Venceremos! The Speeches and Writings of Ernesto Che Guevara

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VENCEREMOS!

Books by John Gerassi

THE GREAT FEAR THE BOYS OF BOISE venceremos!

VENCEREMOS! The speeches and writings of

Ernesto Che Guevara

EDITED, ANNOTATED, AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

John Gerassi

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

new York

Copyright © 1968 by John Gerassi All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission _ in writing from the Publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-22126 FIRST

PRINTING

The Macmillan Company, New York Collier-Macmillan Canada Ltd., Toronto, Ontario Printed in the United States of America

To my parents, Fernando and Stepha Gerassi, who taught me, not by preaching, but by their example, whatever genuine values I may have about the worth of man And to my daughter Nina, to whom, / hope, such values will be transmitted John Gerassi

Contents

Acknowledgments

xvii

Introduction by John Gerassi

i

By Che Guevara:

1 “Canto a Fidel” (Poem,

1956,

in Spanish and English)

23

1956-63 ^ The Revolutionary War (Brilliant but unfinished account of the Cuban War of National Liberation, based on diary entries, but written later. A revealing, fascinating journal, showing the hardships, obstacles, dangers, challenges, and revolutionary lessons of guerrilla warfare.)

27

1960

3 4

On Underdevelopment (Pep talk, given at an industrial exhibition, revealing his concern for building a greater nation, where every man will have a decent standard of living.)

89

On Sacrifice and Dedication (Long and often rambling, even repetitious, speech on human and social priorities in work, the goals of union leaders, the relationship of the worker and the union leader, and the state; one of the first attempts to define

92

vii

CONTENTS

VUl

the Socialist Man in Cuban terms, and to press for moral rather than material incentives, done through a typical economic policy statement.)

0 On Saying No! to Yankees (A rather minor outcry against

109

United States imperialism, of value only to the historian inter¬ ested in the Cuban atmosphere a few months before the United States-Cuban exile invasion.)

6

On Revolutionary Medicine (Extremely moving definition of revolutionary humanism, the role of the individual in a collective society, using the medically trained as an example. A great testimony to the author’s commitment to man.)

7 *‘We Are Practical Revolutionaries” (A crystal-clear and at

112

120

times truly poignant review of the revolutionary struggle, and how, through it, the guerrillas learned to respect, admire, and unite with those for whom they had, abstractly, started the struggle in the first place, thus understanding in practice the necessity of working for the creation of the Socialist Man.)

1961 Sin of the Revolution (An inflamed denunciation of Cuba’s counterrevolutionaries, whose activities and the Revolution’s early toleration of them bears the lesson: Never compromise revolutionary principles, even for the sake of unity.)

127

Cuba—Exception or Vanguard? (A first-rate, incisive analysis of the objective and subjective conditions for revolution both in Cuba before the landing of the Granma and in general in Latin America, and an amazingly lucid though short rundown of imperialism, underdevelopment, their interaction, and imperialism’s behavior in any future revolutionary process.)

131

8 r/ie

On Economic Planning in Cuba (A frank rundown on the economic problems facing Cuba and what the revolutionary government is doing about them.)

On Growth and Imperialism (His famous speech at the “Alliance for Progress” meeting, wherein he exposes imperial-

139

153

Contents

IX

ism’s motives and actions, proposes a just and equitable “Alliance” in its stead, and in the process eloquently describes the achievements and goals of the Cuban Revolution.)

On the Alliance for Progress (In explaining why Cuba cannot sign the Punta del Este Charter ratifying the Alliance—Cuba abstained—he explains in great moderation but very pointedly why the Alliance must and will fail and why all such attempts, based on the generosity of imperialist countries, will always fail.)

182

1962 Our Industrial Tasks (A concise, honest evaluation of Cuba’s economic situation at the beginning of Year Four of the revolutionary government, and a total, fascinating rundown of the tasks ahead.)

190

The Cadre, Backbone of the Revolution (A complete and somewhat terrifying list of the attributes necessary for being a cadreman in the Revolution.)

204

On Being a Communist Youth (After a bit of praise, and a slow start, the author gently criticizes Cuba’s communist youth for its dogmatism, dependence on official directives, lack of inven¬ tiveness, lack of individuality—yes, Che was always fostering individualism—and continues with a beautiful, moving definition of what a communist youth ought to be.)

209

1963 Against Bureaucratism (A short but thorough attack on bureaucratism, explaining its human and normal causes, and positing ways to eliminate it.)

220

On Socialist Competition and Sugar Production (An earthy chat with sugar cane cutters, mostly volunteers, in which he explains the difference between capitalist competition based on greed and socialist competition motivated by the collective desire to help the collectivity and the nation, plus a lot of talk about machines, which the peasants view with suspicion.)

226

X

18

CONTENTS

On Party Militancy (A classic! It chastises revolutionary men jor still discriminating against women, explains how productivity and consciousness lead to moral incentives, describes material incentives as a fundamental characteristic of bourgeois society which socialism must destroy—but cannot yet in Cuba —and goes on to point out the creative aspect of Marxism,

240

of the real Marxist militant.)

On Production Costs (A somewhat technical but understand250 able-to-the-layman analysis of the difference in the economic planning in Cuba and Russia, and why Cuba’s system should lead to greater reliance on moral rather than material incentives— the real goal of a socialist society.)

23

On the Cuban Experience (A good summary for noneconomists of the problems—the errors and successes—of the Cuban economy, its policies, its inherited obstacles, its goals, whereby the author points out his own disagreements with traditional Marxist economists, without specifying these disagreements.)

257

Guerrilla Warfare: A Method (Another classic: an analysis of guerrilla warfare as the necessary method for the liberation of the peoples of the world from imperialism. Discusses causes, tactics, and predictions, as well as the author’s faith in man which leads him to consider all individual men, including Fidel, as only products of history.)

266

On Value (A very difficult, technical discourse on Value and its basis as the governing agent for an economic planning system in Cuba. The traditional Communists, here represented by Alberto Mora, minister of Foreign Commerce, tend to stick to the view that the value of goods is decided by supply and demand, while Guevara, who considers value a social phenom¬ enon, seeks to explain it by stressing the flexibility and changeability of relationships.)

280

On Solidarity with Vietnam (An amazingly farsighted prediction of what will happen in Vietnam—and did—based on the author’s understanding of liberation movements, their patriotic

286

Contents

XI

and national characteristics on the one hand, and on the other, their internationalism, the result of the internationalism of imperialism.)

1964

24 On the Budgetary System of Financing (One of the most

292

important articles ever written by the author, wherein he explains the difference between the Soviet economic system, whose standards, and ultimately whose reliance, on material incentives were the necessary but unfortunate consequence of Lenin’s New Economic Policy, and the Cuban system as Guevara would like to see it develop, and as he had begun to institute it in the enterprises under the control of his Ministry of Industry, a system which, though it must rely and will have to rely for a long time on material incentives, ultimately should establish incentives on a moral basis. Significantly, the author insists that material incentives and a socialist consciousness are contradictory, and that without such a consciousness, a New Man and a New Society are only words. The author also challenges the traditional Soviet and communist use of the Law of Value, which, he says, is based neither on Marx nor on man. Guevara’s concern is always—and it is fundamentally clear in this long and technical piece—to bring laws, institutions, the relationship of production, etc., into their social context.)

On Development (An outstanding speech detailing Cuba’s history in terms of American capitalism and imperialism, explaining the real causes of underdevelopment, and exploring in depth the relationship between the rich and the poor of the world. An accomplished document.)

317

On Creating a New Attitude (Another call for more voluntary work, for more sacrifice and the building of the new conscience, but this time, tied into an eloquent analysis of capitalism, imperialism, Cuba’s future, and the inevitable defeat of the United States through its many interventions, through its many Vietnams.)

336

The Cuban Economy (A short but first-rate analysis of United States-Cuban relations, the effects of imperialism, the current

349

CONTENTS

xii

Cuban situation and its political, economic, human, and social reality.)

28

“Camilo" (Unfinished tribute written in October of 1964 to his great friend and comrade-in-arms, Camilo Cienfuegos, who died in a plane crash on October 28, 1959.)

360

Colonialism Is Doomed (In this famous speech the author not only attacks United States imperialism and makes clear Cuba’s position on all outstanding issues of the day, but also proposes concrete steps by which peace in the Caribbean can be achieved.)

364

On Our Common Aspiration—The Death of Imperialism and the Birth of a Moral World (This speech alone should make the author’s place in the history of great popular leaders secure. An outstanding, though brief, analysis of imperialism, economic development, internationalism, and world economic relations. By it, Guevara extends his concern for moral incentives to an international plane, in effect severely criticizing Russia and other socialist countries and calling for a new, tight bond among all socialists, with cooperation, coordination, and the common goal of genuine friendship.)

378

Man and Socialism in Cuba (One of the great documents of the history of socialism, a profound, heartfelt, and at times, heart¬ rending analysis of the human goals of socialism as Guevara understood it and as Cubans are trying to establish it. A masterpiece.)

387

Socialist Planning (A very technical but important, especially to economists, attack on one of the most respected Marxist economists of the day, a defender of orthodox socialist planning, which is in force in the Soviet Union, and which is based on the capitalist definition of Value. Guevara, who rejects that definition, aims to show that such planning—and its resultant “Economic Calculus’’ or autonomous financing system—stems from lack of faith in Socialist Men.

401

Letter to Fidel

410

Contents

xiíi

34 Letter to His Family

412

35 Message to the Tricontinental: "Create two, three

413

Appendix

I

425

Appendix

II

Appendix

III

Appendix

IV

. . . many Vietnams” (His last known article written from some guerrilla post in Latin America, calling on all free men, on all exploited men, on all those everywhere who cherish justice and hate oppression, to rise up, and gun in hand, commit themselves to the great struggle—the destruction of the only real imperialist power in the world today, the United States.)

The Government of Cuba, Council of Ministers’ Resolution of October 15, 1967 Che Guevara (A poem by Nicolás Guillén) Che Comandante (A poem by Nicolás Guillén)

"To Che and to the Heroes Who Fought and Died with Him We Say: Ever Onward to Victory!” Castro’s eulogy of October 18, 1967.

426 428 433

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Contents by Subject Matter

The articles and speeches of Ernesto Che Guevara in this volume have been arranged chronologically. The specialist, however, may want to read them according to subject matter, and thus I have listed below the entries in five separate categories: On Guerrilla Warfare; On Capitalism and Imperialism; On Human Values and Socialist Man; On Economic Theory; and On Economic Policy. Naturally, since Che often tackled many themes in a single article, this classification cannot be rigid. What I have done, therefore, is either chosen the dominant theme, or else, if various themes are given equal weight, repeated the chapter numbers under the various categories.

I. On Guerrilla Warfare Chapters 2, 7, 9, 21, 23, 31, 35

II. On Capitalism and Imperialism Chapters 5, 9, ii, 12, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 30, 35

III. On Human Values and Socialist Man Chapters i, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, 26, 28, 31, 33, 34, 35

IV. On Economic Theory Chapters 12, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 30, 32

V. On Economic Policy Chapters 3, 10, ii, 13,17, 20, 26, 27, 31

XV

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Wherever death may surprise us, it will be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, reaches some receptive ear, that another hand stretch out to take up weapons, and that other men come forward to intone our funeral dirge with the staccato of machine guns and new cries of battle and victory. Let the flag under which we flght represent the sacred cause of redeeming humanity, so that to die under the flag of Vietnam, of Venezuela, of Guatemala, of Laos, of Guinea, of Colombia, of Bolivia, of Brazil—to name only the scenes of today’s armed struggle—be equally glorious and desirable for an American, an Asian, an African, or even a European. Each drop of blood spilled in a country under whose flag one has not been born constitutes experience for those who survive to apply later in the liberation struggle of their own countries. And each nation liberated is a step toward victory in the battle for the liberation of one’s own country. Each and every one of us will pay on demand his part of sacri¬ fice . . . knowing that all together we are getting ever closer to the new man, whose figure is beginning to appear. V enceremos! Che

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