TWO FRIENDS CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF REVOLUTION

Che Guevara  (1928 - 1967)

byname of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna
Revolutionary leader.
Born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna on June 14, 1928, in Rosario, Argentina. After completing his medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires, Guevara became political active first in his native Argentina and then in neighboring Bolivia and Guatemala. In 1954, he met Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and his brother Raul while in Mexico.Guevara became part of Fidel Castro's efforts to overthrow the Batista government in Cuba. He served as a military advisor to Castro and led guerrilla troops in battles against Batista forces. When Castro took power in 1959, Guevara became in charge of La Cabaña Fortress prison. It is estimated that between 156 and 550 people were executed on Guevara's extra-judicial orders during this time.
Later, he became president of the Cuban national bank and helped to shift the country's trade relations from the United States to the Soviet Union. Three years later, he was appointed minister of industry. Guevara left this post in 1965 to export the ideas of Cuba's revolution to other parts of the world. In 1966, he began to try to incite the people of Bolivia to rebel against their government, but had little success. With only a small guerrilla force to support his efforts, Guevara was captured and killed in La Higuera by the Bolivian army on October 9, 1967.Since his death, Guevara has become a legendary political figure. His name is often equated with rebellion, revolution, and socialism. Others, however, still remember that he could be ruthless and ordered prisoners executed without trial in Cuba. Guevara's life continues to be a subject of great public interest and been explored and portrayed in numerous books and films, including The Motorcycle Diaries (2004).

Fidel CastroAKA Fidel Alejandro Castro Rúz

Born: 13-Aug-1926

Birthplace: Mayari, CubaGender:

MaleReligion: Atheist

Race or Ethnicity: HispanicSexual orientation

: StraightOccupation: Head of StateNationality: CubaExecutive summary: Dictator of Cuba for almost fifty yearsOn 26 July 1953, Fidel Castro led about 150 men in an attack on Moncada barracks, the strongest garrison of Fulgencio Batista. Batista was Cuba's dictator then, with friendly relations with the US government. Dozens of Castro's men were killed in battle, and Fidel was charged with treason. At his trial, he delivered an impassioned two-hour closing argument that was widely but clandestinely circulated under the title History will absolve me! It was a kangaroo trial, and Castro was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but a public groundswell called out for amnesty, and Castro was released in 1955. After a brief period of exile in Mexico, Castro's triumphant return came in 1959, when his next attempt at revolution succeeded. The brutal Batista government was overthrown, and replaced by the brutal Castro government.

History will absolve me was rewritten as a blueprint for Castro's communist regime, and American-owned businesses in Cuba were nationalized. Castro kept many of his promises -- Cubans have free health care, education, and a low level of homelessness, but the society has suffered both from the US embargo and the totalitarian regime. Castro's (and thus Cuba's) relations with the US have always been frigid, but became icy after the US-backed "Bay of Pigs" attempted coup in 1962. To this day, Cubans who travel to America without permission risk forced repatriation, and Americans who travel to Cuba without official US approval risk hefty fines.Castro called himself Prime Minister from 1959-76, and then called himself President, though the change was superficial and he was always utterly autocratic. After intestinal surgery in July 2006, he was rarely seen in public.

He temporarily ceded power to his brother, Raúl Castro, on 31 July 2006, and formally stepped down as President on 19 February 2008.Father: Angel Castro y Argiz (sugar plantation owner)Mother: Lina Ruz Gonzáles (his father's maid)Brother: Raúl Castro (co-revolutionary and Fidel's successor)Wife: Mirta Diaz Balart de Nunez (m. 12-Oct-1948; div. 1954, one son)Son: Fidel Casro Diaz-Balart Jr. (head of Cuba's atomic energy bureau, b. 1-Sep-1949)Girlfriend: Natalia "Naty" Revuelta (military cap-maker, b. 1925)Daughter: Alina Fernandez (b. 1956)High School: Colegio Belén, Havana, Cuba Law School: University of Havana (1950)