Remembering Che Guevara

The lady in the picture above is Dr. Aleida Guevara. She is the daughter of Ernesto "Che" Guevara -- a true revolutionary who battled for the betterment of his fellow human beings. Today his image is known worldwide as a symbol for revolutionary fervor. Recently, Dr. Guevara gave an interview about her father (which can be read in its entirety at Worldwide Hippies). To me, Che Guevara was a hero -- and in his honor, I post a part of that interview below. We hear a lot of lies about this great man in this country, so its nice to be able to read (and present to you) a little bit of truth from those who knew him best.

RT: In the past 10 years, there were lots of motion pictures made about Ernesto Che Guevara, and lots of biographies written. Which of the works you’ve seen and read present the most reliable accounts? 

ALEIDA GUEVARA: “So far, there is not a single biography that I would recommend. When I talk to young people, I usually advise them to read what my father wrote about himself. He had this habit of writing down everything that was happening with him ever since he was 17. Many of his diaries have made it through to us, and many of them have been published by the Che Guevara Studies Center. I recommend studying his own writings, because it would spare you from having to read through other people’s tales about what Che supposedly said or did. What matters is what Che told us himself – you can read it firsthand and make your own conclusions. The only movie I would probably point you to is The Motorcycle Diaries, the only worthy production in my opinion. It was made entirely by Latin Americans. It was directed by Walter Salles, a brilliant Brazilian filmmaker, and it stars a Mexican and an Argentine actor in lead roles. All of them are of this continent. It is a great movie, and I highly recommend it.”

RT: There are plenty of different views about Che Guevara. Some say he was a hero and a martyr, others say he was a terrorist, a murderer. What do you think about the part of his life when had to kill people for the sake of his ideas? 

ALEIDA GUEVARA: “We are talking about war. When you are involved in a guerrilla war, you either live or die. This is the law of guerrilla warfare. But it is not murder. You don’t murder people. Murder is when you attack a defenseless person. But this is not the case when you are engaged in a battle. In a battle, you shoot at them because they shoot at you. You kill them because otherwise they’ll kill you. This is war.
On the contrary, it was Che who was murdered. He was captured; he was unarmed and defenseless, and they killed him without trial. That was real murder.
But my father never did anything like that. They never killed their prisoners; they would take care of them, provide medical care; they would even slow down their advance because they had to guard the prisoners and leave them in a safe place.
So people who accuse him of murder simply don’t know the whole story and have no idea of how great these people were – not only Che, everyone who fought together with him, all those people. This war shaped them. The Cuban Revolution never involved murder. We were defending ourselves. And we will keep doing this.”

RT: The whole world knows your father’s face, and people buy merchandise with his picture on it. What do you feel when you see this? 

ALEIDA GUEVARA: “Sometimes I get angry because in many cases people abuse his image. Sometimes I even joke that I will sue them for distorting his face because Dad was a handsome man. Some of his images are just ugly. On the other hand, I always say that those pictures mean nothing if you don’t know what they represent, if you are not familiar with his life and what he did. Sometimes I would ask someone, ‘Why did you put on this T-shirt with Che?’ And they say, “I have an exam coming up, and I’m not sure I’ll pass. So I put the T-shirt on, look at Che and tell myself not to give up, because if he made it, so can I.’ Some responses are just marvelous. This means that despite all this propaganda and nonsense told about him, people are not fooled. They don’t believe those lies. They understand what sort of people those revolutionaries were.”

RT: Travelling across Latin America changed Che Guevara’s mindset. It made him a revolutionary. If he were to take a similar trip today, what would he see? Would it strike him as much as back then in the 1950s? 

ALEIDA GUEVARA: “Sadly enough, what made Che seek social justice for all is still alive and has even gained ground since then. The gap between the rich and the poor is only getting bigger, and people in Latin America know this very well. However, in recent years we have observed a new trend, with more leaders caring about people’s needs. Latin American leaders are beginning to understand that if we join our efforts, nothing will stop us.
My Dad would have certainly loved to find out that a Native American like Evo Morales has made it to presidency. I think Che would’ve tried to support him and offer whatever assistance he could. He would have also endorsed the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. For the first time in history, a president made his people the sole owner of all the oil resources in the country. It is unique in modern history. I think Che would have welcomed it and he would’ve done his best to help Chavez. So many things nowadays would have made him a little happier, but the same things would have made him even more zealous because there is still so much more to do.”

RT: What about Cuba? If Che were to see the situation and the quality of life in today’s Cuba, would he feel proud about it? 

ALEIDA GUEVARA: “He would realize that there are still many issues that need to be addressed, and many things that need to be improved. But my Father would always stand by the people of Cuba. He had his manner of voicing bare-knuckled criticism, and the people were always willing to listen. Father was the kind of person who would always lay it down plain, openly speaking his mind whenever he thought there was a problem and he saw a solution to it. That’s why people followed him. So if he were still with us today, he would be working just like everybody else, trying to make things better. I guess he wouldn’t hold back his criticism, either, but he would be committed to finding solutions. He would be very busy.”

A New Diary By Che

One of the biggest revolutionary heros of the Twentieth Century was Argentine-born Ernesto "Che" Guevara (pictured above with Fidel Castro). Che, who was trained as a doctor, was instrumental in the Cuban Revolution that overthrew the dictator Batista in 1959. He was Castro's second-in-command and beloved, not only by the Cuban people, but also by people all over the world seeking social and economic justice. He was killed in Bolivia in 1967, fighting against the oppressive government in that country.

From the time he was a young man, Che kept a diary. Two of those diaries have been printed and became bestsellers -- the diary he kept while in Bolivia and The Motorcycle Diaries (about a road trip through Latin America when he was 23 -- just before going to Cuba with Castro). The Motorcycle Diaries was made into an excellent movie.

Now there is good news for historians (and those of us interested in history -- especially left-wing history). There is a third Che diary being printed, and it may be the most important one of all. It covers the time when he came to Cuba with Castro (December 2, 1956) through the time Batiata was overthrown (January 1, 1959). It will give the world an inside look at the Cuban Revolution through the eyes of one of the most important rebel leaders (and could well turn out to be the definitive book on that revolution).

The diary has been in the possession of Che's wife, Aleida March. She said she wanted the world to know what the real Che Guevara was like and is releasing the diary unedited. Publishers say the diary sheds light on "Che Guevara's impressions of Cuba, its culture, identity and political context."

Oddly enough, it took the publishers a while to decipher Che's poor handwriting. I guess the old joke about doctors having bad handwriting is true.

Personally I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book (as soon as an English translation is printed).

U.S. Sponsors Forum On Che Guevara

This is a perfect example of the difference between the Obama administration and the Bush administration. The Bush administration viewed the world in a very simplistic and unrealistic way. The world was divided into good and evil. There was no in-between. The good were composed of those people and countries who approved of the United States and agreed with our policies. Everything else was evil.

The Obama administration has a much more complicated view of the world. President Obama understands that just because a country acts in its own best interests rather than how the U.S. wanted, it does not necessarily mean that country is an enemy. Obama has decided to reach out to these countries on their own terms.

Last Friday, at the 35th International Book Fair in Buenos Aires, the United States sponsored and funded a forum on the revolutionary Che Guevara (who was from Argentina). Guevara was Fidel Castro's trusted right-hand in the Cuban Revolution, who dedicated his life to fighting for the poor and oppressed people of the Americas.

The forum featured two readings and a discussion about a new book on the iconic power of Che Guevara. It was attended by dozens of people, including local elementary school students.

The current administration is smart enough to realize that while many in the United States don't like Che Guevara, he is considered to be a hero in most of Latin America. The forum was a creative way to reach out to the Argentines (and other Latin Americans) and try to repair the bad feelings the Bush administration had created there.

This forum certainly won't hurt our efforts to bridge the political gap with Cuba either