The great philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre referred to Che Guevara as, “the most complete human being of our time.” Ernesto “Che” Guevara, born on June 14, 1928, is one of the most mythical, controversial, and influential human beings of the 20th century. Born in Rosario, Argentina, Guevara excelled academically throughout his childhood and young adulthood, and by the age of twenty-three he completed medical school and set out with the intention of traveling through all of South and Central America. He knew that the trip, beginning on July 7, 1953, would be important to his future; he wasn’t aware, however, that it would shape his ideals and represent the major turning point in his life. The key occurrence through his travels was the formation of his belief system and the beginning of his Revolutionary struggle. While this is the essence of his legacy, it is also the essence of the controversy surrounding his life and legend. Ernesto “Che” Guevara was in fact, as Sartre stated, one of the most complete human beings in recent history because the purpose of the Revolutionary struggle that he dedicated his life to was to liberate and gain equality for the downtrodden and powerless minority – which, in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean, was made up of the entire “lower class” – that was inhibited by the imperialism of corporations such as the United Fruit Company and the oppression of dictatorial rulers supported by the United States.

“In truth, what do I see? At least I am not nourished in the same ways as the tourists, and I find it strange to find, on the tourist brochures of Juyjuy, for example, the Altar of the Fatherland, the cathedral where the national ensign was blessed, the jewel of the pulpit and the miraculous little virgin of Rio Blanco and Pompeii…No, one doesn’t come to know a country or find an interpretation of life in this way. This is a luxurious façade, while its [true] soul is reflected in the sick of the hospitals, the detainees in the police stations or the anxious passerby one gets to know, as the Rio Grande shows the turbulence of its swollen level from underneath.” (Anderson p. 63)

Quoted from Che’s diary during his first trip through South America, he explains his realization that there are completely different worlds within one single country (Argentina); he had just made his way, as he describes, from the comforts of the industrialized city life to the undeveloped back-country, and he saw the people suffering in this part of the country as a direct result of the industrial (mainly American) influence on Argentina. It is important to consider Guevara’s background and where he came from to truly understand the spiritual and ideological transformation that he went through. He was born into an upper-middle class family of decent social standing, meaning that his family and its name meant something. However, throughout his childhood there were economic peaks and valleys for the family as his father mismanaged their money and failed to maintain consistent work. Because of the inconsistent nature of his home life, Che learned that there are much more important things in life than money, and therefore from an early age he showed consistent and considerable concern for the welfare of others and the greater good. Out of his experiences traveling was born the new Che, one that would dedicate his life to fighting the injustice and suffering, with the goal of obtaining rights and equality for all of man: “For the love of man, it is said, Che dedicated his life to fighting inequality and exploitation” (Dickinson p. 3).

In 1953, Che arrived in Guatemala, which would be the first country other than Argentina in which he spent an extended period of time. At the time, President Jacobo Arbenz was the democratically elected leader and was initiating reforms that would move his country towards total equality. However, these actions threatened the business interests of the United Fruit Company and other companies from industrialized nations; this, combined with a shipment of arms from the communist Czechoslovakia, provided enough reason for the CIA to sponsor attempts to overthrow Arbenz’s government. These events understandably left Che in dismay: Arbenz’s government was the only one in Latin America that was actually fighting to improve the situation of its people.

Che Guevara’s negative view of America and imperialist tendencies in general was thus solidified: “Along the way, I had the opportunity to pass through the dominions of the United Fruit, convincing me once again of just how terrible these capitalist octopuses are. I have sworn before a picture of the old and mourned comrade Stalin that I won’t rest until I see these capitalist octopuses annihilated” (Anderson 126); he eventually moved on to Mexico. It was in Mexico City that Guevara began spending time with a group of Cuban exiles, forced to leave the island because they rebelled against the American-sponsored government, a group that Fidel and Raul Castro associated themselves with. Before long he had become a part of the revolutionary movement that Fidel was organizing, and by the time it was ready to be carried out he was one of Castro’s right-hand men – Che made the realization that Castro’s 26th of July Movement was the revolutionary event he had been waiting/searching for. The goal of the looming Cuban Revolution was to liberate its people; like in Guatemala, the United Fruit Company had vast interests in and control of Cuba, and the native population was forced to work its land in a feudal, slave-like system. As Anderson describes, America’s approach to Cuba was simple: “In general, U.S. policy toward Cuba was aimed at protecting the sizeable American economic interests there” (Anderson 271). Through years of guerilla-style warfare in the jungles of Cuba, the revolutionary movement, led by Fidel and Raul Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, was a success as Castro’s army entered Havana in early 1959. Their attempts to liberate the people of Cuba and institute a government under which all of its citizens could live equally was the first and only successful revolution in the modern Americas, and Che played a pivotal role in the effort.

It is necessary to examine the criticism of Guevara in order to understand his legacy; every human being whose influence is felt on a global scale is subject to differing opinions, and Che Guevara is by no means immune to this reality. “However, not everyone considers Guevara a hero: He is accused, among other things, of ordering the deaths of hundreds of people in Cuban prisons during the revolution” (1967: Che Guevara is Executed). Due in large part to the nature of armed revolution and his role as one of the leaders of the Cuban struggle, Guevara was often forced to act as judge and jury when people were caught trying to hurt the revolution: in his diary, he notes several decisions to execute traitors to the guerilla force and informants for the Batista regime (Anderson).

Aside from his wartime behavior, which is seen by many critics as brutal and ruthless, much of the controversy surrounding Guevara can be attributed to his ideology. He was an admitted communist and believed that the guerilla struggle should ultimately lead to a socialist society; at the time, Castro was careful to distance himself from communism because of the implications it would have in terms of foreign interference. “Che was a somewhat unlikely candidate for ideological purity, given his bohemian spirit, but during the years of training in Mexico and in the ensuing period of armed struggle in Cuba he emerged as the communist ideologue infatuated with the Soviet Union, much to the discomfort of Castro and others who were essentially opportunists using whatever means were necessary to gain power” (Alvaro Vargas Llosa) The revolution was taking place in the midst of the Cold War, and with the United States looming mere miles to the north of Cuba and its economic interests dictating policy towards the island, it would certainly have attempted to crush a communist revolution.

Because of Guevara’s communist ideology, he is frequently viewed in a negative light. Many people associate communism with the violent spreading and covert taking over of countries that was feared and often realized in Russia and Eastern Europe. However, Guevara’s belief in communism was based solely on the good that it would do for the lower class that he dedicated his life to. His affinity for communism is based, at its heart, on a very utilitarian view: a socialist society would mean equality and comfortable living for the downtrodden populations of Cuba and other such nations. It is therefore doing Guevara the hero a great disservice to label him as a power-hungry commander interested in brainwashing people with his communist ideals. Rather Che was more interested in what communism meant for him personally and for the future of the Cuban people; when asked about a book on Lenin that he was reading, and given a clear opportunity to plug his ideology of choice, he instead attempted to put it in terms that a common Cuban fighting with the revolution could understand: “I was curious and wanted to know who Lenin was and I asked him. He explained: ‘You know of Jose Marti, Antonio Maceo and Maximo Gomez. Lenin was like them. He fought for his people.’ It was the first time someone spoke to me of Lenin” (Anderson 298). It is perhaps most definitive to finish with a quote directly from Che Guevara’s diary, which is revealing and rare in its reflective nature rather than his typical documentation of battle:

“It is a new miracle of the revolution that—under the imperative of war—the staunchest individualist, who zealously protected the boundaries of his property and his own rights, joined the great common effort of the struggle. But there is an even greater miracle: the rediscovery by the Cuban peasant of his own happiness, within the liberated zones. Whoever witnessed the apprehensive murmurs with which our forces were formerly received in each peasant household notes with pride the carefree clamor, the happy, hearty laughter of the new Sierra inhabitant. That is a reflection of the self-confidence that the awareness of his own strength gave to the inhabitant of our liberated area” (Anderson 299).

Ernesto “Che” Guevara, despite being murdered more than four decades ago, lives on through his memory and legend all over the world, and especially in Latin America where he is still regarded as one of the continent’s most revered heroes. Being an advocate of armed revolution, it is easy to understand how and why many hold a negative view of the guerilla fighter and ethical thinker. However, his life and efforts were dedicated to selfless action in order to liberate and achieve equality for the downtrodden minorities of Latin America, the people with whom he was most closely able to associate throughout his short life.