Word: che
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Study the Leader. Riding the mountain trails on a mule he called Martin Fierro,* Che puffed endless cigars and pondered his leader. He saw Castro clearly as an inspired and inspiring zealot, brimming with a disorganized flood of liberal ideals, incapable of accepting criticism, dependent on others to put his schemes into action. Che adapted himself to Castro. He never contradicted Castro in public. Allowing Fidel to take credit for Guevara accomplishments, he carefully avoided bruising the massive Castro ego. Che even wrote a "Rhapsody to Fidel...
...pondered Fidel, Che also pondered the objectives of the revolution he was fighting. Out of his own catch-as-catch-can Marxist reading, Che proceeded to map out Cuba's first true, peasant-based social revolution. He plotted total destruction of the old political and economic system, under which U.S. investors owned one-third of Cuba's largest crop (sugar), and the country was run by a tough and crooked former army sergeant, Fulgencio Batista. Che proposed to nationalize industry and agriculture, to reorganize that traditional prop of Cuban political power, the army, and to cut Cuba...
Persuading by Doing. Che convinced Castro with competence, diplomacy and patience. When grenades were needed, Che set up a factory to make them. When bread was wanted, Che set up ovens to bake it. When new recruits needed to learn tactics and discipline, Che taught them. When a school was needed to teach peasants to read and write, Che organized it. If a situation called for a revolution ary expert, Che knew how it had been done in Bolivia or Guatemala. Through the long evenings, without ever appearing to contradict, Che encouraged Castro's leftism, planted the seeds...
...measure of Che's competence is the fact that it was he who led the mili tary action that finally overturned Batista. Thrusting out of the sheltering Sierra Maestra, he led his men-perhaps 150-boldly through the canebrakes and swamps of Camaguey province, fighting toward Cuba's heart. Batista's forces blasted away with fighter planes, tanks and machine guns, but could not stop Che's men. When they swept into Santa Clara, in central Las Villas province, Cuba was cut in two, and Batista boarded a plane for exile...
...route Che had picked up a "secretary," an attractive, high-cheekboned Cuban girl named Aleida March. When Che took over his victory headquarters-the commandant's house at Havana's La Cabana fortress-Aleida was with...