28. An Icon’s Plan to Revolutionize a Continent
The Cuban Revolution saw the rise of Ernesto “Che” Guevara (1928 – 1967). He gained international fame thereafter as a guerrilla warfare innovator, author, and diplomat. His image became a romantic icon of anti-imperialism, and after his death, he became a martyr to many worldwide. Things had been going great for “el Che”, until he concocted an ambitious plan to spark a revolution in South America, that he hoped would turn all of Latin America communist. It backfired in spectacular fashion.
Guevara was born in Argentina in 1928, and was raised in a progressive environment. From early on, he developed an affinity for the poor and downtrodden. Although he suffered form asthma, he still managed to excel in athletics. After he graduated from high school, he studied medicine, and as a young man in the 1950s, he spent his holidays on motorcycle tours of South America. In his travels, he encountered conditions of dire poverty, inequality, and injustice, that radicalized and set him on the path to Marxism.
