected bibliography:
1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. – Che Guevara. NY, 1989.
Internet web sites:
1. http://www.che-lives.com/