CHE GUVEARA

[Constancio Rodrigues]

Ernesto "Che" Guevara lived between 1928 and 1967. He was born in
Argentina and became a doctor. However, his political opinions led him
to become one of history’s best-known freedom fighters. His role in
the Cuban revolution made him, and the image of his face, famous
forever. He was captured and executed in Bolivia after starting an
unsuccessful revolution.
As a young medical student, Guevara went on a motorbike tour of
Latin America. The extreme poverty he witnessed transformed him. He
became a fierce opponent of capitalism, which he said created great
inequality. He went to Guatemala and helped draw up many social
reforms, until the Guatemalan government was overthrown. Following
this, Guevara decided to fight against social injustice everywhere.
He went to Mexico, where he met another revolutionary Fidel Castro.
He joined with Castro and became a military leader in a guerilla force
that invaded Cuba. Guevara’s tactics played a key role in the
successful overthrow of the US-backed Cuban dictator Batista.
Guevara became president of Cuba’s national bank. He also wrote a
comprehensive manual on guerilla warfare, which is still studied
today.
Che Guevara remains one of the icons of the 20th Century. An Alberto
Korda photograph of him entitled ‘Guerilla Hero’ was named as "the
most famous photograph in the world". Even though he hated
commercialism, his image has appeared on every kind of product
imaginable. Today, his profile is still largely associated with
revolution
and fighting for the rights of the poor.