che guevara - what kind of leader
...nuary of nineteen-fifty-nine to their final battles in Santa Clara, before the coup in Havana. Che’s role was doubtlessly crucial in the final days of the war. His composure, determination, lucidity, and spirit of sacrifice were invaluable in Santa Clara. Without his leadership skills, his implacable centralization of all decisions, his detachment and sense of strategy, victory would have been impossible under such adverse conditions. (Castaneda 137) Che’s theories on guerilla warfare, his comprehensive understanding of the peasants, and his extraordinary leadership skills were decisive in the guerilla’s victory over Batista and his troops. Che’s complete command of military strategy and process were crucial to the revolution, where he literally wrote the book on successful guerilla warfare. Along with Che’s remarkable leadership and his comprehensive guerilla maneuvering, Che maintained strong beliefs that attracted attention, and won the respect of many. Unlike most people, Che did not equate success with money. Success, for Che, was measured by the extent to which he could aid and liberate the oppressed. Che fought not for self-glorification but for the common plight of man. Che represented those he wanted to help and those who had no voice. Guevara’s genuine concern for the impoverished of the third world made him a seminal figure in the last years of the 60’s and throughout the 70’s (Schlesinger 101) During the fifties, twenty-six percent of Cuba’s population garnered sixty-four percent of the national income, therefore, fighting for the impoverished was highly favorable and won the reverence of countless Cubans, especially considering Che’s background; Che was born in Argentina to an upper-middle class family and he gave up his comfortable life to fight in squalid conditions through his debilitating asthma for people who were not his own. Like most other people, I longed for success…but…I began to travel all over America, (where) I came into close contact with poverty and hunger and disease…I saw the degradation of under-nourishment and constant repression. Thus I began to visualize that there was another thing that was as important as being (successful)… and that was to help those people. (Guevara 29, Schlesinger) Che’s altruistic nature along with his selflessness to fight for a cause was valued by his comrades and others he met throughout his life. Che was willing to die for the cause and those who fought with him were aware of his dedication and revered him for it. Che attained a military rank in accordance with his talent, bravery, and responsibility. As Castro recalled many years later: ‘He was a man who liked to take the lead in combat, to set an example; he would never say, go and fight, but rather, follow me into combat.’ (Castaneda 104) Che did not make an effort to escape combat or hide behind his rank. He fought recklessly for the plight of the less fortunate; he did not lead by saying, he lead by doing, actions that set him apart from others. These actions, along with giving up comfort, security and financial prosperity for the morally-justified war won Guevara the distinction of being an ostensibly flawless revolutionary leader, winning the respect and admiration of his fighters as well as the peasants of the Sierra Maestra, all of Cuba, and the World. Che had gained the respect of peasants and Cubans during his battles, and became a legendary figure during the war giving Che the ability to inspire those he did not even know. Che was looked upon as a revolutionary hero during his lifetime and this status allowed him to reach many people and advocate his revolutionary ideas. Che and the extraordinary example he set are gaining increasing force in the world. His ideas, image and name are banners of struggle against the injustices suffered by the oppressed and exploited. They evoke impassioned interest among students and intellectuals the world over. (Castro 154, Garcia) Che not only inspired Cubans but “Guevara (became) a hero to the third world revolutionaries both for his outspoken public support of their efforts and for his actual accomplishments as a guerilla in the Cuban revolutionary war.” (Schlesinger 81) Che gained this image by freely expressing his ideals. Che’s strong oratory skills, his articulate speeches, and his commanding rhetoric inspired many people who became followers and supporters of him and his battle against imperialism. From the start, the handsome, and charismatic Guevara had been one of the Cuban revolutions most effective ambassadors. (Schlesinger 77) Che’s unyielding morals and impervious image combined with his intense humanism and compassion for those who could not advance his plight and his compelling advocacy for the underprivileged and disregarded of the world gave him more deference on a global scale as well as within his camp Che became known for his sense of organization. He led his column with decisiveness and ingenuity. More than other commanders he was able to consolidate his territorial gains, establishing schools, clinics, ovens, small workshops, hospitals and imposing an iron discipline. He attended to the peasants and instructed the guerrillas in his free time…he turned his increasingly permanent camps into models of cleanliness, efficiency and generosity. (Castaneda 112) Che’s provision for the impoverished of conquered land spoke volumes to the peasants. Under their new leader they received compassion and were provided for. Che was not only concerned with his military campaign he maintained what he set out for from the beginning; aid for the oppressed. Che’s laudable image and magnetic discourse provided him the ability to present revolutionary ideas to millions around the world, perpetuating Guerilla movements in other imperialist dominated countries. Che’s ability to inspire others abetted the revolutions in Cuba as well as Bolivia; however, it was his ability to motivate combined with his revolutionary ideas that roused nations. Che’s revolutionary ideas struck a chord with the impoverished and oppressed the world over. Cuba’s success gave hope to millions and inspired the subjugated, and exploited. Che demanded freedom from oppression and tyranny of imperialistic countries. Che was also adamant about agrarian reform, which appealed to the impecunious in all imperialistic countries. Cuba’s agricultural exports were ninety percent sugar cane and the elite of Cuban society owned these massive plantations, Che believed agrarian reform should be the outcome of any revolution. Guevara stressed Cuba’s need to diversify it’s agricultural production in order to move away from a dependence on sugar as its predominant export crop, and the necessity of developing industry to reduce the country’s dependence on imported manufactured goods. (Schlesinger 55) With diversified agriculture Cuba would not have to rely on America, and agrarian reform along with re-distributing land would re-distribute the wealth. Che said this of agrarian reform: “No government can call itself revolutionary if it does not carry out p...