http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/guevaras-ghost/2007/09/04/1188783234364.html#
Spirit of Che rises Rory Carroll, Caracas September 5, 2007 WHEN the haggard and broken figure was laid out on the slab and displayed to the world it was not just Che Guevara that had died. The dream of socialist revolution in South America was over. His image and name would continue to inspire millions but on the continent he wanted to transform he was a political failure, a defeated guerilla on the wrong side of history. Bolivia's peasants spurned Che's rebellion, leaving the Bolivian army and the CIA to capture him on October 8, 1967, kill him the following day, and rid South America of Cuba's revolutionary spirit. The soldiers reportedly drew straws to determine who would have the honour of shooting Che. "And so he is dead," wrote The Guardian's Richard Gott, one of the few journalists at the scene that day. "As they pumped preservative into his half-naked, dirty body and as the crowd shouted to be allowed to see, it was difficult to recall that this man had once been one of the great figures of Latin America." It was difficult to feel his ideas would die with him, Gott added. He was right. Forty years later the anniversary of the death is looming and the scene is transformed: the Cubans are back, socialism is back and Che is officially a hero. An elaborate ceremony in Vallegrande, the town where his corpse was displayed, will be just one of many government-backed rallies across the Andes and the Caribbean. Locals speak with reverence of Che's "Christ-like" corpse. They hold masses for the doctor-turned-guerilla and pray at Che altars in their homes. Che's rehabilitation has been borne on the region's "pink tide" of left-wing governments, especially in Bolivia and Venezuela, where efforts are under way to promote socialism, deepen ties with Havana and roll back Washington's influence. President Hugo Chavez echoes Che's desire to wean people off capitalism by moulding a "new socialist man". The rebel's writings have been widely distributed in Venezuela. Mr Chavez has devised an ambitious scheme that ships Venezuelan oil to Cuba in exchange for 20,000 medical personnel who offer free treatment to Venezuela's poor. They follow in the guerilla's footsteps, he said last week. About 800 doctors have moved to Bolivia since President Evo Morales, an ally of Mr Chavez and Fidel Castro, was elected in 2005. Others are on their way to Ecuador now that it also has a socialist president, Rafael Correa. The scheme has widened so that patients from as far afield as Brazil, Chile and Nicaragua can fly to Venezuela and Cuba for free treatment. Che envisaged violent insurrections against South America's ruling elites as part of a global fight against US imperialism, with the war in Vietnam just one front. Even Castro was said to be taken aback at his vehemence. What Che would make of socialists who take power through elections rather than the gun no one can know. Not even Mr Chavez, the reddest tinge in the pink tide, advocates communism. Nor is it certain the tide will endure. However, there is no doubt it has swept Che back into political battle after decades when he was little more than a handsome face on countless T-shirts and posters. GUARDIAN [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
