che and communism

[lena]

can anybody tell me when che got first in touch with the communism?
and why did he later distanced from sowjet union and their way to practise communism?

[Valkyrie]

I don't have any of my reference books.. so the short answer off the top of my head.. -- besides what he was exposed to during his Motorcycle road trip.. he was formally introduced to communism by his first wife, Hilda, in maybe around 1957 (anyone?)

He distanced himself from Soviet Communism because initially he was very disillussioned when Kruschev cut a deal with Kennedy taking the missiles out of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis without first notifying or discussing with Castro and further inconsistencies he had with Soviet communism.

If anyone else wants to elaborate or clear up the dates..

[Essential Insignificance]

can anybody tell me when che got first in touch with the communism?
and why did he later distanced from sowjet union and their way to practise communism?

Che was "exposed" to "leftism" at a exceptionally early age.

Che's mother was, to say the least -- a very independent woman and radical feminist -- who was in fact, one of the first women in Argentina to drive a car -- a "social taboo" of the era.

Che's father wasn't a Marxist or communist -- but he was definitely a radical liberal -- who fought fervently throughout his life for the "rights" of peasants.

Che's mother and father had a well build up -- extensive and diverse -- library (that the young Che would get lost in) which housed some of works of Marx, Engel's and Lenin.

At the age of seventeen of eighteen Che read Capital and The Communist Manifesto By Marx and Engel's; and also some of Lenin's works, presumably -- What is to Be Done?

Che at a latter age reminisced on his time reading Marx -- and he admitted that at the time, he could'nt make out "anything" -- it was just to difficult for the young Che.

[Hannah Rush]

It is always impossible to pinpoint exactly when anyone makes any kind of deep-seated allegiance.
I know Che was a university student in Argentina during Juan Peron's administration and participated in the demonstrations against him. This certainly does not signal any particular political afilliation or lack of it, but it is evidence of a willingness (not lacking in anyone at that age) to challenge established authority and to question accepted norms and values. It also suggests receptivity to radicalism.
As far as I know, Che was never a communist per se. He didn't go to Bolivia to unite the tin miners in some kind of "communist" action. He never told the world that Cuba was exporting communism - he told the world Cuba was exporting revolution.
After the success of the 1959 Cuban revolution attempt (not the first, as I hope you are all already aware) Castro and Guevara both fully expected United States support (as had been promised them) for having thrown out a corrupt, mafia-paid-for-leader (Batiste). Just as when we made similar semi-official (perceived as wholly official) agreements with other countries, movements and their leaders, we lied. When it became clear that Castro was standing by his commitment to a socialized, or nationalized, economy - an economy that would be beyond our control - Cuba was left to flounder on its own.
Enter the Soviet Union as protector and helper. This is the historical circumstance that forged the Soviet/communist allegiance.
Castro and Guevara, I suppose, could loosely have been defined as Marxists long before the revolution.
There has been much conjecture about the defining person or event that prooved the catalyst in "radicalizing" Ernesto Guevara. Some have said it was Hilda Gaeda, whom he met in Guatamala and who became his first wife, that played this role. Others, myself included, believe radicalization was the only sane reponse to what he personally witnessed in Guatamala.
How would it have influenced any of us to have been visiting Guatamala during a violent coup overthrowing a newly and duly elected president of same country; a coup backed by the CIA in order to protect United Fruit's (yes, the Chiquita Bananna people), and therefor the United States', economic interests?
I doubt anyone arrives at the other side of such experiences unchanged.
Well, this is just what started bouncing around in my head in response to your topic. I realise it isn't well thought out - but I hope you find it interesting and I hope it gives you food for thought.

Hannah Rush