Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

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Biography of Ernesto Che Guevara

Ernesto Che Guevara was born on June 14.06.1928, XNUMX in Argentina. He was the firstborn in a young and friendly family.

His parents are Creoles. My grandmother was half Irish. Some relatives of this family have already lived in the United States for quite a long time, having the citizenship of this country.

Ernesto’s father worked as an architect. Mother inherited a small tea plantation. They somewhat improved the position of the mercenaries: they paid wages in money, not in kind.

This act angered neighboring planters, and the family had to move to Rosario. There Ernesto’s parents opened a tea processing factory. However, the global economic crisis also affected this family and they returned to the tea plantation.

In early childhood, Ernesto suffered a severe asthma attack from which he never recovered. To improve the baby’s health, the family moved to the mountainous province of Cordoba. For this, the estate had to be sold. With this money, they bought a house in Alta Gracia, at an altitude of 2 thousand meters.

The father got a job as a construction contractor, and the mother looked after and taught her son. the boy suffered from seizures every day. At the age of 13, Ernesto entered college, and after graduation he entered the medical faculty of the University of Buenos Aires.

The family grew up five children. Subsequently, the parents were able to give them all a higher education even in such difficult financial conditions.

“Cuba – my love”

Guevara said that he had an interest in Cuba from the age of 11. Ernesto was fond of chess, exact sciences and reading. He read almost everything that came across his eyes. Be it London, Tolstoy, Neruda or Sartre. Subsequently they were: Kropotkin, Marx, Lenin.

And once the famous chess player Capablanca from faraway Cuba came to Buenos Aires. This further piqued the teenager’s curiosity about this island.

Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

Ernesto Che Guevara in his student years

Guevara played football at the Atalaya club, in reserve due to asthma, but was also involved in other sports. He was a well-rounded young man. Having hired a simple sailor, he visited about. Trinidad and British Guiana.

Che was in love with the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Perhaps they would have gotten married, but the addicted young man decided to devote his life to treating lepers in the countries of South America, like his idol Albert Schweitzer. But fate decreed otherwise.

Fearless Commander

Fidel and Che first met in July 1955. All the rules of the strictest secrecy were observed. We discussed the details of military operations in the Oriente province. Fidel and Che liked each other at first sight, agreed in their views on the revolution. After talking all night, in the morning Che was enrolled as a doctor in the detachment of the combat expedition.

Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

Fidel and Che

Ernesto Che Guevara’s memories of the guerrilla war in the Sierra Maestra are full of stories about the massacres of those peasants who collaborated with the ruling regime. Che performed some of the executions with his own hand.

Waging continuous battles with government forces in the Sierra Maestra mountains. A pitiful handful of partisans grew into supporters and gradually turned into a close-knit fighting squad.

Tirelessly analyzing the reasons for the failures and defeats at the initial stage of the revolution, Che improved his theory of guerrilla warfare. Appreciating Ernesto’s contribution to the revolutionary work. Fidel awarded him in July 1957 the highest rank of commandant in the rebel army.

Day by day, the legend of Che – a fearless, unyielding commander and a brilliant organizer – grew and grew stronger. He soon became the commander of the 4th column of the revolutionary army and the second person in the ranks of the rebels after Fidel himself.

In the second half of 1958, the partisans already represented such a force that it became clear that the last hour of the puppet dictatorship had struck. The lightning strike, delivered under the command of Che, caught the troops of the dictator Batista by surprise.

Victory of the revolution

Some garrisons surrendered without a fight at the mere news of the approach of the commander’s troops. On January 1, 1959, the partisans entered Havana, overwhelmed with glee. The victory of the revolution posed before Che one of the most difficult tasks in his life. He and his associates had to put aside their rifles and occupy leading offices.

In governing the state, he showed the fanaticism of a neophyte and, as on the battlefield, knew no mercy. Fidel Castro entrusted him with one of the most important government posts – to lead the agrarian reform.

The confiscation of the latifundia and the distribution of land to the poor peasants was one of the key slogans of the Cuban revolution. Che zealously set about its implementation.

Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

Che with his wife Aleida March and children (two sons and two daughters)

All large estates became the property of the state. On their basis, rural cooperatives were created, as required by the economic doctrine of Marxism. However, the rosy plans for the revival of agriculture soon scattered to dust.

Attempts to limit the cultivation of sugar cane and expand the area under other crops led to a decline in production.

State activities of Che

In 1959, after the completion of the agrarian reform, Ernesto Che Guevara became the head of the Industrial Development Department. Later he took over as chairman of the National Bank of Cuba. In 1961 he became the Minister of Industry.

As the country’s top banker, he never missed an opportunity to publicly express his contempt for money. Che would gladly eliminate them altogether.

In his actions, Che was guided by a completely “non-Marxist conviction about the triumph of spirit over matter.” It seemed to him that if a dozen rebels managed to turn Cuba upside down in two years, then the economy could be rebuilt even faster.

Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

Obsessed with the idea of ​​industrialization, he did not take into account the mood of the workers, calling them to labor exploits. Demands to link labor productivity to wage increases irritated him greatly. He believed that the best reward for valiant work should be an awareness of the benefits that society brings.

For a long time, the United States bought almost all of Cuban cane sugar. In return, they supplied the goods necessary for the country.

However, now the States have become Cuba’s first enemy. The economic blockade has turned the flow of Western goods into a trickle. As a result, Cuba became dependent on assistance from the USSR and other social services. countries. Economic bondage inevitably entailed political bondage, and this Che could no longer tolerate.

Death of Che Guevara

Ernesto Che Guevara was executed for an attempted coup in Bolivia in 1967. He was 39 years old. The executioners buried Che in the rebel mass grave at the runway at Valle Grande airport. They will find out about this after 30 years.

Ernesto Che Guevara: biography of the commander of the Cuban revolution

Prisoner Che Guevara an hour before the execution

In 1997, a reburial ceremony took place at the Mausoleum in the town of Santa Clara. Here the indefatigable Comandante Che won his first victory in the Cuban Revolution. His zodiac sign is Gemini. Height – 1,75 m.

Don’t miss this video on “Ernesto Che Guevara: Biography”

That Guevara. In the footsteps of legend

They say that Che was cruel. He ruthlessly dealt with the “enemies of the people”, executed 2000 people in a military prison. I am not a historian and have never been to Cuba, so I don’t undertake to confirm this. If he was a bloody executioner, would he become a national hero?

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