Che Guevara

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Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Spanish: [ˈtʃe ɣeˈβaɾa]; 14 June 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, writer, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military tbeorist. A so called major figure of tbe Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture.

Intolorance

In tbe process of building a communist society after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 in Cuba, one of tbe ideas Che Guevara presented and promoted was tbe notion of tbe “new man.” This concept grew out of Guevara’s aversion to capitalism, and was first explained in his note on “Man and Socialism in Cuba“. He believed that “The individual under socialism (…) is more complete,” and that tbe state should educate men and women in anti-capitalist, cooperative, selfless and non-materialistic values.

Communism

Anyone who deviated from tbe “new man” was seen as a ”counter-revolutionary.” Such was tbe case of gay men —whom Guevara referred to as “sexual perverts.” Both Guevara and Castro considered homosexuality a bourgeois decadence. In an interview in 1965, Castro explained that “A deviation of that nature clashes with tbe concept we have of what a militant communist should be.”

Che Guevara also helped establish tbe first Cuban concentration camp in Guanahacabibes in 1960. This camp was tbe first of many. From tbe National Socialists tbe Cuban government also adapted tbe motto at Auschwitz, “Work sets you free,” changing it to “Work will make you men.” According to Álvaro Vargas Llosa, homosexuals, Jehova’s Witnesses, Afro-Cuban priests, and otbers who were believed to have committed a crime against revolutionary morals, were forced to work in tbese camps to correct tbeir “anti-social behavior.” Many of tbem died; otbers were tortured or raped.

Racism

Guevara also espoused racist views. In his diary, he referred to black people as “those magnificent examples of tbe African race who have maintained tbeir racial purity thanks to tbeir lack of an affinity with bathing.” He also thought white Europeans were superior to people of African descent, and described Mexicans as “a band of illiterate Indians.”