Legacy of Che Guevara

Guevara's extensive written legacy includes intellectual writings on radical Marxist politics and social theory, military/guerrilla warfare strategy and tactics, diplomatic memos, books, speeches, magazine articles, letters, poetry and diaries, as well as official documents preserved in Cuban government archives.

Che's practical and theoretical work had a profound political impact around the globe during the second half of the 20th century, especially in the developing world, where revolutionary organizing and anti-colonial struggles were inspired by his thought and example.

Guevara, who has been variously described as "the rock-hero biker revolutionary", "the martyr to idealism", and "James Dean in fatigues";[7] became a potent secular symbol of rebellion and revolution during the May 1968 protests in France.

In the view of The Guardian's Gary Younge, "(Che's) journey from middle-class comfort to working-class champion and his long-haired unkempt look, mirrored the aspirations and self-image of the Woodstock generation as they demonstrated against the Vietnam war.

"[8] For her part, the 1960s literary icon Susan Sontag spoke glowingly of the "inspiring beautiful legend" that was Guevara, comparing him Lord Byron, Emiliano Zapata, and José Martí.

began to appear on walls throughout the West,[10] while Jean-Paul Sartre, a leading existentialist philosopher who knew Guevara personally, encouraged the adulation by describing him as "the most complete human being of our age.

[13] Even in the United States, the government which Guevara so vigorously denounced, students began to emulate his style of dress, donning military fatigues, berets, and growing their hair and beards to show that they too were opponents of U.S. foreign policy.

[15] Addressing the wide-ranging flexibility of his legacy, Trisha Ziff, director of the 2008 documentary Chevolution, has remarked that "Che Guevara's significance in modern times is less about the man and his specific history, and more about the ideals of creating a better society.

"[16] In a similar vein, the Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman has suggested Guevara's enduring appeal might be because "to those who will never follow in his footsteps, submerged as they are in a world of cynicism, self-interest and frantic consumption, nothing could be more vicariously gratifying than Che's disdain for material comfort and everyday desires.

This fact led Argentine business analyst Martin Krauze to postulate that "the admiration for El Che no longer extends to his politics and ideology, it’s a romantic idea of one man going to battle against the windmills, he’s a Quixote.

Political writer Paul Berman went further, asserting that the "modern-day cult of Che" obscures the work of dissidents and what he believes is a "tremendous social struggle" currently taking place in Cuba.

[23] Author Christopher Hitchens, who was a socialist and a supporter of the Cuban revolution in the 1960s but later changed his views, summarised Guevara's legacy by surmising that "Che's iconic status was assured because he failed.

"[10] Taking the opposing view, Richard Gott a Guardian journalist in Vallegrande, sent a dispatch on the day of Guevara's death stating the following: It was difficult to recall that this man had once been one of the great figures of Latin America.

[30] The Cuban state has continued to cultivate Guevara’s appreciation, constructing numerous statues and artworks in his honor throughout the land; adorning school rooms, workplaces, public buildings, billboards, and money with his image.

As early as 1965, the Yugoslav communist journal Borba observed the many half-completed or empty factories in Cuba, a legacy of Guevara's short tenure as Minister of Industries, "standing like sad memories of the conflict between pretension and reality".

Similar disapproval has been shared by Cuban-American actor and director Andy García, whose 2005 film, The Lost City, portrays what could be perceived by some, including Che, as the brutality of pre and post revolution Cuba.

[34] In reference to such polarization, Cuban-American academic Uva de Aragon has hypothesized that "we'll still have to wait many years for history to deliver a definite judgement on Che, when the passions of both sides have passed.

[38] In nearly every upsurge of revolutionary movements in Latin America over the last forty years, from Argentina to Chile, from Nicaragua to El Salvador, from Guatemala to Mexico and Chiapas, there are traces of "Guevarismo" – sometimes clear, sometimes faint.

[39] In the view of the indigenous rights activist Rigoberta Menchú, "In these present times, when for many, ethics and other profound moral values are seen to be so easily bought and sold, the example of Che Guevara takes on an even greater dimension.

[41] Bolivian president Evo Morales has paid many tributes to Guevara including visiting his initial burial site in Bolivia to declare "Che Lives",[42] and installing a portrait of the Argentine made from local coca leaves in his presidential suite.

Studies addressing problematic characteristics of Guevara's life have cited his unsympathetic treatment of his fellow fighters during various guerrilla campaigns, and his frequent humiliations of those deemed his intellectual inferiors.