Che Guevara: Success or failure?
“If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.” (BrainyQuote). Che Guevara is known by many as a prominent communist figure in the Cuban revolution from 1956 to 1959. Known for his heroism during this time, he is regarded by generations of leftists worldwide. His image became an icon of leftist radicalism and anti-imperialism (Sinclair, Britannica). However, was Che’s life all a success? Or was Guevara's intentions not all pure? According to the opinion of author Humberto Fontova, he highlights Guevara's rumoured careless and radical militant side with Fidel Castro. On the other side of the spectrum columnist David T. Rowlands highlights Guevara’s passion for helping the oppressed and poor. From his youth, he had always strived to never discriminate others based on social class and to help others where he could. Che’s attitudes and beliefs are described as a Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist (Che Guevara, Wikipedia). Che Guevara’s life story can be considered a success or failure dependant on what qualities one finds to outweigh the other, and whether one can look past
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He was the oldest of five children in a middle-class Argentine family of Spanish descent, as well as Irish descent. Although suffering from asthma, he excelled as an athlete and a scholar, completing his medical studies in 1953.(Sinclair, Britannica) He spent many of his holidays traveling in Latin America, and his observations of the great poverty of the masses contributed to his eventual conclusion that the only solution lay in violent revolution. He came to look upon Latin America not as a collection of separate nations but as a cultural and economic entity, the liberation of which would require an intercontinental strategy. (Sinclair,