Che Guevara's Iconic Status - Essay Example

For all his iconic revolutionary status, Che Guevara achieved little for the people of Latin America. Discuss Che Guevara was no Mahatma Gandhi andyet the kind of following the brand Che enjoys today speaks volumes about what an influential figure he was. Or was he? As normal human beings we don’t just look for a supernatural entity, namely God, to provide an explanation for the way things happen but also we like to find God among our fellow beings, or at least try to immortalise some as one. This is exactly what has happened with Che Guevara, but of course, some people resent him for justifiable reason. Whatever be the case, Che Guevara is one person that refuses to die after his death in 1967. In this essay, I will analyse Che Guevara’s iconic status with Cubans, his failure in Bolivia and Africa, his Guerrilla warfare techniques, and how he inspired so many people to try to change the world. Che Guevara came into the political scene with his alliance with Fidel Castro, another revolutionary leader. Cuba was under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista at the time and people expected a revolution to take over the powers and free them from the tyranny of Batista. Che’s unmatched gallantry during the wars raised his iconic status; one of the reasons why he is so widely worshipped is because he liberated Cuba from one of its worst rulers. It is ironic that this paved the way for another dictatorship under Che and Castro, the reason why they are despised so widely. Che Guevara was trained as a doctor, which means he could have been part of the affluent ones in Cuba had he chosen to be one. The fact that this restless young man wanted to find answers for social evils that he saw around him and tried to redeem them doesn’t just evoke respect for his genuine hunger for equality but they also inspire us and many others just like they inspired Cubans at that time. Che wasn’t born to an affluent class, his young mind would have been certainly influenced by the repressive rule of Peron, his mother’s liking for communism and the class differences he saw around him. Therefore, even though people recognize him for his free bohemian spirit, as highlighted in the movie Motorcycle Diaries, he was sub consciously aware of the meaning of power as well as the principles attached with communism. These thoughts as long as they were in his sub consciousness provided for his strong moral values, something that his followers love him for, however, as soon as he got the taste of power, his liberating views gave way for a more brutal ruler. As Lord Acton said, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, Che certainly is, unfortunately, a good example of this and that is one of the many reasons for his little achievements in Latin America. The main reason behind Che’s unsuccessful stint in the political arena was simply that he was not a politician. He was a plain human being who didn’t understand the economics or the shrewdness of politics, the main reason for his failed stint as the head of National Bank of Cuba as well as for his death in Bolivia. His stint as head of the National Bank, during which he printed bills signed “Che”, has been summarized by his deputy, Ernesto Betancourt: “[He] was ignorant of the most elementary economic principles.” Guevara’s powers of perception regarding the world economy were famously expressed in 1961, at a hemispheric conference in Uruguay, where he predicted a 10 percent rate of growth for Cuba “without the slightest fear,” and, by 1980, a per capita income greater than that of “the U.S. today.” In fact, by 1997, the thirtieth anniversary of his death, Cubans were dieting on a ration of five pounds of rice and one pound of beans per month; four ounces of meat twice a year; four ounces of soybean paste per week; and four eggs per month.1 He was a human being who understood that in order to redeem what has been lost it was essential to remove the existing system and everything and everyone associated with that system. So he believed in a revolution which was nothing but a hurricane sucking out everything associated with the system, unfortunately he didn’t realize that building home on other’s graves never leaves you with a sense of pride or peace. Don’t know about the first but certainly the peace from his life was gone forever. It is particular to note here that to think Che’s attitude indicated a military upbringing is also wrong because first, he had no military upbringing, and second, the reason for his military attitude can be regarded as the effect of military training he underwent in Chalco, Mexico under an ex-Spanish civil war soldier. The guerrilla techniques too were a result of his close association with Fidel Castro, who had earlier led an armed assault on the Moncada barracks, thus making his intentions clear at an earlier stage. Thus, it is certainly to be noticed that Che’s military nature was highly influenced by Castro as well, though later he turned into a very strict person who killed anybody he saw as a threat-an informer, a suspect, an enemy and even those who just happened to be present at the wrong place. His transformation to a “cold-blooded killer” earned him a lot of resentment. He failed as a guerrilla warrior at Bolivia, he killed many people, he could not revive the country’s economy, and his ill-planned strategies dealt a severe blow on not just Cubans but him as well. Does this mean that he was nothing but a failed revolutionary? Certainly not, there are too many events associated with Che that need to be discussed before we can actually conclude that Che has no influence, but then don’t we already know even before concluding that Che can never be called non-influential. If not anything his undying presence as a capitalist brand shows, he holds influence of some nature. Che was an ardent follower of Karl Marx and the theory of communism; he wasn’t one of those hypocrites communist who benefited from communism through capitalism. He believed in social equality, the only thing that can be said is that his approach went wrong. People were already suffering under Batista’s regime, Castro and Che’s revolution was like a ray of hope but only for as long as the old regime was there. Che’s idea of communism would have been helpful had people been ready for that. Moreover, Che Guevara too did not get much time to experiment with his own principles; he got a taste of power too soon. It would have been beneficial if Che had time to test his principles through small steps just like Mahatma Gandhi, who got all the time possible to practise his principles in India after having successfully moulded them in South Africa. Unfortunately, it was the opposite that happened with Che, not just he tasted power too early but also started trying the same rules in other parts, and undoubtedly, they were unsuccessful. After the revolution that led to fall of Batista’s rule in 1959 there was a vacancy created as a result of many Cubans leaving the country, mainly because they thrived on the support provided by America or were supporters of Batista. Unfortunately, these elites were the ones that were responsible for the economic prosperity of Cuba and for other services like medicine, architecture. Thus, Che and Castro had to deal with a difficult task, and as should have been expected, considering their inadequate knowledge of politics and economics, they failed miserably at the task. Yet Che commands more respect among socialists and not Fidel, that is because Che can be called a person with strong morals and also because Fidel is still alive, or in other words because Che is considered a martyr-he died for the cause he lived for. The work they had at hand needed political, economic prowess, which Che and Castro lacked. As said earlier, they tasted power too early. They stuck with their principles thinking that their principles led them to victory, while it was because of Batista’s own malicious character and because America was tired of Batista’s growing demands and dictator like characteristics due to which they had started steadily decreasing their supplies. The orthodox principles and militarism were the primary reason for Che’s downfall. Che’s “Guerrilla Warfare” indicates how unaware he was of the essentialities of politics and its undying necessity in many spheres of struggle. The founding political text of the new state was, unlikely though it may seem at first sight, Che Guevaras Guerrilla Warfare. Ostensibly it is a manual on how to conduct and organise a guerrilla war, but embedded in it is a conception of revolutionary politics whose implications for the Cuban Revolution were multiple. First, it presumes that guerrilla war, as the central revolutionary strategy, can be initiated and conducted by a group of revolutionaries without reference to the social or political conditions prevailing in the society: We have demonstrated that a small group of men supported by the people and without fear of dying were it necessary, can overcome a disciplined regular army and defeat it. Secondly, the success of a revolution becomes essentially a technical matter, a question of military skill and preparedness. Thirdly, it follows that it is the revolutionaries who make the revolution on behalf of - or indeed in place of - the classes in whose name the revolution is given legitimacy: We have the rebel army and this should be our primary instrument for the struggle. The determining factor then is not the balance of power or the degree of organisation or participation of the masses, but rather the determination, consistency and integrity of the revolutionaries themselves.2 Che’s insufficient knowledge led to his downfall in not just Cuba but whole of Latin America because people from Latin America thought they were going to learn important lessons on throwing out regressive regimes, which certainly was a wrong thinking. Che was certainly headstrong and clear about his visions but he just couldn’t find the right way to attain them. Moreover, Fidel’s suspicion on communist party increased his problems because during the post-revolutionary period it was Che who was looking after all the reforms and processes, Castro’s suspicions were a hindrance. Even though Che understood the need for industrialization and reforms, he could not effectively lay down his plans, thus, more than Castro it was Che who was despised because people saw his brutality and at the same time saw his failing policies. Thus, in spite of his charisma that arose because of his strong beliefs, his influence slowly faded away. It is also important to mention that he died quite early after his entrance into the political scene, on top of that his fading influence has created to a general belief that he could not achieve what he should have even though he is placed as an iconic revolutionary. Che was highly influenced by Marx’s ideas and hence by China. His stoic defence against capitalism was one of the reasons for his under achievements, even though he is praised for his revolutionary ways and strong anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist stance. The problem is that human society is itself based on capitalism. You wear clothes, use salt for your food and you support capitalism. Unfortunately, one cannot escape capitalism, not at least in society we have created. Che was filled with the revolutionary ideas of no capitalism but he couldn’t have realized how wrong he was when he was supported by the same China that needed to use the policy of allowing some people to become rich first and then allow others to progress in order to reach its current position. On the other hand, Cuba is suffering even today. People will obviously want to blame all of their miseries on someone; they cannot do so openly against Castro, since he is still alive so isn’t Che a better and a safe option. The problem is that communism in its genuineness cannot survive, Che couldn’t realize that because he wanted and believed in social equality too strongly. Che’s unceremonious withdrawal from Cuban proceedings was followed by his failed stints abroad. Che wanted to bring the light of revolution to other countries that were bearing heavy under the weight of their imperialist forces. A cause so noble, but people only see the results, ironically, Che too believed that the end justifies the means; he fell into the ditch of his own ideologies. “In the early years of the revolution, guerrilla groups had been formed elsewhere in Latin America after training in Cuba. In Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela, young revolutionaries seized upon the optimism at the heart of Guevaras theory and formed guerrilla focos. In almost every case they failed immediately, and a generation of political leaders died in the application of a misplaced theory.”3 Thus, even though Che cannot be considered as a person completely ignorant of Guerrilla techniques, yet his complete knowledge about its application is highly doubted. Che’s failure at building a guerrilla group in his native Argentina shows that he wasn’t aware of his failures or was blinded by power to be aware of them. In spite of the failures, Che contained that the failures were a result of inefficient people and not the basic technique itself. Can there be a better way to distance oneself from people other than ignorance? Che failed at Congo again. “The Congo offers a stark and shattering example of the real implications of a theory of revolution which substitutes the revolutionaries themselves for the revolutionary class. Yet it was a lesson that Guevara and the advocates of the guerrilla war theory of revolution simply ignored.”4 Certainly, Che cannot be considered in high regard as a strategist of Guerrilla warfare. Therefore, when he suffered in those battles, he made his followers suffer in vain too. This suffering enlarged as people started looking for other options than Che’s brutal ways. Moreover, no one can ever forget Che’s brutality and his image as a cold-blooded murderer has stayed with him. His own writings indicate how cold-blooded he was when it came to killing: “Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savouring the acrid odour of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl!” That is how brutal he became in later years of his life. Che has a great following but that following result only from the strong passion he had in his heart. A passion to die for the cause you believe in. However, that passion does not allow us to overlook all of his faults, not the least can people of Latin America forget that. There are certainly many who worship him as God, however, when people realize that the revolution did not bore the fruits it should have, they are filled with anger towards Che. In spite of all his efforts, Che could not strengthen Cuba. We can call him naïve for his faults, but there are thousands of people in Cuba who are suffering, naïve is not the term they would prefer. Che’s insufficient knowledge and his arrogance provided the perfect hindrance in his objective to achieve great things for Latin America, and unfortunately, people cannot forgive him. Bibliography Gonzalez, Mike. “The Resurrections of Che Guevara.” International Socialism, no. 77 (December 1997), http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj77/gonzalez.htm (accessed April 20, 2009). Llosa, Alvora V. “The Killing Machine: Che Guevara, from Communist Firebrand to Capitalist Brand.” The New Republic, July 11, 2005, http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1535 (accessed April 20, 2009). Che Guevara, "Che Guevara Reader: Writings by Ernesto Che Guevara on Guerrilla strategy, politics, and revolution.” Che Guevara, "Guerrilla Warfare.” "Che Guevara speaks: selected speeches and writings.”   Read More