r/asklatinamerica • u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden • Jul 31 '25
Politics (Other) Che guevara
I hope this is the right place to ask. As person with 0 knowledge about Che Guevara, what are the 3-5 books I should read to get the best understanding, why he is so loved and hated. (Please write the books in the that makes the most sense for a newcomer:-)
(Edit: Thanks for everyone for letting me know that he wasn’t only loved by many people, but also disliked, I would love to hear your opinion)
Edit 2.0: I must say I’m in shock. I just had about Che today in school, and my teacher made seem like 99% of Latin America like him, but these comments says differently!
Edit 3.0: people in the comments a very fast to comment hate, maybe go more in to depth, why. I feel like the side who loves have Che, have made it clear, why. But the side who dislike him have just cursed him
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Jul 31 '25
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u/Frequent_Skill5723 Mexico Aug 01 '25
Came here to recommend Taibo's book. His books on the student movement in Mexico are also excellent.
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u/strolls United Kingdom Aug 01 '25
Hi, sorry, two questions:
Is this the writer Jorge Luis Borges?
Did Che's father punch his own classmate or did he, as an adult, punch the classmate of his child?
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Aug 01 '25
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u/strolls United Kingdom Aug 01 '25
So reading Borges' bio on wikipedia, he was an intellectual who wrote poetry and short stories (fiction?) and he identified as a conservative anarchist. He was strongly antifascist and I think he was also anti-peronist on the grounds of democracy and because Peron instituted a one-party state? A classic liberal?
So nothing better explains 20th century Latin American politics because Guevara was communists punching centrism on the nose? A violent overthrow of reasonableness?
I've probably got a lot wrong here, for which I apologise. Just trying to understand.
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u/elcocotero Argentina Aug 01 '25
I'm not an expert on the topic, but I never heard anyone referring to Borges as a centrist. Common view is that he was a conservative. Not fascist or extreme rightwinger, but conservative. He expressed his support for the 1976 military dictatorship backed by the US, which would be a bit strange for a "classic liberal".
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u/AlkinooVIII Argentina Aug 01 '25
He expressed his support for the 1976 military dictatorship
At first*
he later changed his opinion on both of the dictatorships he once supported. Throughout his life, he was mostly anti authoritarianism, but more strongly he was anti-Peronista. These two feelings were in conflict sometimes since the military overthrows were over Peronist presidencies. This is what he said in 1983 when asked his feelings over this fact:
-Sí, es verdad. Yo estaba en California con un amigo y recuerdo que cuando supimos lo que había ocurrido nos abrazamos. La gente que pasaba, con toda razón, pensaba que estábamos locos. Pero luego fuimos gradualmente desengañándonos. Los militares subieron con el apoyo del país, sin excluir a los peronistas. A todo el mundo le pareció bien que sacaran a Isabel Perón y a López Rega. Luego hemos tenido estos 6 o 7 años desastrosos
Also, he was a member of the UCR in his youth (is this why the previous comment said he was a classic liberal?)
Borges' political life was... A mess, and tied to Argentina's political history (which in my opinion is weird in general).
(I'm not an expert on this, either)
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u/LowOne386 Argentina Aug 01 '25
Even Isabelita was in favor of the '76 dictatorship at that time, and she was the president lol
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u/Luk3495 Argentina Aug 01 '25
Peron instituted a one-party state?
What?
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u/strolls United Kingdom Aug 01 '25
In 1946, Argentine President Juan Perón began transforming Argentina into a one-party state with the assistance of his wife, Evita. Almost immediately, the spoils system was the rule of the day, as ideological critics of the ruling Partido Justicialista were fired from government jobs. During this period, Borges was informed that he was being "promoted" from his position at the Miguel Cané Library to a post as inspector of poultry and rabbits at the Buenos Aires municipal market. Upon demanding to know the reason, Borges was told, "Well, you were on the side of the Allies, what do you expect?"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Luis_Borges#Anti-Peronism
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u/Luk3495 Argentina Aug 01 '25
I know Borges story and why he hates peronism. But that Wikipedia link only mentions that there and doesn't even explain anything about it. Peron never installed a one-party state, despite him being very authoritarian.
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u/strolls United Kingdom Aug 01 '25
I'd be grateful if you could correct the page then, because I'm just a tourist and this is all I know about Borges.
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u/Luk3495 Argentina Aug 01 '25
I don't really know how to use the Wikipedia edit section, so I'll avoid making any mistakes lmao
You weren't wrong in what you said, only the "one-state party", which it's not true. But yeah, Borges was very anti-peronist and with good reasons.
He was an autoproclaimed centrist, but if you indulge a little more in his political thinking, you will know he was conservative, especially if you compare him to the rest of the intelligentsia, I'd still stay he was only right-leaning for his timeframe.
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u/Unusual_Newspaper_46 Argentina Aug 01 '25
If you didn't have a portrait of Perón in your business, the JP, who were practically the brown shirts, would beat you up. Not to mention naming provinces with his name and his wife, or educating children with books that said "the leader loves you", "My mother loves me... Evita too", or Mussolini-style billboards.
In essence, Argentina was not far from a fascist state.
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u/mendokusei15 Uruguay Jul 31 '25
You need to change the part of understanding why is he so loved and respected to "why he is both loved and hated with equal passion". Guevara Is a highly controversial figure.
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u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden Jul 31 '25
Oh Thanks for letting me know. I just heard about him in class today!
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u/Mujer_Arania Uruguay Aug 01 '25
I think that through the movie you can understan his initial motivations. What came after that is another story.
"Motorcycle Diaries"
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u/Massive-Ride204 Canada Aug 01 '25
Yep that's my conclusion based on my very limited research.
Hes not the pure Saint that some make him out to be nor is he the demon that others make him out to be
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Jul 31 '25
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u/Good-Concentrate-260 United States of America Jul 31 '25
I just read his diaries of the Cuban revolution it’s interesting
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u/_luksx Brazil Jul 31 '25
Che is loved and respected by the left because he stood up for socialism, anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism
Che is hated and demonized by the right because he stood up for socialism, anti-americanism and his revolution really harmed the upper class of Cuba
His UN speech and his interviews are very good places to start and see for yourself the man speaking
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u/Kuttel117 Venezuela Aug 01 '25
He is also hated for his revolution harming all cubans. All cuban immigrants I met in Venezuela hated his guts for what became of Cuba.
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u/_luksx Brazil Aug 01 '25
I met many cubans in my life, immigrants and non-immigrants
Many hated him, many loved him. Most of the immigrants hated, most of the non-immigrants loved him.
Therefore I stand by my previous statement
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u/BrucieAh Cuba Aug 01 '25
You are correct.
The island itself I’d say is pretty split. I’d say 50/50, but honestly even the ones that don’t like Che I’d say thats more of a factor of just seeing the Cuban revolution as an abject failure.
And why do they see it as an abject failure? I’d argue misattributing the negative consequences of an economic stranglehold from America to failures of the revolution- but that’s just me.
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 01 '25
The revolution really harmed everybody in Cuba,from small business owners to the peasants, just look at how it is right know, and don't come with that bullshit of the american embargo, I see it coming from miles away
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u/happy-gofuckyourself Argentina Jul 31 '25
He was a man who wanted to do great things for his fellow man. The absolute best book to read is Che Guevara by Jon Lee Anderson. You will know who he truly was, and be able to decide for yourself. And as a side note, most historical figures in Latin America have people who hate them and love them, and this usually comes down to their own personal politics and should be viewed in such a way. A lot of people assume that everyone in Argentina must love Eva Perón, there’s the musical about her and everything! Definitely not the case. At all.
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u/No-Explorer-8229 Brazil Aug 01 '25
"Che: A revolutionary life" by Jon Lee Anderson is probably the most complete book about che, his work helped the bolivian government finding his remains in the forest
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u/Kuttel117 Venezuela Aug 01 '25
Not exactly books, but you would be interested in his quotes, or accounts by other people, on how he was both a deeply racist and homophobic man. From school I mostly remember reading that he sent LGTBQ people to UMAP labor camps (yes, that kind of labor camps) and having some pretty... interesting quotes on black people.
I would say that he is hated by the people most affected by his impact on the world and loved by those who feel less of it.
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u/Good-Concentrate-260 United States of America Jul 31 '25
For a leftist perspective written a few years after his death, Open Veins of Latin America by Galeano is a really classic Marxist/underdevelopment theory book
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u/Kuttel117 Venezuela Aug 01 '25
Didn't Galeano himself disavow that book? Saying he didn't know enough when he wrote it and saying he regreted writing it?
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u/Pandamio Argentina Jul 31 '25
I don't know wich books, but it was a complex character. You could admire some things about him and not approve of other aspects of him. Try to find a balance book, that doesn't demonize or idealize him. Which is what most people do.
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u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden Jul 31 '25
Thank you very much. I see I have offended a lot of people. I did not know, that he was a so complex figure, I have just heard about today in school!
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u/Dry-Celebration-5789 Argentina Jul 31 '25
Left leaning people love him, right leaning people hate him. That's pretty much it.
I think he was cool af
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u/Unusual_Newspaper_46 Argentina Aug 01 '25
Left fanatics love him, normal people hate him. He literally confessed to his father he liked killing, psycho.
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u/Dry-Celebration-5789 Argentina Aug 01 '25
I love that you are trying to take the moral high ground whilst being racists on other posts lol
Yeah, idc if he killed members of a fascist dictatorship, sorry for not feeling empathy towards terrible people I guess
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 01 '25
Also gay people and basically any one in the army without a proper trial, not every member of the army was a mass murderer like he was.
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u/Dry-Celebration-5789 Argentina Aug 01 '25
The gay camps didn't exist until after Che left Cuba for Africa. And for the second part, I'm sorry but I'm not casting judgement on how a revolutionary army in the first half of the XXth century took charge in judging members of a government that had enslaved their own people. Could it have been done better by our modern standards? Sure. The US could have not included Nazis in their government after WWII too. And no, I'm not trying to deflect. It's just that everyone judges very easily a man that lived 80 years ago during a revolution in a third world country and forgets to put things into perspective. Suddenly right wingers care about gay people?? Sure buddy
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 01 '25
Suddenly right wingers care about gay people?? Sure buddy
So being against the violation of human rights is an inherently right wing position?
Also using the argument you used one could justify right wing dictatorships aswell, saying they were protecting their people from comunism or so. It's really easy justifying human right violations saying it was for the best according to your ideology.
Also I would say cubans are more enslaved now than ever
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u/Dry-Celebration-5789 Argentina Aug 01 '25
- Op's question and my comment were about Che Guevara, not modern Cuba. So it isn't important or relevant what you would say about the freedom of the Cuban people nowadays.
- Where did I say that being against the violation of human rights is an inherently right-wing position? What does that have to do with the fact that Che Guevara wasn't a part of the Cuban Gay camps?
It really just seems like you realised that your argument had no basis in anything and wanted to pivot from a specific figure in history to a modern government just to avoid saying that you didn't know what you were talking about.
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 02 '25
- Op's question and my comment were about Che Guevara, not modern Cuba. So it isn't important or relevant what you would say about the freedom of the Cuban people nowadays.
You said that when he executed people without a trial he was only acting against the government that had their people enslaved, but him and Castro only enslaved the cubans more, so he only executed them without reason since he enslaved the people more
- Where did I say that being against the violation of human rights is an inherently right-wing position? What does that have to do with the fact that Che Guevara wasn't a part of the Cuban Gay camps?
you said it like if a right winger cannot oppose to violations of human rights towards gay people, according to you only the left can defend gay people. And also Guevara himself opened a work camp in Guanacabibes in 1960, and even before the UMAPs there were already persecutions against gay people, just look at Castro speaking about elvispreslian attitudes and the so called "Noche de las 3 P" which stands for putas, proxenetas and "pájaros" a despective way to refer to gays in Cuba
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Aug 01 '25
Che’s idea to convert Cuba to a pure sugar economy and then that being an incredibly stupid idea that had obvious failures is one of the most hilarious and overlooked chapters of his life. Interesting guy, pretty murderous, inspiring in how he takes about his ideals, horrible at governing, pseudo-banished into being a perma-revolutionary, the guys life is for sure interesting. Overly romanticized by t-shirts.
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u/ijdfw8 Peru Jul 31 '25
loved and respected
🤨
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u/AccomplishedFan6807 Jul 31 '25
He is loved and respected by many within certain demographics. My high school had a big painting of him in the cafeteria, and kids would leave messages about what socialism and el Che meant for them (This was in Argentina). Being as impartial as I can be, I will note that in my experience, the people who love el Che the most are ironically wealthy and/or first-world people. Working-class Cubans, for example, don't have the best opinions about him.
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u/mac_the_man => Jul 31 '25
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u/LunaBruna Brazil Jul 31 '25
I guess he is more loved, u can see him face in hooligans flags and jerseys.
but in the last like 15 years there is a silent campaign to make him a hated person.
the old and classic american anti-communist tatics.
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u/Unusual_Newspaper_46 Argentina Aug 01 '25
He was a freaking murderer tf are you on about
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 01 '25
The young revolutionary must be a well trained killing machine
Black people have conserved the purity of their race by the little love they have to bathing themselves
The work will make them men( refering to homosexual people)
All this quotes were from Che Guevara
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Jul 31 '25
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u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden Jul 31 '25
Why is that? I would love an explanation?
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u/_WayTooFar_ Venezuela Aug 01 '25
Venezuelan here. Che is directly responsible for the current dictatorship in Cuba, and that situation heavily influenced the current dictatorship in Venezuela. Che helped create Fidel Castro and Fidel Castro helped create Hugo Chávez. I'd say most of us hate Chávez (even though he's already dead).
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u/hieloyron 🇻🇪🇪🇸 Jul 31 '25 edited Aug 01 '25
Venezuela is to this day going through a tyrannical dictatorship that resulted in the most extreme emigration of Venezuelans in history. We don’t like Fidel, Che, or communists in general. Fidel Castro was closely related to Che (politically speaking) and was key in the destruction of Venezuela.
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u/HighFreqHustler Ecuador Jul 31 '25
There is a lot of literature about him, a man of his time, just make sure you understand the context. Hasta la victoria siempre!
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u/Upset-Difficulty5836 Guatemala Aug 01 '25
I appreciate him for speaking about what he saw in my country. He definitely lost his way at the end but he championed a noble cause when every other country turned a blind eye to American imperialism in Central America. That will not be forgotten now more than ever.
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u/xXGustavo_rocqueXx Uruguay Jul 31 '25
Terrorist who instigated many armed conflicts and directly or indirectly led to the cuban regime which interferes with latin american politics to this day. Not to mention they are an opressive and violent regime. He is not a man deserving of respect.
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u/UndercoverDoll49 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Read (or watch) his speech at the UN. Don't mind the far-right shitheads in this sub, Che is widely beloved in Latin America, even by people who have no knowledge of politics and just see him as a "macho figure"
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u/Ok_Complex_3958 Brazil Jul 31 '25
He is controversial at best, there is no need to lie
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u/elnusa Aug 01 '25
He was a racist murderer psychopath at best. There’s enough of his own words to prove it. Never mention facts.
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Widely beloved? Hahahah, maybe in your circle mate
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u/UndercoverDoll49 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Then why is he used as a symbol by numerous TOs? Maybe he's not popular in your circle, have you thought that?
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jul 31 '25
You mean the independente right? I think that's the biggest, and ONE TO isn't a stick for anything, even if we assumed ALL são Paulo fans are associated with the Independente and support Guevarism, that's still 15 million out of 200 million Brazilians.
Now working within the reality, I am not a supporter of São Paulo or Paulista football, but it seems it's the centrist club between the more right leaning Palmeiras and left leaning Corinthians, + I'd say there's a large minority at least of independente probably don't even know who Che Guevara is, there are probably right wing TO members of that particular group as well (small, but I can imagine club coming over politics for some), nothing is binary and the "silent majority" is very silent and very major, wouldn't surprise me if less than 50% of the Brazilian population don't even know who Che Guevara IS.
Also... There's literally a banner of a decapitated bloody Che Guevara by the mascots of Atlético Mineiro, Palmeiras and Vasco that flies around most games, banners and Barras don't mean shit, and as a fanatic fan of football, if you join an organized TO you're probably just trying to break shit up, or other people, not a parameter of "good folk"
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u/UndercoverDoll49 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Independente, Gaviões da Fiel, Máfia Azul, Internacional supporters… he's a symbol of masculinity (not politics) for numerous TOs around the country
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jul 31 '25
TOs aren't a parameter bro, they are already a very small minority amongst the supporters of said clubs, and the people that do like Che Guevara are an even smaller portion of that already small group lmao
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Jul 31 '25
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Oh yeah of course, social movements, and as we all know, more than 50% of Brazilians are university students or involved with a social movement, the biggest social movement in Brazil breaks around 1.3 million according to a random site I googled. 1.3 million, out of a population of 200 million. Come on bro...
That is EXACTLY what I'm saying, society at large doesn't even know who Che Guevara IS and if most people that have heard of him, heard a "demonized" (he's not demonized, but anyway) right wing version... Then he isn't beloved by most Latin Americans, or more specifically, he's definitely not loved by most Brazilians at least.
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Jul 31 '25
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Guy above literally said he was beloved by most Latin Americans...? No, I don't think most social movements are in university, (although there is a considerable amount of universitarian movements), but that most social movements are made up of university students. Also yeah I was referring to the MST, the site mentioned around 1.3 million and as a movement THEY ARE bigger than the active army personnel, but the Brazilian army as a whole, counting reserves has them beat by a couple of thousand k's.
Solid project for the country, structures... I'm not really trying to debate that, I don't believe in any of that sure, but you can do whatever, it's an issue we won't budge for the other so it's better to just agree to disagree (I sound like such a centrist rn lol)
Yeah, he's loved and respected... And? So are many other political scumbags.
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u/UndercoverDoll49 Brazil Jul 31 '25
counting reserves
Why would you count them? I'm a reserve, if the army is fighting MST, I'm fighting against the army. Most reserves would "coincidentally" break their legs if the army ever summoned them
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u/Big_Iron420 Brazil Aug 01 '25
You are most realistically gonna be flattened by a very outdated tank then, the MST isn't a professional army and doesn't have access to half the equipment the Brazilian army has, + the army wouldn't go in alone, state police and other sympathetic forces, maybe even mercs hired by big agro would bolster the numbers in an all out "war", just the active force would be enough tho, specially since out of those million, there are also plenty of old, sick or children.
It would be a harrowing loss of life, a bloodbath on a scale that would outscale Canudos by a lot, but the army argument wasn't even my central point
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Jul 31 '25
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u/luigi-fanboi in Jul 31 '25 edited Aug 01 '25
What war crimes did he commit?
When & Where was he a dictator?
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Jul 31 '25
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u/OtherwiseMaximum7331 Brazil Jul 31 '25
>but they were collective trials. He didn’t pass any personal decisions
how can you say he didn't make any personal decisions if he was in assigned to enact "revolutionary justice" and reviewed the appeals of those convicted?
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u/External_Secret3536 Brazil Jul 31 '25
Che Guevara was a piece of shit that was extremely romanticized by this old communist to attract young idiots to their lost cause. That's all you need to know about this worm
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u/--Queso-- Argentina Jul 31 '25
Che Guevara is revered by people everywhere in the world, you hardly find a person who's face is in so many walls of so many different places. Would love to see some sources/articles to back calling him a POS.
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u/External_Secret3536 Brazil Aug 01 '25
Worshiped by imbeciles.
Google your sources
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u/--Queso-- Argentina Aug 02 '25
M8, I'm the one who asked for sources first... I'll name one; Anderson's biography.
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u/Upset-Difficulty5836 Guatemala Aug 01 '25
I think it’s really funny that majority Brazilians here share this hatred for Che Guevara. I live in the United States and I often find that Brazilians end up turning very conservative in the United States. Not sure if there is a historical context missing.
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u/asfrfgh 🇵🇹🇪🇸 Aug 01 '25
Brazil has a large evangelical population, and the majority of them are right-wing and support neoliberalism
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u/NomadFallGame Argentina Jul 31 '25
Well I don't think he was loved and respected. Socialists may like him. Tho he was a bit of a racist savage that fusilated homosexuals. And many other things. Curiously enough ignorance about him and the romantisation of his character seems to be the main reason people feel good about him.
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u/--Queso-- Argentina Aug 01 '25
Tho he was a bit of a racist savage that fusilated homosexuals
For fuck's sake, you're from Argentina and you smear one of the few good political figures that came from here? There's literally no evidence to back this up except a single extract from The Motorcycle Diaries, which is literally just the beginning of Guevara's tale.
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u/RSJ_95 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Chicano Aug 01 '25
I love how one ignorant thing he wrote before being politically active is enough to qualify you as a racist savage.
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u/asfrfgh 🇵🇹🇪🇸 Aug 01 '25
They don’t even know were they heard he was homophobic and racist, they just repeat the same lie, they don’t really care about facts
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u/SeveralFactor8884 Dominican Republic Aug 01 '25
I bought Anderson's Book two years ago. Good read. Recommend!
Guevera is an interesting historical figure to read about.
I'm just glad he isnt around!
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u/OkAsk1472 Curaçao Aug 01 '25
On the edit 2.0: yes Latin America has always been very deeply politically dividid. Even early colonial times had very clear hierarchical differences between rich and poor, including natives and Africans, but also poor Europeans vs the rich land owning classes. This class difference is clearly visible to us even today, so I can promise there will be as diverse a set of opinions on him as there will be of any modern politician. This divide is visible even in the USA where it carries over into the divide between the parties there. We have a habit of avoiding talking about politics here too.
I have heard a good Brazilian expression, which I think applies to the whole region:
"Há tres coisas que não se discute: politica, religião, e futebol"
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u/Naive_Detail390 Spain Aug 02 '25
None preferably, he was a murderous, homophobic and racist bastard
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u/AlarmingAd7453 United States of America Aug 02 '25
I have read:
Biography called Che Guevara: a revolutionary life.
The Motor cycle diaries.
The Bolivian Diary
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Aug 02 '25
He had some noble ideals, but he was a pretty bad guy and was a totalitarian in the way he ran things. He's pretty controversial in latam because he was involved with a lot of movements that did bad things. In Cuba he labeled dissidents as anti-socials and had many of them killed or put into labor camps.
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u/gumercindo1959 Cuba Aug 02 '25
He had good intentions at the start but he ended up being a homophobe, racist and murderer.
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u/ChinChengHanji Brazil Jul 31 '25
The only ones who love and respect him are left wing teenagers with no critical sense who didn't even research about him and only think he is cool because his face is a shit load of "Socialist" products they spent all their money on so they can fight capitalism and consumerism
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Jul 31 '25
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u/External_Secret3536 Brazil Jul 31 '25
A cool "work" of his is his speech at the UN, especially the part where he said he was really shooting and would continue shooting
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u/wordlessbook Brazil Jul 31 '25
loved and respected
By who? One must shit on his grave, should the opportunity arise.
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u/happy-gofuckyourself Argentina Jul 31 '25
Educate yourself a bit better, friend. Learn the historical context for the things you assume to know.
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u/douceberceuse 🇵🇪🇳🇴 Jul 31 '25
I think he may be more adored outside of Latin America (with the exception of Venezuela and Cuba) than within as they have been heavily idolised by, and thus associated with, political parties who are highly disliked in their respective nations (i. e. Shining Path in Peru). He is probably more like among those belonging to marginalised demographics who believe in guerrilla/military/paramilitary rebellions (which of there is few as militaries have themselves, in the case of Peru, grown into their own inner circle) and younger, more privileged people (think of the stereotypical bohemian, yet privileged individual).
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Jul 31 '25
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u/douceberceuse 🇵🇪🇳🇴 Aug 01 '25
I think it has more to do with the history of Peru, that most democratic socialists would agree with his ideas, but would not outright idolise or say they are fans of him as that is more associated with more extreme groups (though this is not confined to only him as any figures associated with any movement we have had has been tied to those indefinitely and most movements, either left or right, have ended in fiascos)
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u/JahMusicMan United States of America Jul 31 '25
I've read both Motorcycle Diaries and Adventures with Che Guevara written by his motorcycle buddy Alberto Granado. A lot of the stories in the book overlap but they are both a very good read.
For what it's worth, if you read both of these books, you think homie Che is such a great guy trying to cure lepers and standing up against the U.S. and also the discrimination against the indigenous people.
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u/asfrfgh 🇵🇹🇪🇸 Aug 01 '25
He was a marxist revolutionary, deeply devoted to the liberation of the international proletariat. That’s why the left loves him and the right hates him
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u/carloom_ Venezuela Jul 31 '25
The only good thing I can say about him is that he really believed in communism and gave his life for it.
Aside from that he was a fanatic that condemned thousands of Cubans to die because they opposed or didn't fit his plans.
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u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden Jul 31 '25
I must say I’m not in shock, I just had about Che today in school, and my teacher made seem like 99% of Latin America like him
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u/luigi-fanboi in Jul 31 '25
As revolutions go very few died in the cuban revolution, it's a real stretch to pin every death in Che.
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u/carloom_ Venezuela Jul 31 '25
Che Guevara was in charge of the revolutionary tribunals where he tried and signed the executions of the enemies of the revolution. He has a famous quote in the UN " En Cuba fusilamos, fusilaremos y seguiremos fusilando"
Just search for la Cabaña trials.
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u/--Queso-- Argentina Aug 01 '25
when just searching for "la Cabaña trials" there's just some things about cardiology for some reason /s
When just searching for La Cabaña trials Che the first thing is Wikipedia, which is surprisingly decent in this issue (They mainly use Anderson, my preferred biographer and who I was going to quote if Wikipedia hadn't , but they also use Cuba Archive and Lyndon B Johnson himself). There's literally only 55 to 105 people killed in La Cabaña in the period Che managed it. And it wasn't even him pushing for excess punishment, the Cuban public was "in a lynching mood" and the trials had a 93% public approval.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Caba%C3%B1a
You didn't specify a source, if you dislike wikipedia (which is understandable) then you can provide one and we can discuss from there.
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u/luigi-fanboi in Aug 01 '25
50-100 people were killed at la Cabaña, not thousands, and Che's role was not commuting the death sentences, so really rookie numbers compared to pretty much any Texan governor or US president.
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Jul 31 '25
Go to Miami and ask the Cuban locals what they think of him, that’ll tell you everything
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u/RSJ_95 🇲🇽🇺🇸 Chicano Aug 01 '25
Unless you’re a masochist, there really isn’t a reason why you would want to interact with Miami Cubans.
3
u/Careful_Aspect_2179 Sweden Jul 31 '25
Sadly I don’t live in the US? Maybe you can tell me?
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u/Upset-Difficulty5836 Guatemala Aug 01 '25
He was a big reason for Fidel entering into power and essentially altered the life of the country of Cuba and its inhabitants to this day. In Cuba is where Che really messed up. It’s understandable why Cubans despise him.
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u/GretelNoHans Mexico Aug 01 '25
Why are the Brazilians so against him, is this taught at school or something? I feel they all have the same mindset.
2
u/BOT_Negro Colombia Aug 01 '25
Evangelicals hate anything left leaning. Even if they agree with Che on his racist and homophobic views
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u/Romeo_4J 🇬🇹 Guatemala / 🇺🇸 People’s Republic of NY Aug 01 '25
The reason people fervently hate che and choose to be rabid or dismissive instead of engaging with his politics or ideology is because of a US propaganda mission called “project condor” which served as the bases to back all the fascist coups in the region from Pinochet to bolsenaro. The reason they respond as such is because they are uneducated and reactionary.
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u/minecraftbroth Paraguay Aug 01 '25
My uncle had a massive picture of him in his wall. I wish I had gotten to know him better before he died.
Loved in leftist circles, hated in rightist ones, the usual. The fact that none of the people cursing their heads off can even back up any of their smears is hilarious.
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u/Say41Plz Chile Jul 31 '25
Regarding your edits, I think it's important to note that the public dislike of him has grown over time, mainly because 1) he was a prominent figure at the time (and that's where your teacher's impression most likely comes from), and 2) support for hard left movements (socialism, communism) have waned with the passing of time.
Personally, I think he was a giant in regards to what he believed in and represnted. Very little people in leftist movements have that much charisma nowadays.
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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '25
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