Every year, on 9 October, hundreds of millions of anti-oppression advocates and freedom fighters, from the global left to some elements of the right, remember the conspiracy that led to the assassination of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. This iconic revolutionary was killed by a Bolivian army unit, with plans masterminded by the CIA in 1967.
Che Guevara carved his legacy with blood, creating a seemingly ‘utopian’ model of struggle to liberate humanity from injustice, regardless of race, geography, or background. Unintentionally, he became the most famous revolutionary in modern history.
Born in 1928 in Argentina, Guevara studied medicine before embarking on a motorcycle tour across Latin America—a journey that shaped his revolutionary ideals. Witnessing the poverty and oppression fuelled by imperialist powers, particularly the United States, he developed a staunch opposition to their influence. The US orchestrated coups and puppet revolutions to exploit the continent’s wealth, solidifying Guevara’s resolve.
In Mexico, he met Fidel Castro, leader of the Cuban Revolution. The two forged a bond closer than brotherhood, united by their vision for liberation. Cuba became Guevara’s home after the revolution’s success, where he assumed significant roles in its new government. While much of his legendary story is well-known, one overlooked chapter invites pause: Che Guevara’s tenure as the governor of Cuba’s central bank.
As head of the central bank, Guevara managed to increase demand for the Cuban peso, largely due to the currency’s newfound fame, as he signed it simply with ‘Che’. His first question upon assuming the role was: ‘Where does Cuba keep its gold and dollar reserves?’ When informed that they were held in Fort Knox, USA, he was enraged. He immediately began transferring Cuba’s gold reserves to non-American currencies, depositing them in Canadian and Swiss banks to sever economic ties with the United States.
As a Marxist dreamer inspired by Leninist ideals of communism—ideals that never fully materialised, even during the height of major socialist revolutions—Guevara sought to fulfil the ‘virtuous’ vision of Marxist revolutions. He often criticised the Soviet Union and sometimes even clashed with Castro over Cuba’s alignment with the USSR.
Che’s vision for an ideal society rested on the belief that work should be driven by intrinsic value rather than monetary reward. Under his leadership, wages were abolished. Workers and farmers were expected to labour voluntarily, motivated purely by collective good. Guevara embodied this ethos, famously photographed shirtless with a machete, harvesting sugarcane, or wielding a hammer while helping construct a road.
However, his utopian dream quickly unravelled. Within a year, Cuba’s GDP had halved, and citizens flocked to the streets and bars, unmotivated to work as food was provided without effort. Guevara realised the inherent flaws in his plan; human nature does not conform to such Platonic ideals. He admitted failure and resigned, leaving governance to Castro. His honesty was rare in a world where policymakers often persist in flawed agendas, driving nations into poverty. This cycle of mismanagement and oppression, seen in other countries with similar revolutions, left people with little but dictatorship and hunger.
Determined to continue his fight for global liberation, Guevara turned his focus to supporting struggles in Vietnam, Algeria, and Chile, inspiring oppressed peoples worldwide. He travelled across the Global South, meeting key figures like Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt and Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria. In Congo, he supported Patrice Lumumba’s resistance against Belgian colonialism before resurfacing in Bolivia, where his revolutionary journey reached its tragic end.
Captured by Bolivian forces, Guevara reportedly told his executioner: ‘Shoot, don’t be afraid. You are simply killing a man.’ Initially hesitant, the soldier fired only after repeated orders, aiming below the waist to prolong Guevara’s agony. Finally, a drunken sergeant ended his life with a shot to the left side.
The Bolivian authorities refused to release Guevara’s body to his family or disclose his burial site, fearing it would become a shrine for revolutionaries—a mystery that endures to this day.
Che Guevara remains an immortal symbol for leftists worldwide, despite the failures of their revolutions to create a utopia. Even some conservatives, who fundamentally oppose his ideology, often respect his sincerity and sacrifice for humanity’s liberation. Among some Arabs and Muslims, he is even called the ‘Sheikh of Mujahideen’, despite his atheism. Guevara once said: ‘I feel the pain of every slap dealt to an oppressed person on this earth. Wherever there is injustice, that is my homeland.’
This article is originally published by AlBorsa in Arabic and later AI-translated by South Push.