Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a doctor and revolutionary in Bolivia, was assassinated by the American CIA for many political reasons, thus becoming a legend and idol after the Latin American Revolution. In the United States Che is remembered only as a relic of the 1960 revolution. In Europe he became a pop icon among the youth with little or no historical reference. Only in Cuba does his legacy stand for the hope and faith of the Latin American people.

Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born June 14, 1928, in the town of Rosario, Argentina. His father's name was Ernesto Guevara Lynch, and his mothers name was Celia de la Serna. He had two sisters, Celia and Ana, and two brothers, Roberto and Juan Martin. Early in Che's life he developed a severe case of asthma from which he suffered for the rest of his life. Later as he grew up, he learned to hurtle past pain, leaving it behind in some half-helpless disarray (Franklin 13). His primary education was accomplished mainly at home with his mother teaching him. During this time, he became an avid reader of Marx, Engel and Freud, which he found in his father's library.

After he graduated from high school, Che went to Buenos Aires University, showing interest in the medical field. His interest in the medical field was the result of his wanting to better understand his asthma; but also he had a more personal reason. His mother had developed breast cancer, and he wanted to find a cure. During his second year at college, he entered the medical college surprising his father. His father said, "I'd hoped, Ernesto, that you might be an engineer." (Franklin 10) In 1951, Che dropped his studies temporarily to go on a journey with a friend, traveling to Argentina, Chile, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, and finally Miami. He did this against his teacher's will. He returned home and finished his degree at Buenos Aires University in 1953.

From his mid-college trip, he decided that only a revolution could aid Latin America with all its problems. When he arrived in Guatemala, it was during the Arbenz presidency where he refused to join the communist party.

When Arbenz fell, he went to Mexico City in September of 1954. There he married Hilda Gadea and had one daughter; Hilda Beatriz Guevara Gadea. He worked in the general hospital and became a president of the class at a farm for Cuban revolutionaries. At this camp, he met Fidel Castro and began to train with Castro's forces in guerilla warfare. During this time Guevara fought alongside Castro during the Cuban revolution; he quickly became Castro's main advisor (Ernest "Che" Guevara 1).

In 1959 Castro came to power and offered "Che" a Cuban citizenship, which he accepted. Also at this time, he divorced Hilda and married Aleida March; with her he had Aleida Guevara March, Camilo Guevara March, Celia Guevara March, and Ernesto Guevara March. From this point, he became very involved in Castro's government, where he signed and negotiated commercial treatments with the Soviet Union, China, Hungary, Checoslovaquia, Bulgaria, Korea and the German Democratic Republic. He also became the Minister of Industry.

In the 1960's Che became very popular with his leftist movements, and in this time he became a very prominent key in the Cuban government. He represented many missions and delegations to African, Asian, and socialist countries. Then in 1965, Che mysteriously dropped out of society all together. His disappearance was attributed to the relative failure of the industrialization scheme he had advocated while Minister of industry. Pressure was then exerted on Castro by the soviet officials disapproving of Che's pro-Chinese communist outlook. He later reappeared one year later as an insurgent leader in Bolivia.

On what would be his last revolutionary attempt, Ernesto "Che" Guevara completely misjudged the Bolivian's potential and paid a high price. In 1964 President Victor Paz was overthrown by his military and replaced by his vice president, an air force general with strong CIA connections (Black 1). Upon arrival the communist party shunned him, and he was mistrusted by the peasants. Despite the Communist dissatisfaction, in November 1966 they bought a piece of jungle in Nancahazu and gave it to Guevara to use for training. He tried recruiting local peasants, but his army only reached 120. The Bolivian Communists did not help him much because he was too "Maoist" in his Communism. When the President of Bolivia, Rene Barriйntos, found out Guevara was there, he immediately ordered his army to capture him. The Guevara-led army actually did quite well against the government troops. Unfortunately for them, the CIA was involved with this fight.

On October 8, Che had gathered his guerillas in the canyon of Quelbrado del Yuro. At 2:00 A.M., Che ordered a stop, and after much tossing and turning, they fell asleep. Che was the first to rise in the morning, and as he looked around the canyon, he saw they had been surrounded. Gunfire began at 1:39 P.M. and continued for two hours. At around 3:00 p.m. he was shot in his leg. The bullets shredded his skin below the knee and went right into his tibia. He crumpled down the canyon, a scarecrow-like figure in jacket and baggy pants. Four soldiers lunged out of a thicket, rifles cocked and aimed at Che. "Don't Shoot!" Che said. "I am Che Guevara, worth more to you alive than dead" (Sinay 98).

From the canyon he was taken two miles away to Vallegrande

High School. In this old school house, he was fed by an old

woman and was still badly injured. He could see in the

moonlight through the window, a chunk of bone gleaming

whitely from a jagged hole near his ankle. He had no

instruments for extracting bullets. No gun, he thought no

scalpel, no adrenaline inhaler. No possibility for writing last

letters to Aleida, Hilda, and the children; to Fidel or to his father,

brothers, and sister; to his friend Alberto Granados (Sinay 99).

At dawn Sergeant Teran entered back into his room for what would be Che's last minutes. "Well Guevara," said Sergeant Teran, his gun cocked and shining in his hand, "what do you think on this bright October morning?" (Sinay 100). Sitting against the wall, Che smiled at the Sergeant. "I think," he said, digging only his fingernails into the