Dr Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara: a study in moral ambiguity

In his most famous photo, he exudes an air of glowering passion and self-conscious ‘machismo’, as if he already knew he would become an enduring icon. (see figure 1) If you ask most people about him, they are likely to describe him as a revolutionary hero, although others may call him a ruthless executioner, depending on their political beliefs. The factors that made this possible included the exceptionally venal and unpopular government of Cuba’s president Fulgencio Batista, along with the desperate conditions of life on the sugar plantations and subsistence farms, and the willingness of peasants to take up arms alongside the rebels. Becoming Castro’s second in command early on, he applied his phenomenal energy to the work of revolution, not only as an army commander and tactician but in providing the rebels with an education in Marxism, and setting up military training schools and clinics.