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Che Guevara
Historical figureArgentina1928-1967

Che Guevara

Commander in the Cuban Revolution · President of the National Bank of Cuba (1959-1961)

Argentine doctor turned Marxist guerrilla who fought in the Cuban Revolution, held top economic posts in Cuba, and died in Bolivia trying to spark revolution there.

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Profile on 12 axes7 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Che Guevara, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-95
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets-100
    PlannedFree

    He held that socialism had to end commodity relations entirely and preferred moral to material rewards, so he sits at the far planned end.

  3. 03Welfare-85
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority+75
    DemocraticStrong leader

    He saw a vanguard party as the guide of the masses and sat in review of appeals from the 1959 revolutionary courts, though he also criticized rigid socialist realism in art.

  5. 05Security+80
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+80
    LocalCentral
  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious
  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity

    No known stance on immigration or national identity, and his outlook was internationalist, so this is left null.

  11. 11TradeNo clear record
    GlobalProtected

    He criticized unfair trade terms between socialist states and poor ones, but the sources show no steady position on tariffs, so this is left null.

  12. 12Foreign policy+60
    CooperationStrength

    He urged armed revolution across the developing world and took part in wars in Africa and Bolivia. This points toward force, though his goals were international rather than nationalist.

5 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Che Guevara?

Ernesto Guevara came into the world in 1928 in Rosario, Argentina. He studied medicine in Buenos Aires. Journeys around Latin America, and the US-backed overthrow of Guatemala's government in 1954, shaped his belief in armed revolt. He joined Fidel Castro in Mexico, sailed with him to Cuba in 1956 and became one of the revolution's top commanders. After victory he ran La Cabaña fortress, the national bank and then the ministry of industries. In 1965 he left Cuba to take the guerrilla fight to Africa and then South America. Bolivian soldiers captured him and shot him on 9 October 1967.

Political views

  • He called for armed guerrilla war and worldwide revolution, and he blamed poverty in the developing world on imperialism and monopoly capital.Source: marxists.org
  • He believed a socialist economy should abandon market relations and the law of value, which he thought alienated workers.Source: marxists.org
  • He wanted socialism to produce a new kind of person, one who worked for moral reasons rather than for pay.Source: en.wikipedia.org
  • In his view the party should be a vanguard of the most committed workers, leading the masses by setting an example.Source: marxists.org
  • At the United Nations in 1964 he said peaceful coexistence could not cover colonial rule, and he attacked apartheid and Washington's role in Latin America.Source: marxists.org
  • In 1965 he charged that socialist states were quietly helping the West exploit poor countries.Source: en.wikipedia.org

Legacy

Guevara turned into one of the best-known faces of the 20th century. Supporters see a symbol of idealism, anti-imperialism and sacrifice, and much of the left honors him as a martyr. Critics call him an authoritarian who backed violence against opponents. In 1959, at La Cabaña, he looked over appeals from the revolutionary courts, which sentenced hundreds to death. Estimates of executions under his authority run from 55 to 105. He also created the Guanahacabibes labor camp to punish state workers. Both of his later guerrilla ventures, in the Congo and in Bolivia, failed, and people still argue over how to weigh his ideals against his use of force.

In their own words

“At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”
Socialism and Man in Cuba, 1965 (English translation)

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Che Guevara: questions

Was Che Guevara a communist?

Yes. He held to Marxism-Leninism and wanted a planned economy with no market relations and a state run by a vanguard party. He also called for armed revolution abroad.

Where was Che Guevara from?

He was Argentine by birth. Cuba made him a citizen after the 1959 revolution, and he then held posts as a commander, bank president and minister.

Who killed Che Guevara?

The Bolivian army captured him while he led a guerrilla band, with help from the CIA. He was executed in the village of La Higuera on 9 October 1967.

Sources