Biography of Che Guevara (Биография Че Гевары)

                                              ” I think, Che  was  not  only
                                  the intellectual,  but  also  the     most
                                  complete person of our epoch.”
                                                                   Jean-Paul
                                  Sartre.


    This is a short essay about Che Guevara's life. It was made in order  to
obtain a good grade for my Writing English class, and, because I had  wanted
to know more about this man. I decided to talk about him,  because  I  think
he is a perfect example of a man who never gives up, no  matter  what,  that
believes in equality for everyone and that is disposed to die, if he has  to
defend his ideals. Nowadays, Che Guevara becomes a legend.  I  am  going  to
talk about his life, and how he died for the world deeply convincing in  his
thoughts. He reflected of his mission in this life like helping  out  others
to be free and to get their rights back  from  oppressive  governments,  and
even though of his failure, his ideals are still alive.
  Ernesto Guevara was born on June 14th,  1928  in  Argentina.  His  parents
were members  of  privileged  middle  class.  Elder  Guevara  engaged  in  a
campaign to stop Nazi propaganda in the  America.  His  mother  was  equally
outspoken. Several times she had been arrested for  her  political  activism
and, like her husband, would always support her  son  in  his  revolutionary
career.
  When Ernesto was 2 years old, he turned asthmatic and his  family  had  to
move to the countryside, where his father tried to  heal  him  teaching  him
sports like football, baseball, swimming, and  rugby.  During  grade  school
Guevara’s decease forced him to receive much of his education at  home  from
his parents. Che became interested in literature,  philosophy  and  physical
activities. Especially, he was fond of travelling.  In  fact,  in  1952,  he
decided to travel through Argentina with a friend riding  a  motorcycle.  In
1947 he entered to the University of Buenos  Aires  in  order  to  become  a
doctor. In 1951, after taking his final exams from the university,  he  made
a much longer journey: he visited Chile,  where  he  met  Salvador  Allende,
Peru, where  he  worked  for  some  weeks  in  the  San  Pablo  leprosarium,
Colombia, where he was arrested but soon released, Venezuela, and Miami.  He
returned home with his absolute sure of one thing, that he did not  want  to
become  a  middle-class  ordinary  doctor.  He  qualified,  specializing  in
dermatology, and went to La Paz, Bolivia,  during  the  National  Revolution
which he condemned as  opportunist,  because  those  revolution  established
proamerican government. From there he went to Guatemala, earning his  living
by writing archaeological articles about Maya ruins.
 In Guatemala, Ernesto worked as a doctor in  a  health  program.  Suddenly,
the American troops invaded Guatemala. In these days  he  became  'Che'.  He
got this nickname from some his Cuban friends in 1953.  The  most  important
thing of this trip was that  he  got  to  know  Marx's  theory.  Guatemala’s
government made him outlaw as a dangerous communist and he  escaped  in  the
embassy of Argentina, and two months later, went to Mexico.  He  arrived  to
Mexico on September 21st, 1954.
 There, in Mexico-City, Ernesto met  Fidel  Castro,  who  convinced  him  to
participate in the Cuban Revolution. They began to prepare for a  revolution
in the special camp, where they learned combat and  tactic  training.  After
few months, Fidel decided to invade Cuba. There  were  eighty-two  men  when
they boated in the ship and secretly sail to the  Cuba.  They  got  land  in
December 3, 1956, but were assaulted by Cuban army and, unfortunately,  only
fifteen men survived. Castro’s rebels waited till recovering wounds  in  the
mountains and then started to act. Country population  supported  rebellions
by giving them food and new recruiters. They began to take some areas  under
their control and Castro carried out agrarian and social reforms  that  were
hold by Cuban people. Che was one of the best and lucky commanders  who  won
few important fights against Batista’s army. In addition, he served  as  the
troop doctor. This  civil  war  lasted  for  three  years  (1956-1959),  and
finally, on January the 1st, the rebels won. They  entered  to  Havana,  and
dictator Batista fled to Dominican Republic.
  Che Guevara became the second man in Cuban  government  after  Castro.  He
got Cuban citizenship, and organized and directed the National Institute  of
Agrarian Reforms to carry the new  agrarian  laws  expropriating  the  large
landholders; ran Department of Industries  and  occupied  President  of  the
National Bank of Cuba. He negotiated and signed  commercial  contracts  with
the Soviet Union and others socialistic countries. When there was  Caribbean
crisis, he got bad attitude for the Soviet Union,  because  of  Khrushchev’s
decision to remove nuclear weapon from Cuba. He thought that USSR was on  he
wrong way using their principle of peaceful co-existing.
 Soon, Che lost his interest in management  of  Cuban  economy,  because  of
some fails in the results, and in the end of 1963; his duties  were  limited
to international relationships. He was like  a  “revolutionary  ambassador”.
He undertook government’s diplomatic tour visiting many  countries  and  was
sent to represent Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
 However, revolution movement called Guevara, who tired of  being  political
figure. It was better for him  sneaking  in  the  jungles  with  AK-47  than
sitting at the bureaucrat’s table. He disappeared from social life and  went
to Africa trying to raise revolution forces. Regrettably, his  African  trip
was unsuccessful. He couldn’t organize left forces there and  was  compelled
to return back to America.
Che's final revolutionary  adventure  was  in  Bolivia.  In  April  1967  he
illegally came to Bolivia with small group of guerrilla’s fighters.  At  the
beginning,  everything  was  good:  there  was  organized  strike   of   the
mineworkers and rebels  won  several  fights.  Soon,  CIA  came  to  help  o
Bolivian dictatorship regime, and in the October  Che’s  group  were  seized
and almost terminated. Che Guevara was wounded and captured.  The  next  day
he was executed. His body was hidden and only  in  1997  it  was  found  and
buried in Cuba.
   After his death, he  was  instantly  transformed  into  an  icon  of  the
revolutionary commitment and heroism. He was type of  man  who  persistently
moves to the aim. His aspiration  to  life  didn’t  have  the  borders.  Che
Guevara was “a man of total integrity, a man of  stoic  and  Spartan  living
habits”. Despite of his failures in economic and diplomacy, he served  as  a
convincing symbol of the dedicated revolutionary whose actions  were  always
in harmony and moral ideals. He died for these ideals.



    Selected bibliography:

   1. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. – Che Guevara. NY, 1989.

   Internet web sites:

    1. http://www.che-lives.com/