The Psychology of Recovery from Sports Injury

Che Guevara: Hero or Villain?

Ernesto “Che” Guevara was an Argentine Marxist, revolutionary, author, physician and guerrilla leader who played a significant role in the Cuban Revolution from 1956 to 1959. As a young man, he was commonly known as “el Che” or simply “Che”, a nickname meaning “mate” which arose from his frequent use of this form of colloquial slang. Che grew up wanting to be a doctor and as a medical student, he travelled throughout South America during his holidays. His most significant journey was one which he took with his friend Alberto Granado in 1951. As they set off on a motorcycle named “the Powerful”, they made their way from Argentina through Chile, Peru, Colombia and into Venezuela where Che then travelled alone to Miami before returning home. During this long journey, he kept a journal which is now known as Diarios de Motocicleta: Notas de un viaje por América Latina (The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey). In this journal, he recorded all that he had witnessed: extreme poverty, hunger and disease. Taken aback by the horrors which he had seen, Che was inspired to make a change. He believed that through a revolution, the imperialism of the United States and the Batista regime could be abolished, and that Latin America could gain liberation. However, despite the belief that Che Guevara is an inspirational and heroic historical figure to be remembered, many see him as quite the opposite, a villain.

One of the reasons why Che can be seen as a hero is through his motives and success in the Cuban Revolution. In 1955, Che met the Cuban Revolutionary Leader Fidel Castro and joined his ‘26th July Movement’. He played a key role in Castro’s attempt to overthrow the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista who was supported by the U.S. government. When the Guerrilla war was successful in 1959, Castro took power and Che became president of the National Bank of Cuba and then Minister of Industry. He was a freedom-fighter; he wanted to help the people whom he witnessed living in such terrible ways and his determination and eventual success in standing up for his beliefs are reasons why so many people view him as a hero. Furthermore, during his travels as a young medical student, Che spent three weeks at a leper colony in the Amazon rainforest in San Pablo. Here, both Che and Granado gave consultations and treated patients. The equality that they saw in this humane treatment of 600 patients with leprosy inspired the pair to continue fighting for a more united Latin America. Also, at the start of the Cuban Revolution, before he fought with weapons, Che acted as the force’s doctor who helped the injured revolutionaries. He was a human rights activist, and it was important to him to help people as well as lead and fight for them. Throughout his life, Che often used his medical knowledge to aid others and due to this, he is viewed as a life-saving hero. Moreover, along with the many heroic actions which Che made whilst he was alive, the rise of anti-American, left-wing elected governments in South America shows that his legacy and ideals continue to live on in today’s society. So, the way in which he remains influential is a reason why many believe that he has always been and will always remain a hero and inspiration to mankind.

Despite Che’s desire to improve and unite Latin America, there are still many people who only view him as a villain. Although he joined the Cuban Revolution to help people and to fight for liberation, the wars led to destruction as well as victory. For example, when fighting wars in Cuba and Africa, he ravished the areas and killed many, many people. In addition, he was the leader of the Cuban Revolution’s first firing squad where traitors and deserters were executed under his order. When Batista was overthrown, Che killed supporters of the previous regime and he was not only a killer himself, but he even encouraged his supporters to do the same when he once proclaimed: “Hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a 10

human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective and cold-blooded killing machine. This is what our soldiers must become...”. People feared him for his ruthlessness and brutality and many both used to and still see him as a merciless murderer of thousands of innocents. Another reason why Che is viewed as a villain is due to his ruling over Cuba’s labour camp system. This system was used to imprison homosexuals, those who had AIDS, or people who were otherwise considered undesirable members of the community to the government. Surrounded by reports of homophobia, discrimination and an introduction of strict food rationing as Minister of Industry, to a lot of people, Che hardly appears a human rights activist and more a cruel, brutal villain.

In conclusion, despite the strong reasoning that Che Guevara had villainous attributes, I believe that he should be remembered as a hero. Without his influence and action, the Cuban Revolution might not have been successful, or even have taken place and so not only Cuba but the world would be very different. The huge number of deaths that were caused by his revolution and power was shocking, but he needed to make an impact to make a change, and for the future of Cuba, a revolution was necessary. Any leader in war will have death at their hands, but what can be recognised in Che is not his perfection, but his perseverance to fight for others and for what he believed was right. He was viewed as a great hero by some, a barbaric villain by others, but personally he felt it was very important to inspire others as a revolutionary and to free Cuba from responsibility; Che will nevertheless be remembered by all.

- Serena M (L6)