Ernesto "Che" Guevara is a figure who evokes extreme emotions—beloved by the people of the Global South and hated by free-market and conservative elites. In recent years, one of the most popular arguments used to discredit the revolutionary has been the accusation of racism. But does this accusation have any basis in fact, or is it merely a skillfully prepared manipulation?
Genesis of the accusation: 1952
The charges of hatred towards black people are based almost entirely on one chapter of the "Motorcycle Diaries." They describe the journey of Guevara, who was 24 years old at the time and stayed in Caracas in July 1952. The text contains passages that, from today's perspective, are blatantly ignorant and perpetuate colonial stereotypes (including the "lazy" Negro and the "thrifty" Portuguese).
However, it is worth remembering who Ernesto was at that time. He was a young man from a wealthy Argentine family who was experiencing cultural shock for the first time. More importantly, he himself critically referred to his notes in the epilogue of the work:
"The person who made these notes died, standing again on Argentine soil... This wandering through our great America changed me more than I expected."
From ignorance to solidarity
The true test of one's views is not youthful notes, but later political practice. As early as 1959, long before the abolition of racial segregation in the United States, Guevara insisted on the racial integration of Cuban universities:
"The university must take on the colors of black people and mulattos—and I am not only talking about students, but also about lecturers. It must take on the colors of the people, because the university is the heritage of no one else but the people of Cuba."
His stance also resonated strongly on the international stage. In 1964, before the United Nations Organization, he condemned the hypocrisy of the USA:
"Those who kill their own children and discriminate against them every day because of the color of their skin (...) how can they consider themselves guardians of freedom?"
International anti-colonial coalition
Guevara did not limit himself to rhetoric. He risked his life as a military instructor in the Congo, supporting left-wing rebels in the fight against colonialism. This commitment made leaders of liberation and anti-racist movements see him as an ally. Che was spoken of warmly by, among others:
- Nelson Mandela,
- Malcolm X,
- Frantz Fanon,
- Stokely Carmichael.
Freddie Ilanga, Guevara's Congolese translator, remembered him briefly: "He showed the same respect to blacks as he did to whites."
Summary
Ernesto Guevara's early prejudices were a result of the social class and environment in which he was raised—they were a product of ignorance, not hatred. Che's further life path—from the integration of Cuba to the struggles in Africa—constitutes a radical denial of racism. Reducing his figure to a few unfortunate sentences from his student days is a primitive manipulation that ignores the essence of his struggle for the liberation of all the oppressed, regardless of the color of their skin.
